I was on ricksteves.raileurope.com. Looking at 3/12 one way from Londn to paris

Don't use a reseller/3rd party like Raileurope (or link through Rick Steves). Go to the official Eurostar website. Ditto for any other trains. Use the official websites.

From someone who was a travel agent for many years and understands how they work....book the trip yourself. All the reasons have been stated here before me...the only way agents make any money these days are cruises/tours or prefab holidays...none of which you want. Their hotel suggestions are based on those few that still pay commission and are geared to business travelers. This is an easy trip to plan yourself...also personally I enjoy communicating directly by email with the hotels after doing extensive research on TA to focus in on some I like. I do all hotel bookings directly with hotel and they will match prices that you may find at another site. Don't trust some agent who will set your file in the corner of his/her desk and get back to you at their convenience. You will find the trip will be more rewarding when you set it up yourself and your hotels will be far more interesting. Travel agents used to be an asset but not anymore.

Forget about having someone to call if something goes wrong as a reason to use an agent. If it's after hours, they won't be in, and really, what can they do if you have a serious problem?

A hotel with good reviews will probably be willing to help you in case of any emergencies.

If you like, I have the number of a good concierge service in Paris, but she charges for help she provides.

In London, everything you might need is in English. I once found a doctor to come to my really dive-y rental flat with no help; it wasn't that hard.

If you are at all nervous about buying the Eurostar tickets, you might want to call http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/

I've used them and payed a very minimal upcharge. Nice folks that make it easy.

Do you mean Dec 3rd.. ( 12 month 3rd day) or March 12th... ( 3rd month 12th day) .

IF you mean Dec 3 its too late to get cheapest tickets so go with what you have.

Sorry, March 12, 2015

Well just checked on website best price is 39 GBP which is about 62 dollars. So price you found is fine( this is for lowest category ( standard non flexible) . I always do the pick up at station option sincemthhey charge you to mail out tickets. Be sure to use a credit card that you remember to bring with you as you must present the card you used to buy the tickets with to obtain ticket over seas.

I like to print my online train tickets at home when buying train tickets, instead of needing to bring the exact credit card I paid with me when I travel. I'm pretty sure you can do this with Eurostar.

Any sites where I can do most of the booking together?

For hotels, booking.com

The types of lodging that most interest ME are not generally covered on sites that can be used for booking flights or other things. YMMV.

You can book your hotels together easy enough on one site.. as suggested booking.com is one and decent enough. Venere is also decent..

I wouldn't even consider not booking planes and trains on their own proper sites.. not on a reseller .

When booking hotels, be aware that there are different cancellation policies, and that the lowest prices are generally for pay in advance no cancellation reservations. You can check different sites for comparison and also check the hotel's own site.

I prefer to book hotels that allow for cancellation and not to pay in advance. I also prefer to pay for the hotels once I am there in the local currency. Places that offer to bill you in dollars will result in a higher price due to a poor exchange rate.

I do buy trip insurance that will cover the cost of air tickets, any non refundable expenses and also includes health insurance. Life is unpredictable, vacations can be expensive and insurance can provide peace of mind.

I would take the train from London to Paris. Its fast, and you will not have to spend time traveling to and from airports. You depart and arrive in the center of each city.

Read the provisions of trip insurance carefully, especially the exclusions, and decide which suits your situation best. Do not shop by price alone.

Many trip insurance policies will cover pre-existing conditions at no additional fee, if you purchase it within 10-14 days of making your first deposit or paid reservation. So investigate trip insurance while you are deciding what to do.

We also make our flight reservations first before we make hotel reservations. Unless there is a special event or it is a smaller town, or it high season, there will always be a hotel somewhere.

Great advice, all! Thank you! If anyone wants to offer up favorite hotels in London, Oxford, (although that may be a day trip) Dublin or Stuttgart, that would be welcome!

cdwinell: if you post your nightly hotel budget, you will be more likely to get useful responses. Also, maybe mention a couple of your preferences, such as must have AC or elevator, or such.

It might also help to mention which types of things you want to do in each city (for example, visit the theatres in London, or where your son is in Oxford); that way, people can make suggestions that will be convenient to your interests.

Ok all is booked! Can anyone suggest their favorite guide books to London and Paris? Wanted to visit Highclere Castle but it is closed mid March...so disappointed!

"favorite guide books to London and Paris"

Michelin Green Guide and the Rough Guide (and preferably both for each city, since they have slightly different strengths).

All Time Out London and Paris

Best guidebooks are: Rough Guide and Lonely Planet. Best hotel site for booking online is: Booking.com (no fees,great reviews and areas for places all over the world AND you can usually cancel at the last minute).

My advice as an international flight attendant with over 41 years and a lot of years of travel planning is to go to your local library and check out all of the books for the cities you want to go. Go online to tripadvisor.com for ideas of things to do and places to see.Use the SEARCH box of this forum as it is invaluable too!

Decide on a couple guidebooks and purchase them.Use tab dividers with highlighter pens to separate the chapters of the guides or xerox the pages you want to take with you.

Make a plan of what you see and use an additional calendar that you can use to fill in the days and your game plan to get a realistic idea of travel times and days spent in each city.

For London, get a hotel near the tube on the Piccadilly Line as that is the tube line direct from Heathrow and it is a straight shot into downtown London in 40 minutes for less than 8 pounds using an Oyster Card. For location in London, I like the Gloucester Road area (Holiday Inn Kensington,Millenium,Crowne Plaza,etc.) or somewhere near Russell Square/Bloomsbury like the Holiday Inn.Just do a daytrip up to Oxford-very easy on the train.

Most of the travel agents I know have only used "canned tours" in Europe and mainly push cruises with Alaska,the Caribbean and Hawaii/Mexico.Europe is easy enough to get around by planning on your own. Use the advice above about flying into one city and out of the other (open jaw)when purchasing to save time and stress. Good luck!

dutyfree has given you some excellent advice, except "Use the SEARCH box of this forum" -- while I agree that it was invaluable, it has been disabled for many months now. :-( To search Fodor's forum, try google and include the "Fodor's forum" among your search terms.