Is Classic Europe trip by Go Today Tours worth it?
 

We're planning our first trip to Europe Sept. 2010. Anybody tried Classic Europe trip by Go-Today tours? Is it better than doing all the hotel , airlines and train reservations on my own? We like to spend 3 night in Rome, 2 in Florence, 3 in Venice, 3 in Paris and 2 in London. We don't want to be tied to a strict schedule with guided tours. We would like to explore on our own time. We're also on a budget for this trip. I would appreciate any input you can give me. Thanks in advance.

Most people on this website make their own reservations. As for Go-Today, it would depend on where you are flying from since their gateway add-on's are quite hefty. With only 13 nights, I would pick one country, not three. You lose too much of your time traveling between cities. Even short transfers like Rome to Florence, you will lose half a day (checking in and out of hotels, traveling to and from hotels to train stations plus travel time between cities).

Ditto what kybourbon says. I've always been able to put together my own packages at a lower cost than the tour/travel companies. Plus, they tend to have their cheaper hotels way out from the center which is going to cost you time when you really don't have that much to begin with. By booking yourself you can choose apartments and that will save money because you won't have to go out to eat everytime you need a nibble of something.
Try not to squeeze all those stops into your two week vacation. Most people I think will agree that you have better experiences getting to know one or two places for several days.
Lots and lots of excellent advice on these forums. Read up on the places you want to go; you have plenty of time and don't need to book quite yet.

If your count of days includes travel time, you won't get more than a glance. If you're counting full days in each of those places, you still don't have enough time anywhere.

I'm with kybourbon and pdx (and probably pretty much everyone else who's going to chime in later). Don't burn half your vacation time in transit. Pick three places and have enough time to really see something.

You need to understand that 3 nights in Rome means 2 days - and 2 in London really means only 1 day (you lost most of a day when you travel from one city to another).

First time travelers in europe, when asked their biggest mistake, almost invariably say trying to go too many places in too little time.

In the days you have you can do a quick view of 3 places or a little more of 2 places - any more than that and you will have basically a tour of the airports and train stations of europe.

I have been there more than 70 times (between business and vacation), and believe me - you just don;t have the time to see much of anything in so many places. If you make a list of what you want to see in each place and how long it takes to do so (you can look at the Eiffel Tower in 5 minutes, but to ascend and see anything will take the best part of 3 hours - due to the crowds) I think you will see how little you will actually see.

Thank you so much for your input. I think I'll concentrate on Italy for now as per your advice. I'll read some more of the forums to get more ideas as I plan for our trip. Thanks again.