vrbo, homeaway, sleepinitaly...

Lots of hotel rooms in London that were reserved for Olympic Officials will not be needed and have just been released for public sale, so there might be some good deals out there.

Yes, of course you could do Manchester as a day trip. The journey time from train station to train station is just over 2 hours. It would be a long day but I'm sure you would enjoy it.

Okay, so the wife and I have read through all of these posts and have agreed that doing London for two weeks is probably the better plan than trying to jam it all into one trip.

Our plan is to find a location on vrbo and use it as our base for two weeks (or so, a day or two on either side is fine).

We are limited to July due to employment conditions.

Is there a good comprehensive post on the boards somewhere on the best methods of planning? I'm trying to decide whether to book the best flights or the best apartment and go from there. It seems like there are a lot of variables that could change daily. I feel like I need to lock in the plane tickets first and go from there, correct?

Anyone ever stay in a vrbo in London that they loved and was a good deal?

Sounds like a good plan. There are lots of great things to see in London and around. You can also find lots of great affordable day trips on www.walks.com Bath, Stonehenge/Salisbury, Canterbury, Oxford etc.

Just be aware that the olympics start at the end of July in London this year and that will likely impact prices of apartments.

Looking to go somewhere in the July 2/3-July 17/18 Range to avoid olympics. But, I understand I might end up paying a bit more.

In the end, I'm trying total cost below $7,500 including airfare.

$2,500 airfare
$2,000 housing (hoping)
$1,000 food (reasonable?)
$1,000 transportation/day trips (Chunnel to Paris for a day, trip to Bath, Brighton, Stonehenge...)

Any assistance is appreciated.

Check out www.eurostar.com and book your tickets to Paris as early as they become available to get the cheapest price.

Have you thought about a week in London and a week in Paris? You could fly into one and out of the other for probably close o the same price as flying in and out of one place. If you are going to Paris for a day (I personnaly dont think its worth it...) you may as well spend some time there.

If you search London flats (or apartments) and Paris apartments you will find tonnes of info about it.

You've certainly made a wise decision budgetwise. You'll have a much, much better chance of keeping costs under your budget.

I would second jamikins suggestion of flying into London, staying a week, taking the train to Paris, 1 week there, then flying home.

VRBO has a good selection of apartments in Paris. You can crosscheck reviews here or on Slowtrav.com. I only consider apartments with a decent number of reviews and you can ask for references when you contact the owner.

I think those two places are a great way to see Europe for the first time and London strikes me as more expensive than Paris. You might have more flexibility in your budget if you're just there a week.

I'm with those who believe you can do justice to London, Paris and Rome in two weeks. There are many packages (NOT tours) that will provide you with hotels and inter-city transportation; take a look at Costco Travel, for example.

The opening entry in this thread indicated that Mr. & Mrs. JerLon were most excited about visiting London & Rome. Have they changed their minds or have we changed it for them?

A week in each location is a relaxed and excellent 2 week holiday. Why all the talk of Paris when they can easily fly into London, fly to Rome and home from there? I like it very much when we can help people get exactly what they most want, not what we want them to want.

I was the one who changed my mind, well, I think I did.

Although, I am going back and forth.

My biggest obstacle is trying to price housing. And am unsure as to what bullet needs to be "bitten" first. Housing vs Air?

I feel like I could do a week in each (albeit, a bit rushed) and get to see the major sites and feel happy knowing we had our "big Europe trip" prior to having kids.

This is a very persuasive bunch of experienced travelers here and many would like to bend you toward their favorites and consider it a success. I tend to believe that our first thoughts are often our hearts' desire speaking and if London and Rome is that then don't let all this hot air blow you off course.

A week in each of those places, I repeat, would be absolutely excellent and not particularly rushed. As you know already from our first conversation, I'd say so if I thought it was too much.

JerLon - you can have a fabulous time in any location (London, London/Rome, London/Paris) so take your pick

Your biggest expense will be the international flights. Apartments are usually rented Sat - Sat so work with that framework. I would book this as soon as you see a good price. Fly into one city and out of the other to save backtracking.

As for apartments there are tonnes of options for all budgets.
Here are two we loved:

Rome (this one is available) http://www.liveromelikearoman.com/availability.htm the woman speaks excellent English and is very easy to work with.

Paris http://www.slowtrav.com/cl/detail.asp?l=1208 We paid just over €300 for the whole week! Caveat - it is small, and up 6 flights of stairs but we would definitely stay there again. Its in the 11th, so a bit farther out, but close to Republique and we walked to Opera and the river from there!

If you want more details you can click my name or do a search for jamikins or bikerscott and you will find our trip reports on our profiles.

Happy Travels!

After talking it over with the wife for a while, we're back to London and Rome.

London 7/4-7/13
Rome 7/13-7/19

It looks like plane tickets can be had for a total of $2,500 or so.

This keeps me on budget.

I've contacted the Rome apartment from the post above this. Any other suggestions for Rome or London where people have stayed? I much prefer suggestions to reviews as I've been paid in the past to create fake reviews... I know that business.

For London, I've considered trying to priceline bid a hotel in the docklands to see if I can get it for cheap. I've stayed there before and didn't mind the DLR into the city center. However, I wouldn't mind an apartment which might save on food costs. I just am struggling to sort through all of the apartments on vrbo, homeaway.....

I cant help you with London as I live here, but I would really urge you to not stay in the Docklands - there is no London atmosphere there!!!

For affordable hotels try Premier Inn - I would choose any of County Hall (right by Waterloo, Westminster, the London Eye), Southwark (right by London Bridge - my fav area of London), Victoria, Tower Bridge (not my first choice, but not a bad choice): http://www.premierinn.com/ These are very basic hotels, but clean and well priced.

For flights from London to Rome check out www.ba.com if you book in advance I find their prices comparable with the cheap airlines and there is reasonable luggage allowances.

You can also check the budget airlines that are perfectly fine to fly with but watch out for additional charges on check-out when comparing with BA, and they have very restrictive luggage allowances to be aware of that.

www.easyjet.com
www.ryanair.com

Premier Inn is out of my budget on those dates. I need to keep it around $100/night max.

That is why I thought Docklands. Come into the city for the day and head out at night.

I agree that it would take away some of the feel/heart/soul of London but it may make it work in terms of budget.

For those who have been to Rome or Italy. Give me some opinions on Rome vs Venice and the length of time required to hit the mandatory locations in each.

More interested in major landmarks than museums.

JerLon - I recommend getting some guidebooks and seeing what interests you both. What I am interested in may not interest you at all. Visit a book store or library and look at pics and see what grabs you. You dont seem to have an idea of what YOU want to see so settle that first and we can help you with logistics.

Just keep in mind you are adding costs each time you move and Venice accomodations are quite expensive.