Paris/Italy Help Needed
 

I have a dilemma, I am back again trying to book flights using my dividend miles on US Air and of course, flying into Rome is now booked for September since seats are so limited. The only available flights would be to Paris, which is fine, however, I only have one free flight (for me) and my husband is 30,000K away from a free flight on US Air and it's looking like his will not be free!!!! Can anyone offer assistance as to how I can purchase one reasonably priced flight for him to Paris?

Also, I am strapped for time in finding reasonably priced, however, nice hotels while traveling through Italy so I decided to visit an American Express travel agent last week and she quoted me a price for a whopping $4,300 for land only from 9/10-9/23/04. Does this seem normal as I know it is peak season, but come on! I stayed two years ago in Santorini in the most exclusive resort on the island and it wasn't even that much! Thanks for your help.

Try www.airfare.com. I was in the same situation and found a super low rate on 1 ticket flying into paris and out of rome.

Maybe here:
http://www.volareweb.com (low-cost carrier based in Italy, I think they have flights to/from Paris to various Italian cities)
http://www.itasoftware.com (has most major carriers, but usually not low-budget carriers)
http://www.travelocity.com (will get some flights, but not all)

It is possible http://www.ryanair.com and http://www.easyjet.com might help, but I don't recall where they fly to from Paris.

Thanks for reminding me why I distrust travel agent prices!

Also http://www.opodo.com

I suggest you (A) find another Travel Agent or (B) do some web surfing. My one and only experience with a hotel booked by AmEx was expensive and useless. The hotel was a million miles from anyplace.

Without more information on where you are going and what type of accomodations you want, I am not sure anyone can give your great advice.

I monitor airfare using the Travelocity Fare Watcher. Seems fairly reliable.

A very good place to start your search for Italian hotels is on venere.com. They have the largest selection, all over Italy (and quite a lot for Paris, as well!)

You can type in your dates and it will tell you what is avaialable, and at what cost for your total stay. There are also ratings and comments from former guests. You may book on-line through venere, or do a Google search to find the hotel's own website and book directly with them.

You may cross reference hotels that interest you with Rants & Raves and/or your guidebooks, and text search here for "hotelname AND Rome," for example, to find further feedback. Tripadvisor.com also has guest comments for many hotels.

A *little* time and effort on your part will find you much better-located hotels with more character, for less money, than what your travel agent is no doubt proposing.

September is 6 months away--why are you strapped for time in finding hotels in Italy?

Thanks to all of you for your help, I am Splanning to check out the sites this evening. Since availability is of the essence with my airfare, I am looking to fly into Paris now (total change of plans), not sure if you can do Paris in one day! Next, I am thinking we would either go to Lake Como (not sure), or directly to Venice, then onto Florence, next to Rome, after this we will travel to Capri which is where I would like to stay in a hotel that offers spa services (very nice hotel to relax and pamper ourselves), and I am thinking we would then have to fly out of Naples or somehow get back to Paris.

Paris in a day? You jest! After 3 week long visits, there is still much to see. Why even waste time going there, if you are just going to leave in one day. Paris CANNOT be done in one day. You may as well fly straight to Italy, and save Paris for another trip - or vice versa.

blowfish, I used to agree with you, but a another thread today reminded me of something. If you don't have a few days to give to Paris, why not do a single day? People go off to some remote town for a mediocre lunch and see some standard sights in a small town as a day trip from other cities all the time and think nothing of it. Why isn't a day trip to the greatest city in the world with a fantastic lunch and absorbing some spectacular atmosphere justified?

t

Blowfish,

I have one free rt flight and the other will only be $400 for my husband. A direct flight from US Airways will only allow us to fly into Paris not Venice which was my first choice, therefore, I need to make the most of Paris in two days and will do another trip later on in life!!! Anyway, that is the reasoning as the meat of my trip will be in Italy and who could pass up those plane deals..not ME!

Looks like the plane fare is working out for you. I used this forum for hotel suggestions, also venere.com, and the websites for some of the areas I wanted to visit (found our Tuscany place on the San G website, then we never made it into San G as there was so much else to see that we enjoyed) . I'd check out the cheap European fares between Paris and (Venice, Florence and Rome, and then try flying into Venice, picking up a rental car to drive so you can maybe visit Lake Maggiore on your way to Tuscany. Stay someplace just outside of Florence (you won't use a car in Florence, but it's great to have to visit all over Tuscany) and driving back to Rome via Orvietto where you can drop off your car and train into Rome. Then fly from Rome to Paris.

Don't try to pack EVERYTHING in to yor Italy trip, but if you have anywhere near the experience we had, you'll know you will be going back to Italy several times to pick up what you missed (although it's hard not to want to go back to some spots!)

Thanks uhoh_busted. And yes, the plane fare worked out well, I am very excited to find deals! It beat what I thought was a great fare to Santorini last year of $555 from Atlanta. I agree as I felt the same way when I traveled to Australia a few years ago, there was just too much to see in the time you are there. I am certain that we will make Italy a priority to return back to, especially having both of our families from the country, I want to show my children part of their heritage someday! Anyway, thanks again!