ekhayes

I’m planning a 2 week trip to London and Paris in June with a 9 year old. A couple questions

1. Would you fly Into London or Paris first? And would you fly out of that same city you flew in or out of the one you end up in?

2. We are planning to do a day or 2 at Disneyland Paris. Are the hotels around the Disney park close to other attractions we might want to See? I’m debating on if we should move hotels after going to Disneyland.

thanks!

janisj

>>1. Would you fly Into London or Paris first? And would you fly out of that same city you flew in or out of the one you end up in?<<

Fly into which ever one gets you the best fare and schedule. Fly home from the other. In general - but not always -- it will be cheaper to fly in to London and home from Paris because the departure taxes and fees are higher out of the UK. In that case, the trip would look like Home to LHR, Eurostar train London to Paris, fly home from CDG.

>>2. We are planning to do a day or 2 at Disneyland Paris. Are the hotels around the Disney park close to other attractions we might want to See? I’m debating on if we should move hotels after going to Disneyland.<<

You probably only need one full day at DL Paris -- I would not move hotels for one day. It is very easy to reach DL from central Paris via the RER.

ekhayes

Thank you! Do you recommend a hotel in Paris (good location, good for kids)

janisj

What is your budget?

ekhayes

Around 400 per night

WillTravel

The one reason I might fly into Paris first is that the weather could start getting hot and sticky the later in June you go, so if you do Paris first, that reduces the odds of that being an issue.

WillTravel

As for the hotel choice, prices can vary significantly depending exactly when you go. With a child, you might want to look at an option like Citadines or Adagio to get a suite hotel.

ekhayes

Thank you! Do you know how far by train it is from the Disneyland properties to Paris center? I’m wondering if I should stay at a Disneyland property now

janisj

>>Around 400 per night<<

400 what? US$, AUS $, Can$, £, €, or something else

I personally don't think on a 2 week trip it makes any difference weather wise -- it can be warmer (or colder) in early June or in late June.

And a heat wave in London can be just as uncomfortable as one in Paris.

janisj

>>Thank you! Do you know how far by train it is from the Disneyland properties to Paris center? I’m wondering if I should stay at a Disneyland property now<<

The RER is direct, easy and takes about 35 or 40 minutes. The station is right at the entrance to the Park. Much easier than packing and moving hotels . . .

ekhayes

That’s what I’m thinking too, thanks for your help.

greg

>>> Would you fly Into London or Paris first?
>>>And would you fly out of that same city you flew in or out of the one you end up in?

In addition to TOTAL cost and flight schedule consider your outbound departure time, layover implication if any, arrival time implication, return trip departure consideration, layover, and home arrival implications. If you arrive super early in the morning, think about what you are going to do until you can check-in. If you are using a hotel, you can leave your luggage at front. If you are using a rental, you would likely to need a different strategy.

You have four scenarios:
1. fly into London, Paris (by train), London(by train), fly home from London
2. fly into Paris, London (by train), Paris (by train), fly home from Paris
3. fly into London, Paris (by train),fly home from Paris
4. fly into Paris, London (by train), fly home from London

The first two options only makes sense if you have a lot of time and the airfares are breathtakingly cheaper than the last two options.

Then for each option, look at:
- What accommodations are available. Most accommodations these days use market based pricing. Availability also change depending on which days your are staying. If you stay in city when something major is going on, you will pay the price for being there at that time. You don't need to know what is happening. If you probe accommodation availability and prices, they reflect the demand situation over those dates. Business hotels may offer lower prices on weekends while leisure hotels are the opposite. If you look at hotels around Disneyland, for example, they usually charge more on weekends.
- Venues have closed days, special event days, and busy days. If you are visiting reservation required places, it can make a difference which city order you end up using.

WillTravel

It can possibly be just as uncomfortable, but statistically, a Paris heat wave in June is more likely than a London one, and statistically it's more likely later in June than earlier.

janisj

And you know what statistics get you

PalenQ

Book those Eurostar trains London to Paris or v.v. as far in advance as is possible to get deep discounts over full fare - www.eurostar.com to book own tickets.

kerouac

Considering the hotel budget, I'm quite sure that the OP can afford first class tickets on the Eurostar at full fare.

Southam

The most efficient strategy for trans-Atlantic flights is to fly into one gateway city and home from another. The price is often about the same as a simple round trip and you save the time and cost of returning to your arrival city. Use a multi-destination search function so the flights are on one itinerary; these are not sets of one-way tickets.

StantonHyde

If you click on my user name, you will see my trip report for London with tweens/teens. My kids loved it. DS was not impressed with the Natural History Museum, unfortunately.

ekhayes

Thank you!

ekhayes

OH I didn't realize you knew me so well