sunnypm

Interested in seeing the Louvre, opera...2 days in Paris? Reasonable/quaint place to stay, then a reasonable way/transport to move on to Stocklholm and high coast to meet newly found relatives there. Best weather/economical time of the year? Or, we could do Sweden first, then Paris. Thanks for any help!
With fiancee and my 21 yr old son...this would be our first trip overseas from midwest U.S.

laurie_ann

Between Paris and Stockholm there are flights on budget airlines Ryan Air (non stop) and Air Berlin (one stop in Vienna). But note that European budget airlines sometimes use out of the way airports and have additional luggage restrictions or other fees that might make a "cheap" fare not so cheap in the end. But with such a distance between Paris and Sweden would think that flight is probably what you need. Depending on where you are flight from consider an "open jaw" flight so that your flight out is USA-Paris and your flight back is Stockholm-USA. These are not typically more than a round trip to either location. Then you could book a one-way on a budget airline in between.

Enjoy planning your trip!

kerouac

Some Swedish low cost carriers use Paris-Beauvais airport.

bardo1

The most economical time to go would be before March 31.

That is when airline prices go way up (often doubling the first week in April).

Weather will be cold but not terrible - low to mid 30's F in Sweden and in the upper 40's in Paris. Nothing a good jacket won't fix.


I don't know how long the total trip is (how long is it?), but 2 days in Paris is VERY short. I would try for at least 3 nights in Paris. There are countless suggestions for inexpensive places to stay in Paris - here is a good resource for good, cheap (by Paris standars) hotels.

http://www.eurocheapo.com/paris/hoods/near-louvre.html
http://www.eurocheapo.com/paris/hood...n-quarter.html
http://www.eurocheapo.com/paris/hoods/marais.html

You will want to be close to the river for esasy access to the tourist sights on your short visit.

You should look into flying "open jaw" - that is from US to paris and then from Sweden back to US.

Where in the midwest are you coming from?

Michael

Last summer I used an open jaw ticket landing in Paris and leaving from Stockholm. Even with a cheap airline the price of a Stockholm-Paris flight would have eliminated any potential savings for using Paris as the arrival and departure point.

travelgourmet

Anything other than flying is silly, so count on flying between Paris and Sweden.

If you must save money, then obviously the winter will be cheaper. Myself, I would much prefer June. July would be nice too, but that is vacation time in Sweden so prices are probably higher. August would see Paris on vacation and it might be a bit too hot in Paris anyway.

sunnypm

Thanks for all the replies. The open jaw flights sound best, and we may stay longer in Paris too. We're in Ohio, but also checking flights out of Chicago, NYC, and D.C. I'm thinking last two weeks of June or first two weeks of September.

pal440fcv

Just adding my two cents as far as costs go. Airfares will definitely be higher in June than in March. Hotels in France are generally cheaper before March 31, but hotels in Sweden are actually cheaper in the summer months than winter, so it can be a toss up. For weather, June or July is definitely the best choice, and remember that the days are very long in Sweden in June (Sun "rises" around 3 AM and "sets" about 10:30 at Stockholm's latitude, longer sunshine in Lapland, so if you are able, you can cram a lot into a day.) Check the internet for hotel rates in Sweden. There are likely to be special summer rate deals. Scandic Hotels, for one, usually offers special summer rates for hotel bookings before March 31 or so. My family had good experiences with Scandic in 2008.

sunnypm

Thanks again,
and we've decided on mid-June, Paris first. We're looking for apartments for the week now in Paris. Then we will be staying with family on the high coast of Sweden, where my newly found cousin says, "The sun lasts forever at that time!" We are still totally flexible on what days of the week to fly, so checking that too.

bardo1

sunny,

Here is a US based agency I (and many other Fodorites) have used and been very pleased with.

They mail you key to you in the the US before you leave - a very nice feature. Each apt. is very well and acurately described, including the exact location on a map. Again, try for something close to the river and/or islands - worth the extra $10 or so per night.

http://www.vacationinparis.com/

mpprh

Just to say ..........

Ryanair use Skavska which is actually Nykoping - so not bad for South of Stockholm. They also use Vasteras which is a fair way inland from Stockholm.Others use Arlanda which is almost as far North of Stockholm as Nykoping is South. Bromma is best for central Stockholm but I think it only takes domestic STOL planes.

If you find you need Goteborg, Ryanair use the old city airport which is closer to the centre than Landvetter.





Peter

sunnypm

Thanks bardo1,
we went with your suggestion...
Now we have airline tickets held, leaving Pittsburgh nonstop to Paris, then to Stockholm nonstop, and finally from Stockholm, with layover at JFK back to Pittsburgh. Should we take the plunge or hold out for better price later? With tax and fees it's $1200.00 per ticket. Trip in middle of June. The itenenary times are excellent, anyone care to guess?

travelgourmet

Does the $1200 include the Paris-Stockholm flight? If so, then I think this price is okay, as this route doesn't see much LCC competition. Yeah, Ryanair flies the route, but they pretty much suck and they fly from Beauvais, which isn't really close to Paris at all.

Unfortunately, there are only a couple of other airlines that fly the route and Air France does not (IME) offer competitive one-way fares, so you are stuck paying whatever SAS wants to charge you, or connecting, which is just too much hassle.

All in all, given the need to get from Paris to Stockholm, and the timing, I'd be moderately surprised if the total cost of this trip dropped much below $1000. And even if it did, there is no guarantee that it would be with such a good schedule.

sunnypm

Thanks travelgourmet,
Airfare does include the flight to Stockholm from Paris on Air France. We'll be staying 5 nights in an apartment on the Ile Saint Louis, and used the U.S. based agency that bardo1 suggested. After leaving Paris, we'll arrive in Stockholm just after noon, giving us plenty of daylight driving to make it to Ullånger, then back to Stockholm for our return trip.

Sunny

bardo1

I think your airline price is pretty good. Mid-June is expensive.

annhig

of course, sunny, you can hang out for a cheaper flight. but what if it suddenly goes up?

as it includes the paris -stockholm route, that doesn't sound too bad.

well done for taking the excellent advice profferred here. 5 days in Paris is MUCH better than 2. have a great trip.

sunnypm

Thanks again to all!

We booked the airline tickets, no looking back! Enjoying the journey of life until we arrive.

Sunny

annhig

sunny - have a great trip.

sunnypm

Our trip is getting close, we're pretty well all set except a rental car in Stockholm. Any suggestions there? What insurance should we or need we take. Three adults from Arlanda airport to Ullanger about 5hrs, and back, with some sight seeing in between.

sunnypm

haven't heard about this issue, but I'm posting an interesting link about rental cars in Europe here, and on a new link.
http://www.gemut.com/Carrentalspecialreport7.pdf