Shane

Hi; <BR>Part I. <BR>I am planning a trip to Scotland and Paris for 12 days in July. Here is our itenerary for you to help with filling in the blanks. We also plan on renting a car for a week in Scotland. We arrive early on July 12 in Glasgow, pick up the car, and drive to Edinburgh. I thought we would stay for a couple of days before driving up to Aberdeen for a night. Then, we would continue on to Inverness for a night, then Fort William for a night, then Oban, and then to Glasgow for the last day or two. I believe these places are roughly a 2 hour drive apart which would be fine (as long as it isn't a whole lot further than that). Now, I would appreciate suggestions about the drive (too long? too much?), accomodations (hostels or B&B's for 2), and activities (castles, Highlands, walking tours, museums, etc.). <BR>PartII. <BR>We have 2 options for a flight to Paris with Ryanair. One is to leave on July 18 and arrive in Paris at 10:00 pm. The other is to leave on July 19 from Prestwick at 7:20 am. Which option would be better? We need a place to stay in Paris if we leave on the 18th at night. Any suggestions? <BR>Part III. <BR>Finally, we need some suggestions for accomodations in Paris. Again, hostels and B&B's will be fine for 2 people. We do not plan on renting a car but using public transportation so a more cental location would be preferred. Is a day trip to Normandy feasible? Our flight leaves for home from Charles de Gaulle on July 23 at 11:00 if that helps regarding accomodation. <BR>Thanks in advance, I know there are a lot of questions. I appreciate it!!

elaine

Hi Shane <BR>Here are some websites for hostels in Paris <BR>hostels: <BR>www.mije.com <BR>www.hostels.com/fr.html. <BR>www.eurotrip.com/hostels/France.html <BR> <BR>organizations like www.parisvision.com and www.cityrama.com offer one-day bus tours to Normandie, if you don't want to drive on your own. <BR>If you want any information on Paris sightseeing, email me. <BR>

Sheila

Shane <BR> <BR>On the Scottish bit, unless you want to see a lot of the countryside between the cities,(which could be well worth doing) I suggest you dfer your acquisition of the car until you leave Inverness. Glasgow is 40 minutes from Edinburgh on the train. Aberdeen is 2 1/2 hours from Edinburgh and Inverness 2 hours from Aberdeen. By car it's about 1 hour, then 2 1/2 hours, then 2 1/2 hours respectively. They are by our standards man roads and should not casue you any difficulty. <BR> <BR>But you can't get from Inverness to Fort William by train, nor from Fort William direct to Oban.

Shane

Hi Sheila; <BR>Would you be able to tell me how much the train is or a web page where I could find out? If the costs are comparable that might be a good option as well. Thanks.

elvira

Re the trip to Paris: take the early flight. There's nothing worse than arriving at an airport at night, shuffling through customs/immigrations, getting luggage, finding transportation, then another hour into the city - you wouldn't be in your room until after midnight. <BR> <BR>What is your budget for a hotel? That would help with recommendations. <BR> <BR>A day trip to Normandy is possible; there are bus tours from Paris, but I think you'd have just as good luck taking the train to Bayeux and hooking up with a local bus trip (someone said they found one at the hotel across from the train station; if it's the same one I took a few years ago, it's very good and a lot less expensive than the Cityrama/Parisvision tours). With just a few days in Paris, I would recommend you stay in and around Paris; there's so much to see that you'll be glad you saved the Normandy trip for another time. <BR>

Diane

When in Scotland, our splurge is to stay at an Inn named Glen Moriston Arms in Invermoriston which is located near the south end of Loch Ness, so my recommendation would be stay there rather than Inverness. <BR> <BR>The rooms are lovely and the food always good. The owners are quite friendly and it always a special place for us. Call them and they will send a brochure. <BR> <BR>Enjoy the scenery - it is incredible. Get a good map and adventure on some small roads. I could drive endlessly there. I have been there on 4 trips now, with the 5th planned for August, still looking forward to the scenery and kind people. <BR>

frank

Your itinerary sounds fine, stay flexible in case of bad weather. <BR>Glasgow airport is about 15 mins drive from Glasgow city centre,the motorway goes straight through it on the way to Edinburgh.Sheila's point about driving is right - additionally do you really want to drive jetlagged? <BR>(use melatonin it works!) <BR>If you want the train,a shuttle bus leaves every 10 mins from the airport to Paisley Gilmour St. station,10-15 mins to Glasgow Central,5 mins walk to Queen St. station for fast train to Edinburgh.(don't be fooled by the slow train from Central.) <BR>In Oban, sea trips are popular,it's still a fishing port for small boats,the harbour is interesting,the Lorne Hotel is cheap,if you get locked out of your room the keys are in the linen cupboard at the end of the landing(ahem),there are hostels in the vicinity. <BR>B&B is a good option - look out for signs outside farms & houses,July is busy but you should be OK,if you don't wait too till late in the day. <BR>Download some B&B addresses before you go in case you get caught out at: <BR>http://www.b-and-b-scotland.co.uk/ <BR>http://www.bed-breakfast-uk.com/ <BR>http://www.uk-expo.com/bnb/ <BR> <BR>but booking "blind" is to avoided - it's great if you see a place you like & can find a spot nearby.Look for caravans (trailers) & chalets to let. <BR>The Oban tourist office has a good accom. guide. <BR>There are many hotels & guesthouses there, it fairly bustling. <BR>The sealife centre (north of Oban across the Corran bridge) is worth a visit.Walks at http://www.walkscotland.com/ <BR>Bring waterproof boots!Even if it's sunny the peat is often boggy. <BR>If you take the longer coastal road to Glasgow you will find the ancient sites <BR>at Kilmartin (standing stones,the ruined fort at Dunadd where kings were crowned)well worth visiting.A mile later at Cairnbaan there is a lovely canalside walk to Crinan(lunch?). <BR>The short route takes you through Ballachulish (for a lochside lunch divert north a few miles across the bridge here to Onich - Onich hotel)Glencoe (visitor centre) & Rannoch Moor (beloved of walkers - take care, this is high country,a sudden change in weather can be scary) & Loch Lomond. <BR> <BR>All roads to Glasgow from the highlands will be very busy on Sat/Sun/Mon evenings (jams) - drive to Dunoon & get the ferry to Greenock to avoid this.(about £15).If you have time,the Younger botanical gardens (3 miles before Dunoon at Benmore) has a spectacular arboretum. <BR> <BR>In Glasgow,walk round the city centre,visit the museum of Modern Art,(Queen St. near George Square,free),then take the Underground to Kelvinbrdge,walk to the top of Kelvingrove park (lovely old Victotian park,views of Glasgow Uni. etc)visit the Kelvin Art Gallery (free). <BR>Pollok House (see how the other half lived) beside the Burrell Gallery(amazing,free) in the southside is interesting.(bus or train)Ask the red-uniformed tourist guides in the city centre (Buchanan St.)if you need advice/directions.Buchanan Street for shopping. <BR>Reconsider Inverness if you are short of time. <BR>The train from Glasgow (Central Station) to Prestwick is very fast, but there aren't many (any?)trains that early-checkin for international flights is usually 2 hours before departure. <BR>Ryanair is by far the cheapest flight to Paris but they are a wee bit more likely to "bump" you - Ok if you arrive early to check in, this may influence which flight you take. <BR>Ryanair don't allocate seat numbers, should be fun!(they are OK,just arrive in plenty of time) <BR>This site is a wonder :accom,itineraries,walks- <BR>http://www.scotland-inverness.co.uk/scotland.htm <BR> <BR>

Sheila

I don't know but Ben Haines will. I'll e-mail him for you

frank

Buses are half the price of trains.

Sheila

Buses are scary! You might have to get on one owned by that Brain Soutar. <BR> <BR>I tried to e-mail you this evening Frank, but it bounced. Care to share your real cyber-address?

Shane

Thanks, everyone. I'm checking into taking the train from Glasgow to Edinburgh but I haven't found out too much yet regarding prices. Does anyone know the answer. Ryanair seems to be the only option that I can find with a cheap flight from Glasgow to Paris. I have checked others but they either don't go to one of the two cities or it is much more expensive. It sounds like I might have a little trouble either on July 18th in Paris or in the early morning of the 19th getting to the airport. Any suggestions to avoid this? One last thing; if the British Open is in St. Andrews this year, where is the course? I imagine it would be wise to avoid that area of Scotland (if possible).

Sheila

St Andrews is in Fife, north east of Edinburgh, in a wee corner on its own. in terms of what we have discussed the only place you might encounter Open traffic is crossing the Forth Bridge. If you go by train this will not be an issue at all.

frank

Glasgow-Edinburgh train is a 40 minute hop, won't cost much.

Ben Haines

Fodors <BR> <BR>Fares in Britain are on http://www.thetrainline.com. <BR> <BR>I don't know whether that site carries railcards:I expect it does. But in any case rail enquires on 0044 345 48 49 50 said you'll be best on a Freedom of Scotland card. <BR>4 days out of 8 is 69 pounds <BR>8 days out of 15 is 89 pounds <BR>12 days out of 15 is 99 pounds. <BR>Yoiu buy one at any large statioin in Britain. You may need a passport photo. <BR> <BR>If the site and phoine number don't help you further,please write again. Welcome to Britain <BR> <BR>Inverness to Fort William, and Fort William to Oban, are bus journeys. <BR>Leave Inverness Mondays to Saturdayus 0915, 1115, 1515 and 1715: two hours to Fort Willam. Leave F W on Mondays to Saturdays 1120 or 1820, and on undays (even) at 1520: 91 nminutes to Oban. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines, London <BR> <BR>Ms Ritchie: I take this sort of thing from 0345 48 49 50, who are good. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

Tony Hughes

Sheila, Soutar is one of your coalition compadres, isn't he??????

Sheila

Not mine, Tony, but I did go to school with him.