Summer Travel order
 

Hello fellow travelers!

My family is hoping to travel to Europe this summer for 3-4 weeks. While there are dozens of cities we would like to visit, I believe we have settled on 3 to be able to really enjoy each of them. My husband and I visited Dublin and London earlier this year and I fell in love with London. That being said, it is on our list again. Partly for myself, but also for my 12 year old daughter who I know would love the history just as much as I did/do. We have also added Paris and Rome. My main questions are - should these cities be visited in a specific order and is 3-4 weeks ample time to really enjoy these 3 cities and their surrounding areas? Also, could we fit in another city - maybe Amsterdam or Berlin?

We have several airports we could fly out of in the US. I would likely choose the cheapest one and travel to the cheapest city first. However, it's looking like a round trip ticket is significantly lower than purchasing two one way tickets. I have researched travel to and from these cities. It looks like the train is the fastest and easiest route from Paris to London and vise versa. What would be the easiest and cost effective way to travel from Rome to London or Rome to Paris, depending on where my flight from the US takes us first.

Thanks for your time!

Don't purchase two one way tickets! Look for open jaw (multi city) tickets into one and out of the last place.

For example, fly into London, take the eurostar to Paris, fly to Rome and then fly home from Rome.

I think 3-4 weeks is an excellent amount of time, you have time to a day trip or two in each place as well.

Consider an open-jaw ticket rather than two one-ways or a round trip. Fly into one city and out of another - most airlines allow this for no or only a little extra cost.

With 4 weeks you could easily add another city, and maybe even some countryside so you don't end up with museum overload. With three weeks you could squeeze in another city - Amsterdam makes the most sense on your routing, or some countryside.

Flying, using a budget airline such as Easyjet, is probably the easiest way to get to, or from Rome.

Hi Stephanie! Is this your daughter's first trip abroad? If so, I would start in London. This would allow her to start her travels in a place that is foreign, but where the language is English...less culture shock that way.

From London you could take the Chunnel train to Paris and spend a week there with a couple of day-trips to break up the city experience.

And then from Paris to Rome you could fly to save time (trains take forever, and since you're in Paris you could take a quick, cheap flight to Rome).

I think 3-4 weeks is plenty of time for exploring these three cities. I would spend a couple more days in the first place you go, just to get over jet lag. So if you start in London, spend 9 days there, then 6 days in Paris, and 6 in Rome (or something to that effect). In each city you could choose a couple of day-trips to see some of the surrounding area.

I did a similar trip with my daughter when she was 15 and I let her pick the day-trips.

If you wanted to add a location, such as Amsterdam, I would increase the length of your trip from 3 weeks to 4.

Great minds think alike!

I also agree with the "Open Jaws" flights. We do that all the time and while it may cost a bit more, it's much more convenient for this type of trip.

Re: open jaws flights. To compare with round trip tickets, add in the cost of getting back to your arrival airport as well as the sightseeing time lost.

What jamikins said: << For example, fly into London, take the eurostar to Paris, fly to Rome and then fly home from Rome. >>

Or reverse this itinerary with Rome first if you want to avoid the heat. But London does make a good intro to Europe for English speakers.

When exactly in the summer are you traveling? I'd go as early as possible. European schools don't get out until July so there's less crowding earlier.

You do not purchase two, one-way tickets.
When you put in your information, look for place to click multi-city or multi-destination.
When figuring out flight costs for RT, be sure to add cost to return to the arrival city plus costs of the last night, etc. sometimes, you might as well cut the trip short by a day and save those costs, rather than save on flights by doing RT. The day would be wasted anyway in travel time lost on that return trip, plus train or plane to backtrack.

Rather than flying about only to major cities (which are great), consider doing nearby areas and small towns (which are also great) of a each country. Spend less time in airports and train stations and more time seeing and experiencing things. Forget more major cities. Many castles and even major cathedrals are in more rural areas. They are generally still easy to reach because of such great public transportation in most of Europe.

Examples:
You spend a lot of money and time to get to Rome. Consider doing more of Italy, including Florence in Tuscany, or Umbria, some of the beautiful hill towns, or one of the coastal areas, or the Lakes or Venice.

In England, why not include Bath (talk about history - the Roman Baths, the connection with US history, Jane Austen, etc.) or the Cotswolds with thatched roofed houses right out of children's story books, etc.?

Paris, daytrip to Versailles or Giverny, or hop a fast train for a few days in Provence or the Alsace.

If you include Amsterdam, make it The Netherlands and see windmills and canals and small towns and cities like Haarlem and Delft that let you step back a few centuries in time.

London to Paris - train, Eurostar

London or Paris to Rome - fly

Other areas of each country - usually train, but maybe rent car for a few days in Southern France or part of Italy.

Wow! Thank you so much for the quick responses!

We will be traveling late summer. I know it is not the best timing (which is why we are allowing extra days in each city), but my daughter swims competitively and the season doesn't end until July 15th. We also need to be back before they start school on August 21st.

Can you book open jaw flights through discounted ticket websites like expedia? When we traveled to London earlier this year we booked through expedia and saved booking flight and hotel but we flew into and out of Hethrow.

We used RyanAir when we flew from London to Dublin and it was so cheap! I couldn't believe it. If only we had those options in the US!

Sassafrass - It's like you're reading my mind! This would be my dream trip. However, my husband will need to work for a lot of these days so we would need to be in a place with wifi. We went to Bath and Stonehenge in April and loved it. We also traveled outside of Dublin and really enjoyed the lifestyle much more than the bustling city.

That being said, this is my kids first time outside of the US - and only my second! We definitely want to see touristy attractions in each city - Eiffel Tower, Vatican, Notre Dame, Westminster Abbey etc. I feel comfortable taking day trips with my kids from London but the other places not quite yet!

Check out the day tours at www.walks.com they use public transit and have excellent guides.

<<Can you book open jaw flights through discounted ticket websites like expedia? When we traveled to London earlier this year we booked through expedia and saved booking flight and hotel but we flew into and out of Hethrow.>>

Use the "multi-city" option. Kayak has it, Expedia has it, Hotwire has it, Priceline has it, they all do. Sheeyoot, even a specific airline's own website (AA.com) will have it.

And you don't need to book ALL your flights at once. You can book USA - LHR for July 20 and Rome - USA on August 10 (examples only) and nothing in between. You'd probably take the Eurostar to Paris and then a cheapo intra-Europe flight to Rome.

Going to places near cities is easy. If you were comfortable doing it in England, it will be no problem anyplace else. Sometimes, it is even easier. Trains run city center to city center in most places. They are clean, fast, cheap, comfortable. Do one and you will feel fine.
For example, Versailles is practically in Paris, only about 25 minutes by local train/metro. You arrive in a sweet little town with a tiny, charming center, a lovely market and good food. Five minute walk and there you are at the chateau, lovely grounds for walking. Rent a little boat for rowing and your kids are royalty for an afternoon.
Florence is about 90 minutes from Rome, and you arrive dead center of Florence, which has a small, walkable city center. Walk and shop on Ponte Vecchio, see David, the Duomo and Santa Croce. Nice day.

Trains and trams from Amsterdam to charming places like Haarlem are the same. Look for a few at least. Google images of Haarlem - so beautiful!

As to your husband's work, I have not been to anyplace in Europe (even small villages and towns) in years that did not have wifi. Just double check first, but I can't see it being a problem.

cost effective way to travel from Rome to London or Rome to Paris, depending on where my flight from the US takes us first.>

Flying.

but from Paris you also have an overnight train to Milan and Venice- neat experience for kid and yous -get a private compartment and bring all the food and drink you want aboard -save daylight travel time even over flying and the cost of a night in a hotel.

For lots on night trains check www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com.

For cheap flights -www.skyscanner.com and www.whichbudget.com can help locate such flights which may be from secondary airports like Beauvais near Paris for East Jet or Charleroi in Belgium near Brussels.

>>> I would likely choose the cheapest one and travel to the cheapWe have several airports we could fly out of in the US. I would likely choose the cheapest one and travel to the cheapest city first.

If you look only at 1. cheapest flight and 2. travel to cheapest city, it can backfire on you.

Many people do this and end up with dysfunctional results. If it is your desire to control the overall cost, look at the OVERALL cost impact of each of the action that impacts the trip as a whole. Even if you save on these two areas, if it forces you to take more expensive options in areas you are not paying attention now, you are losing overall. You might also get less results if you are giving up time on the ground to achieve the savings in these areas. Many people don't realized that they have saved money, but unknowingly ended up with smaller scale trip.

The airfare is market driven. When in summer you travel makes difference as well as the day of the week you leave and return. Also the destination airports also matter. Even though you mention Rome as the only city in Italy, if our destination involve Northern Italy, Milan is also an option. Depending on where you are starting, Milan can offer significant savings over Rome or Venice.

Don't rely on any one rule of the thumb. Market based pricing means you have to run a lot of what ifs (with multi-city search) playing with 1. departure/return time frame during several summer options 2. departure/return day of the week 3. where you are flying into Europe and returning. Match this with accommodation availability and market based pricing of accommodations. Even if you have to pay little more on flight, but if that schedule allows you to book lower priced accommodations, you can come out ahead OVERALL. If traveling on trains, high speed trains come with market based pricing. If you HAVE to travel during the peak hours or day, it is harder to get a discount in this area also.

Mid June flights out of U.S. are premium priced to snag U.S. families who can only travel at this time. August accommodation prices are meant to maximum revenue from Europeans plus others who typically travel at this time.

Also, why does first city have to be cheap? How about the last city? How about the sequence that gives you the lowest OVERALL cost?

I would fly to Rome first. It will be hot, but only get hotter in August. Once you decide your cities, look at budget flights from Rome to London, Paris or Amsterdam. Fly home from London, Paris or Amsterdam.

Fly to Rome (5-6 nights)
Fly Easyjet from Rome to Paris Orly (5-6 nights)
Train to London (5-6 nights)
Train to Amsterdam (5-6 nights)
Fly home from Amsterdam

Fly to Rome (5-6 nights)
Fly Easyjet from Rome to Paris Orly (5-6 nights)
Train to London (5-6 nights)
Train to Amsterdam (5-6 nights)
Fly home from Amsterdam

that is doing trains to London as two one ways as I think cheaper return tickets must be to and from say Paris- not mixed with say Brussels -not sure of that.

I'd maybe fly into Rome
fly to Paris
Train to Amsterdam
Train to London
fly out of London.

I so appreciate all the help! I found some pretty good plane tickets, I think. $680 for Austin to London and then 3 weeks later Rome to Austin. I took the advice to visit London first since it was English speaking and would be an easier transition for my kids. We will then travel to Paris and on to Rome.

My husband was thinking of looking into a train from Paris to Rome via Munich and then Venice since we have some time. We would really like to see some of the country and definitely the Alps. My daughter is requesting gondola rides and lots of bridges so we will hopefully find a good route to Rome through there.

I'm also very interested in a steam train from London to Scotland. We would like to see the English country side and some Scottish castles. Probably only about 2 days spend total doing that. Any ideas?