klf

My first trip to Paris in 1999 was with a tour group. This time I am doing it myself. I am planning a trip to Paris at the end of May and will be taking my 2 teenage children. My budget is around $1,000 per person, including airfare. Does anyone have any ideas (websites) of where to get flight + hotel deals in this price range? Also, what is the best method to get to the hotel from the airport? By metro? I have never used the metro before. Any advice appreciated.

CAPH52

How long are you planning to stay? $1000 per person, including airfare, may be hard to do if you're planning to stay for any length of time.

My daughter and I are planning to go for a long weekend in late March/early April when I visit her during her internship in Ireland. I've been reading up because budget is definitely a huge concern for us too. Today I picked up a copy of Frommer's "Paris on $95 a Day". Judging by what I've read so far, I'd highly recommend it.

I feel very lucky to have gotten an airfare from O'Hare to Dublin of $401. I don't know where you're flying from, but in May, I suspect your airfares will be more. So that's really going to eat into your budget of $1000 per person. Are you including only airfare and hotel in that? Or is that including meals, etc.?

klf

Thanks for the advice. I am travelling from Cincinnati (CVG) and the $1000 budget is only for hotel and air. I am wanting to fly out the last full week of May and stay for 5-6 nights.

janisj

Where are you flying from? Makes a big difference re airfares.

And how many days will you be in Paris? Makes a big differnce re hotel costs.

janisj

Oh - we were posting at the same time.

From the midwest in May you may end up paying close to $800/$900 just for your airfare.

Kealoha

Although May is traditionally considered a shoulder month, therefore lower airfares, I've noticed that in the last few years airfares around April-May have began to climb up. You may have a hard time finding fare and hotel at this price especially since the US dollar has been weak against the euro.

For our tickets to Europe this May, the cheapest site I found was www.flycheapabroad.com.

where2

I used to live in Cincinnati and I still fly to there from London a lot. Delta generally makes the CVG flights more expensive than they are in other parts of the country. I just paid $900 for London to CVG for mid April - and that was only by being flexible. Most tickets were in the neighborhood of $1100. You may want to check Dayton, Columbus, Louisville. . .but you won't get a direct flight. Direct flights matter to me because I travel alone with my children who are 2 and 4. They MAY not matter so much to you, but with only 5 or 6 days it can make a difference.

For lodging in Paris you may want to look into an apartment. We have never rented an apartment but if you do a search I am sure you can find some nice ones for much less than a hotel.

nona1

For a very cheap hotel/hostel triple room for 5-6 nights you need to budget from about $700.

nona1

I'm a bit concerned about you overall budget too then, how much were you planning on bringing for food/travel/siteseeing?

ira

Hi K,

Check www.kayak.com and www.orbitz.com for airfares.

I don't thin that you will find fares under $800 pp.

The Picpus hotel is not centrally located, but it is convenient to metro stops, and has been recommended by other posters.

A triple is about 65E/nite.

www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75012lux.htm

risab

Last year I got good rates for a trip to Paris through 1-800-fly-europe. They were very professional and easy to work with. We flew American Airlines (although I prefer Delta because I have FFlyer Miles through them)...We stayed at the Hotel Jeanne d'Arc in the Marais- it was my husband and I and teenage daughter in one triple room.
We would have preferred to have two rooms or an apartment but we tried to do this trip on a budget level, too. It is a great hotel in an excellent location but it books up several months in advance. You might also want to look into renting an apartment which may be less expensive in the long run...and you can make your own meals to cut some of the costs - especially breakfasts. We are going to Rome next month and renting an apartment (two adults and two teens) - it is much cheaper than a hotel room in Rome. There are a lot of recommendations on this website for apartments in Paris. Also, I have always found that I could do better booking my trip independently than with a company...
check out www.eurocheapo.com/paris/hoods
www.venere.com
www.vrbo.com for apartments
We cabbed it to Paris both times we went because we were too tired to deal with pulling luggage and trains. Most cabs take credit cards and it is easy but there are also shuttle busses, too.
Good luck

Zeus

You might want to consider requesting your hotels through Priceline.com. I think you might be able to get a pretty nice hotel room for around $100 a night. By going with Priceline which usually offers bigger hotel chains as opposed to the smaller, more quaint local places, you might even be able to get the three of you in the same room if you'd like. That could save you beaucoups bucks. Check out www.biddingfortravel.com to get an idea of what to bid and the hotels offered.

I hesitate in suggesting Priceline.com for your air since I've never used them. I get the impression that you might get some pretty lousy connections using them plus you don't get to chose the exact date of travel.

janisj

re Zeus' suggestion: unfortunately priceline really isn't an option in your situation. The rooms you get on PL are doubles and you need a triple (or you could bid on 2 rooms but would negate your savings)

Christina

I don't think you are going to be able to do that in your budget. Priceline won't work, as noted, because you have three people, and they are basically three adults. No hotel that books you a double is going to allow you to stay in that room with three adults.

I can think of several cheap packagers but I checked and most can't touch the price you want -- like www.go-today.com. I think the best they come up with is around $1200 per person, but that is based on double occupancy, so who knows if they could work it out for triple occupancy. It was also from Chicago or somewhere, as they don't like Cincinnati. I think www.francevacations.net has slightly better prices, they offer Paris end of May for around $1100 total from Cincinnati in the cheapest hotel they offer, but you'd have to check how that would work for triple occupancy. When you check such prices, be sure to find the final bottom line, as they usually start out quotes without taxes, etc., and those usually add on a couple hundred.

I also checked the discounter 1800flyeurope and the cheapest flight alone from Cincinnati end of May is around $950 total with taxes on their site. Maybe you can play around with the exact dates you want and get something a little cheaper, but I would guess that for the hotel, you should add on about $50 a person per day to your budget for the hotel (a very cheap one), on top of the air fare to guess what this may cost at the cheapest.

Tim_and_Liz

Also check www.flycheapabroad.com

We saved over $250pp...

Images2

We also live in Cincinnati and fly to Paris every year on either Delta or AirFrance. We are medallion on Delta. This is the first year I could find no decent airfare to Paris on Delta. We ended up buying tickets on United when they had a special from CVG via Washington Dulles. The fare I have for mid February is $424. I've noticed that United had another special last week for all times of the year and CVG was included. Check kayak.com every day looking for possibilites.

It's about 8.50€ to take the RER into Paris per person. It's easy to do, but you'll need to buy your tickets at the ticket counter inside the airport once you arrive. There may be a long line, but it moves quickly. U.S. credit cards don't work in the machines where others can buy tickets.

Last year I found cheap hotel rooms on Hotwire. You can look at your dates, but this years prices also look higher. You don't know what hotel you'll end up with, but our's was just fine last year. Rick Steve's book on Paris has alot of hotel ideas in it and some are affordable

There are alot of outdoor markets in Paris so you can eat cheaply if you shop in these.

For the metro, you can get a moblis transportaion ticket for 5.50€ per day or so, good on the metro or buses, unlimited. If you are there a week you can get a Carte Orange which is even a better buy, but begins on Monday. Check www.ratp.fr for your choices.

Have a wonderful time!

Robespierre

p.s. Even if you have cash for the ticket machines, you have to buy your first Carte Orange from a clerk, because besides the ticket you have to have an ID card (you provide a 1" square photo) which they put together at the window.

<i>Bon voyage!</i>

WillTravel

If at least one of the children is under 16, it's possible you can get a triple room with Mercure or Novotel, but it will likely be 100 Euros or more per night.

Hotwire is also a possibility, because you can enter one adult and two children in the search form.

Also take a look at Holiday Inn possibilities, because they typically allow free children as well.

A triple room in a hostel is also a possibility - like Le Village -
www.villagehostel.fr

Like everyone else, I'm concerned that your budget isn't enough for airfare + hotel.

ninasdream

Hi Klf,
I put together a trip to Paris in 2004 using the hotel search function here, after taking a tour the previous year. You can read traveler reviews, correspond with the hotels &amp; make reservations in English via email. not sure if these small hotels have rooms with 2 double beds, (&amp; their bed categories are different than in the States. For apartments or private people renting a place, they had very strict cancellation policies, and payment arrangements not very favorable to me, so if you decide on an apartment, use the great resources at the BB to find a service people like. FYI In 2004 I paid $670 roundtrip JFK to CDG, April/Easter week. I just sat up all night bidding on cheaptickets .com..My experience was good. My 1st airfare bid was accepted, but then unavailable, they refunded the charge to my credit card in less than 24 hours. On arrival I used the AIr France shuttle, you don't have to be an AF passenger.(14E in 04). The metro is great, but maybe not with luggage. You can find a shuttle or cab. Buy a 10-pack of metro tickets, tho. $1000 sound a little tight, considering airfare, though. Hope this helps.

julies

I think you will be better off looking for an inexpensive apartment for the 3 of you. This will keep your food budget down and perhaps you can then spend some of that restaurant money on airfare or apartment rental. We are budget travellers who rented an apartment in Paris last March for 11 days and ate out very few times. It was so nice to have juice etc in the fridge and then just run down to the boulangerie each morning for bread and croissants. The local markets and/or charcuterie will also supply you with plenty of good but inexpensive foods you can warm up in the apartment. Personally, I think you and 2 teenagers are going to be at each others throats in the size hotel room you will be able to rent at your budget level.
Also, if you can play around with your dates and aren't locked into having to go exact dates, you will more likely be able to find the airfares you are looking for. If you look at www.zuji.com you can see which dates are available for cheaper fares. then just go to another site to book.