flygirl

Hi

could some of you remind me of various vacation packages you may have used which were basically air and car, or air and hotel for a few days? I know about go-today, and go-ahead (which I think is only full package). I am not interested in a bus tour or one with an itinerary, I just want to check out some that get you there and give you a car or a hotel in Paris for a few nights, etc.

any others you have used successfully? I am thinking France right now, although Italy springs to mind too.

thanks!

rex

I think autoeurope has some. And there is also untours.com - - though they are almost never in <i>hotels</i> per se, are they?

Best wishes,

Rex

ira

Hi fly,

If all you are looking for is air fare and hotels, see what the airlines (AF, BA, Delta, etc) are offering. Also do packages at Expedia.

I also compare the package rate to what it costs to do it on my own. I haven't yet found a package that was a bargain.

Lesli

I haven't ended up booking any packages, but usually do check them out for rates before making my own arrangements.

British Airways (www.britishairways.com) and Virgin are worth a look, particularly for London.

www.offpeaktraveler.com is often mentioned favorably on Frommers and seems to have expanded its offerings.

www.francevacations.net
www.frenchexperience.com
www.gate1travel.com

Marsha

I have used Northwest Vacations for trips to Paris, Munich and Hawaii. Overall, I have been very happy with the hotels and car rentals. There are also &quot;add-ons&quot;, such as day trips etc. As far as the airfare, you may get a fair deal, especially during off-season. My only complaint recently with Northwest was that I could not upgrade on my flight to London. (They apparently don't upgrade with certain package deals.)

rach

flygirl:
www.untours.com gets you a two-week vacation apartment rental and a train or metro pass. If that length of stay is not too long for you, and you'd like to 'live like a local' check out their website.

ellenem

I've used the independent packages offered by Alitalia's company, Italiatour, as well as other companies that no longer exist. The key point seems to be hotel choice. For example, in Rome, Italiatour's cheapest hotels were ourside the center. It was a good idea to choose one or two prices up for a better location. Since Florence and Venice are much smaller, the cheaper hotels had less good locations, but not far from the center. Get the addresses of the hotels offered and check maps.

ThinGorjus

www.affordablepoland.com
www.generaltours.com

Last week, gotoday.com was offering 6 nights in Paris including air. It was not a tour, just air and hotel.

WillTravel

Priceline has various such packages (you can choose your hotel with the package).