Europe trip

[ferco]

Trying to get from Paris--> Rome in April for about 10 days. Estimates so far from AAA on Delta are about 6 k for 2. Even with using SkyMiles (because we aren't flying home out of Paris but out of Rome) , Delta is charging more.

I have 146,000 skymiles which will barely cover one of the airfares.

Any other April European suggestions ?

Any experiences on how to cut the costs or any bargains out there ?

[utrecht]

That flight sounded way too high to me. I checked Travelocity for a flight from DFW to Paris and then returning from Rome to DFW. (not sure where you live). I picked 10 days in the middle of April and got a price of about $1400 per ticket.

[ferco]

I apologize. The accomodations/tours are $1,875 each. My wife's air fare from Atl is $1,500 for Atl Paris Rome Atl. My airfare with the sky miles is $66 . I'm looking for a better overall deal for the entire trip....if in fact one exists.

[2B]

You don't give many details to comment on. Different companies offer tours with different costs and amenities. You can probably save money doing it on your own if you know what you'd like to see.

If you'd really like to save money, find a freighter you can ride over on and save the airfare. Sleep on the street and dumpster dive for meals. Yes, I'm being snarky.

[brett]

We were in Europe a few months ago. You might try and get an open jaw to Europe (fly into Paris and fly home from Rome) and then work your own airfare from Paris to Rome.

We often do European discount airlines. Travelled on Air Malta and Vueling this past fall. Great prices, great service (Palermo-Rome $50, Malta to Catania, Sicily $50-both including a checked bag). If you do this pay particular attention to the bag charge, the specific airport, etc. Often the major airlines have equal or better fares.

This is a busy route. You should be able to get a very good competitive fare either on a major or a discount line.

[explanade]

146k should get you one business class Saver award.

Or one standard coach award.

It's hard to get Saver awards but it shouldn't be impossible.

[ChainsBeGone]

Check out Ryanair for travel within Europe.

Cheap Flights | Cheap Flights to Europe | Ryanair

[audreyh1]

Airfare for the three legs seems perfectly reasonable. Round trip (two legs) to Europe usually runs $1200 to $1600 per person for economy.

[Travelwanted]

wegolo.com

covers most of the low-cost carriers in europe.

[sailor]

Where in Georgia are you? Are you willing to drive to MCO instead of ATL? (That's what we are doing this summer)
Norwegian Airlines have excellent deals and they fly from MCO to OSL and CPH.
Looking at their website there is MCO-ORY ticket for $307 on 4/20/2015 for example and FCO-MCO flight for $365 ten days later, making the total about half the "standard" price.
Just a warning - if you want a meal or checked-in luggage you'll need to pay extra.

[wanaberetiree]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ferco Trying to get from Paris--> Rome in April for about 10 days. Estimates so far from AAA on Delta are about 6 k for 2. Even with using SkyMiles (because we aren't flying home out of Paris but out of Rome) , Delta is charging more. I have 146,000 skymiles which will barely cover one of the airfares. Any other April European suggestions ? Any experiences on how to cut the costs or any bargains out there ?

XLAIRWAYS would be a good choice, but April is off its season...

[photoguy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ferco The accomodations/tours are $1,875 each.

Thats 3800 for two which is the bulk of your cost.

You may be able to save a bunch if you ditch the tour. Personally I don't feel tours are necessary in developed nations and prefer to just do things on our own. It also gives you a lot more flexibility. One exception might be if the tour gets you access to restricted locations.




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[explanade]

Look at a site like Viator and see if you want to take a walking or coach tour in the destinations.

The rest you can do with a guide book and just researching the attractions you think you'd want to see.

Of course, for first time in Europe, it might be nice to have some handholding, so you don't have to worry/figure out basic logistics like getting from the airport to the hotel you're staying or getting from A to B once you reach your destination.

[audreyh1]

It's a great deal of research and organization to tour several cities in Europe on your own. I know, because that's how I do it. An organized multi-city tour that takes care of hotels, transportation, some meals, and hits the main highlights in each location with knowledgeable guides, removes a lot of time-wasting and hassle (and potential time-costly mistakes) once you are there. So they definitely add value, especially for someone inexperienced with Europe travel.

I spend a great deal of time ahead preparing for a Europe trip in order to maximize time spent once we arrive, and yet we still have to deal with hassles that a tour would take care of for us while there, no matter how well prepared, simply because someone else is not doing it fo us. And we're fairly experienced Europe travelers. So I am very aware of the benefits a tour can offer, and we will choose them if they closely match our goals.

[brett]

We are not particular fans of Ryanair. In many instances there are lots of similarly priced alternatives that do not have the same 'money traps' or upcharges that Ryanair has.

We were in Europe for eight weeks this summer and did a fair amount of on line shopping for various air fares. Ryanair looks good at first blush but when you follow the fare through to the final price the bloom often falls quickly off that rose. They could be great if you were walking on with no luggage, minimal carry-on, pre printing your boarding pass, etc, etc.

[bmcgonig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brett We are not particular fans of Ryanair. In many instances there are lots of similarly priced alternatives that do not have the same 'money traps' or upcharges that Ryanair has. We were in Europe for eight weeks this summer and did a fair amount of on line shopping for various air fares. Ryanair looks good at first blush but when you follow the fare through to the final price the bloom often falls quickly off that rose. They could be great if you were walking on with no luggage, minimal carry-on, pre printing your boarding pass, etc, etc.

And the seats don't recline

Although in fairness for a two hour flight which most of them are, that's ok.




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[Throwdownmyaceinthehole]

Have you tried Google Flights to research airfares to/from alternate airports, it's an amazing tool, saved me $800 and you can see a lot of alternatives. Also we got pretty good fares into Ireland on aer lingus

[Totoro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ferco Trying to get from Paris--> Rome in April for about 10 days. Estimates so far from AAA on Delta are about 6 k for 2. Even with using SkyMiles (because we aren't flying home out of Paris but out of Rome) , Delta is charging more. I have 146,000 skymiles which will barely cover one of the airfares. Any other April European suggestions ? Any experiences on how to cut the costs or any bargains out there ?

I live in Europe.

Now to each his own, but you might want to consider these ways to reduce cost and add adventure/fun:

• Consider flying back home from the same city instead of open jaw. It can reduce cost.
• See if flipping the route makes sense (I doubt it). Also, check out Brussels airport instead of Paris. There is a train connection from Brussels that takes you to Paris within an hour. Or take a day in Belgium to see some sites.
• Ditch the tourguide. You don't need it in Europe, especially for city trips. I'd just buy a decent guide book and read it on the way over. Sometimes pay a visit to the local tourist office.
• Book accomodation through airbnb, saves a bundle on hotel costs and meet some nice locals (or even expats).
• In these city trips, take trains, subways and trams instead of taxis.
• There usually are combi tourist tickets that can be bought in train stations or tourist offices, giving you big discounts on transportation and museums.
• Every country typically has a restaurant review site. Try to find out at what address it is and explore eating that way. Usually cheaper as it is off the busiest tourist streets (usually just one or two blocks) with better food.
• Local no-frills airlines have been mentioned. These usually do not advertise through booking sites as they don't want to give out commissions. Examples are easyjet, transavia, ryanair, aer lingus and several others. Beware though because some of them fly on secondary airports, it can add up to your travel time unless you use it to explore the surrounding area (which is often a good idea actually).

Those are the big ticket items except for this one: if you slow down and take more days, your cost per day will drop dramatically and you'll see more sights. Rome for example can be done in a weekend, but you can also take a few weeks even. If you take your time to explore you can stay more than twice as long for the same money sometimes.



Obviously, that'll probably work best if you are ER.


Last but not least, to point out the obvious: Europe is quite diverse culturally for a relatively small land area, in my perception more diverse than the US. So if you want to flavour full-Europe, explore the four corners fully (Eastern Europe is very different from Northern Europe, for example).

[steelyman]

Nice and helpful post, Totoro. It's good to hear from people who are there!

We Yanks are just ignorant, after all

[Bestwifeever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Totoro I live in Europe. Now to each his own, but you might want to consider these ways to reduce cost and add adventure/fun: .... Last but not least, to point out the obvious: Europe is quite diverse culturally for a relatively small land area, in my perception more diverse than the US. So if you want to flavour full-Europe, explore the four corners fully (Eastern Europe is very different from Northern Europe, for example).

Well, to point out the obvious, the US is a country while Europe is a continent, so a lot more diversity in Europe might be expected...