Aussies travelling to europe? When and where are you off to?

Travelling in Europe this Summer

• I will be travelling in Europe in both June and August of this year. I will be attending a conference in Pisa June 10-12, but I am flying in to Paris on June 5 and leaving from Rome on June 15. I have a number of travel related questions. 1. I will need to make lodging arrangements in Paris, Rome, and possibly other places between (I already have arrangements in Pisa). How would you recommend I make these reservations? Via the internet, travel agent, wait until I get to the cities? Any recommendations regarding web site or agency? I would like to stay in moderate accomodations in walkable areas with plenty of activity. I don't have specific price limitations, but I don't want to overpay for something I can get for much less. 2. I will need to travel from Paris to Pisa. It seems that a high-speed train that can go overnight from Paris to Florence is available, although I would like to spend some time at a beach (French or Italian Riviera). What travel options do I have, and what is the best way to get a train reservation? Any recommendations regarding places to stay on the Mediterranean? I will be travelling alone, and I would like a more crowded rather than secluded beach. Would Cannes be a good choice? If so, how should I travel from Paris to Cannes and then to Pisa for the June 10-12 conference? Where can I stay on the Riviera (town, beach, hotel, etc)? 3. In August, I will be travelling with a friend from Detroit to Amsterdam. We would like to spend a few days in Amsterdam, a few days in Ibiza, and a few days in London. How should we get from place to place (e.g. fly from Amsterdam to Ibiza, Ibiza to London, and home (detroit) from London)? Or Amsterdam to London to Ibiza, back to London, then home? What airline would you recommend for flying each leg? We plan to fly Northwest/KLM from Detroit to Amsterdam and probably London to Detroit. Do you recommend any internet sites or travel agents to make the plane reservations? Also, any recommendations regarding where to stay and how to make those reservations. We would prefer some place nice, and a "fun" beach in Ibiza. We would like good value and would not like to overpay on accomodations although we can spend a lot if it is thought to be worth the money.

• Answer:

  Hello abetens-ga: It was a real pleasure to answer your question. I will try to keep this answer as concise as possible without providing irrelevant details. I have selected the best websites for you so you really don?t have to look for yourself. Please bear with me as I go step by step in explaining each part of your question. _____________ QUESTION 1 _____________ Let us talk about the accommodations in Paris, Rome or any other city. I have learned from my experience as a travel consultant that it is easier to find accommodation through the web as it simply provides you with varied options. Let us talk about the best options that we have. I will start by accommodations in Rome. One of the best website for such a reservation is ?Rome Reservation? at http://www.romereservation.com. It is a website that provides you with a short list of good hotels, Villas, Apartments and B&B that are tested by the website critics and are located in the center of Rome. You really don?t have to worry about the location and other stuff because the staff has done it for you. The accommodations here are for every price category from luxury to Very Moderate. Another good place for the Rome Accommodation is http://www.Romeby.com. Why I like this website is because it provides consumer with detailed hotel description and a possible price range (bookings) before they book. It has some of the best interface of any website where you may easily sort through different criteria. Another good place for the Rome hotels is the ever reliable Frommers Guide. The guide can be found at its website at http://www.frommers.com/destinations/rome/64_indacc.html#. You might get interested in hotels with a minimal price and a star or a two star beside that hotel. That will indicate that not only the hotel offers good prices but also it is one of the best when it comes to service and cleanliness. According to the Dorling Kindersley guide to the ?Best Places to Stay in Europe?, the hotel ?Villa De Parco? in Rome is the one that is just not to be missed when it comes to price and service. You may book this hotel at http://www.Romeby.com. The web link is http://www.romeby.com/hotelvilladelparco/pages/profile.htm. One of my best places to search on the internet for good hotels at an excellent price range is http://www.specialplacestostay.com. The online version of this indispensable guide has nine properties that are considered to be the hallmark of excellent hospitality. You may want to look at these properties at http://www.specialplacestostay.com/search/listing.php?Town=Rome Although the prices for most properties may be on a higher side but you might like on of these properties. This guide also provides information on other European cities and carries a much extensive list to choose from. I will discuss that later. Let us come to Paris. A good place to start looking for a Paris hotel is http://www.efrancehotel.com/paris/index.html. It has a very easy interface that lets the consumer review the hotel star rating with the price. You may ignore the special hotels of the month and Scroll down the page to compare a wide variety of hotels. I already discussed the website, http://www.specialplacestostay.com. Yes! It might not have a great variety when it comes to Rome but it is a gem when it comes to locating hotels in Paris. Here is a map search for the hidden gems of Paris http://www.specialplacestostay.com/maps/paris/index.html. Click on the map anywhere and you will see orange dots describing the location of a hotel. Click on these orange circles for more information. You can sort by different areas of Paris. Let me tell you that if you keep looking at different hotels (since they are not sorted by any category), you will find a hotel that will amaze you. I always consult this website for my reference. Most of the hotels have a website. Don?t forget to visit the website of the hotels. As for Rome, Frommers has recommendations for Paris. Please consult this webpage at http://www.frommers.com/destinations/paris/62_indacc.html The Dorling Kindersley?s guide to the ?Best Places to stay in Europe? has two hotels that might suite your needs. These are: Hotel d Angleterre http://www.hotel-angleterre.fr/ Hôtel de la Place des Vosges http://www.specialplacestostay.com/search/display.php?FileID=ph1036 (Review at special places to stay) Apart from the accommodation in these specific cities, if you really want to wait for a bargain price the http://www.laterooms.com is for you. I have checked this website and reviewed it extensively; the website really provides great prices at the very last minute. _____________ QUESTION 2 _____________ As for the rail journey and the beach, the France Italy Rail Pass is for you. You can find more information here http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/passes/france_italy_index.htm. Here is a brief description on how this pass works? http://www.raileurope.com/us/common/how_pass_works.htm. My choice of the perfect beach is Cannes. It was recently voted as the top ten beaches in the world by the Travel Channel http://travel.discovery.com/convergence/beachweek/interactives/worlds.html. You can travel from Paris to Cannes and than to Pisa and Rome through this Pass. Please use this schedule and timetable service for an idea of what types of trains are available. You can use TGV for the Paris and Cannes leg. Although, there is no direct connection from Cannes to Pisa but you can use the adjacent stations for a direct route to Pisa. Again, there are many options for train journey from Pisa to Rome. For accommodation in Cannes, I will highly recommend these three places that have their own character and are very affordable. These include: Centre International Marie Eugénie Milleret http://www.specialplacestostay.com/search/display.php?FileID=fh2160 Les Palmiers http://www.specialplacestostay.com/search/display.php?FileID=fsc3884 L'Églantier http://www.specialplacestostay.com/search/display.php?FileID=fbb2338 Website: http://www.bnbnet.com/bfr/fr00042.html _____________ QUESTION 3 _____________ Before answering your third question, let me say that it will be wise to ask your local travel agent for the prices to and fro from European cities to Detroit. The online travel agencies might not be able to match the prices because there are not many airlines that will serve this route. You can get two separate tickets (e.g. Detroit to NYC and NYC to Amsterdam). For inter European flights, the cheapest way to go to Amsterdam, London and Ibiza is to get a round trip ticket to Ibiza from London. It is so because you can get great prices from London to Ibiza. You might want to go to Amsterdam first and than go to London and than fly to Ibiza and back to London. Your journey might look like this USA > Amsterdam > London > Ibiza > London > USA. For inter European flights, the website http://www.flights is your best source. You can book airline tickets from Amsterdam to London through this website and than use the bargain airliners Thompson Flights http://www.thomsonflights.com/bd/home?formAction=initiateFareSearch Or Easy Jet http://www.easyjet.com/en/book/index.asp for the journey To/Fro from London to Ibiza. Believe me; you will save a fortune by doing so. Otherwise, travel agents and other online travel portals may charge you astronomical prices. You will be delighted by the prices (even in High Season) that you can get by using my suggested strategy. For accommodation in Ibiza, you should not miss these two small inns that I am going to mention. The first is called Les Terrasses. It is the only place that is recommended both by the Dorling Kindersley?s Best Places to Stay in Europe and by http://www.specialplacestostay.com. It truly is a magical place. Here is the website http://www.lesterrasses.net/. The other inn is Can Pujolet. Here is the website http://www.ibizarural.com/en/precios.php. For a detailed listing of Ibiza hotel, please consult http://ibiza-hotels.com/. I will also like to recommend a few hotels in Amsterdam and London that are really exceptional. These are: Amsterdam The Canal House Hotel http://www.canalhouse.nl Ambassade Hotel http://www.ambassade-hotel.nl/eng For a detailed listing of Amsterdam hotels, please consult http://www.hotels.nl London Winchester Hotel http://www.winchester-hotel.net/ Number Sixteen Hotel http://www.firmdale.com/index.html L Hotel http://www.capital-london.net/lhotel-lemetro/lhotel.html Useful Links Choosing a travel agent http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/Editorial/Article/data/cntraveler/2002/08aug/ThePerrinReport_ChoosingATravelAgent.xml/ Useful Keywords ?< Best beaches in the world >? ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=best+beaches+in+the+world&btnG=Google+Search ?< Best hotels in the world >? ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=best+hotels+in+the+world&btnG=Search I hope this will help you. Please clarify, if you need further explanations. I will be highly obliged to help you. Sincerely, Leader-ga.