European travel tour alternatives to Adventures by Disney?

[Golf4food]

Anyone have recommendations for tour companies/travel companies for Europe that are a little more affordable than ABD? As much as I'm ABD is worth what you spend, we just can't reasonably shell out $20K for three of us to visit London/Paris. We don't need to be in 4 and 5 star hotels to be happy. Any other suggestions? They would need to be kid-friendly as we'll have a 5 year old.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

If all you really want is London and Paris those are VERY easy to do yourself. You can always take walking tours or bus tours once you get there.

Go to the liabary or book store. Get a copy of Rick Steves Europe Through the Back Door (Yes I know he has detractors but he is EXCELLENT at getting you over those "first time Europe jitters and he even has a big section on travel with kids!)

RickSteves.com also has a big message board as do Fodors.com and some other sights where you can get useful info.

Lots of the tours you will see put you out in the suburbs so that's a strike against them. The Rick Steves tours do stay in the city and are cheaper then Disney (what isn't.. those are the most outrageous priced tours LOL!) but with kids I think the freedom of being able to say "nope we are going to spend several hours at the park" is a better idea then being on a tour. (And there are GREAT parks in both cities that your little one will LOVE! The Princess Diana park in London looks amazing, but since I don't have a kid they won't even let me in )

London is harder to do "cheap" as the Pound is just strong against the dollar but there are lots of affordable hotels in both cities. You just set your hotel budget and go.

Getting between them is also easy. You just hop on the Eurostar which leaves from the center of London and get off in Paris... not at the airport but in Paris.

I can see NO reason to do the ABD for these two cities. I actually stayed at a hotel with them one time (using my Marriott rewards) and from what I saw it's a good way to go to Europe and NEVER meet anyone who isn't American LOL!

 

[eliza61]

If all you really want is London and Paris those are VERY easy to do yourself. You can always take walking tours or bus tours once you get there.

Go to the liabary or book store. Get a copy of Rick Steves Europe Through the Back Door (Yes I know he has detractors but he is EXCELLENT at getting you over those "first time Europe jitters and he even has a big section on travel with kids!)

RickSteves.com also has a big message board as do Fodors.com and some other sights where you can get useful info.

Lots of the tours you will see put you out in the suburbs so that's a strike against them. The Rick Steves tours do stay in the city and are cheaper then Disney (what isn't.. those are the most outrageous priced tours LOL!) but with kids I think the freedom of being able to say "nope we are going to spend several hours at the park" is a better idea then being on a tour. (And there are GREAT parks in both cities that your little one will LOVE! The Princess Diana park in London looks amazing, but since I don't have a kid they won't even let me in )

London is harder to do "cheap" as the Pound is just strong against the dollar but there are lots of affordable hotels in both cities. You just set your hotel budget and go.

Getting between them is also easy. You just hop on the Eurostar which leaves from the center of London and get off in Paris... not at the airport but in Paris.

I can see NO reason to do the ABD for these two cities. I actually stayed at a hotel with them one time (using my Marriott rewards) and from what I saw it's a good way to go to Europe and NEVER meet anyone who isn't American LOL!

100% AGREE

The only reason to do ABD imo is for the behind the scene access that it gives to some attractions.

Let me put it this way. My family of 7 are doing London/Paris for 8 nights, 9 days May 23rd for around 19K. This is including RT airfare from JFK, breakfast daily, all airport transfers and a 3 star hotel in London, a 4 star hotel in Paris and the train transfer between the two.

I've been to Paris and it is supremely easy to tour. It's ridiculously easy to plan and a halfway decent TA will be able to book any tours you want. For your 5 year old much of Paris and the attractions will be free or reduced price.

What the heck is abd giving you for 20K?

 

[eliza61]

Wait, I was just on ABD website and it says that airfare is not included. Please tell me they are not charging 20K with no air!!

wow

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I agree that this would be a very easy trip to take yourself. I have been to both cities many times and you don't need to do a formal tour for a successful trip. I don't get the high priced ABD trips to places which you can easily tour yourself.

Use tripadvisor.com and other rating sites to check out hotels, tours and attractions. Get a good guide book for each city. Make sure you understand how the Underground (London subway) and Metro (Paris subway) work - they are very easy to use to get around each city.

You can do local tours in each city; again tripadvisor has good recommendations.

Eurostar site:

http://www.eurostar.com/static/micro_site/eurostar_london_to_paris.htm

Keep in mind that train tickets usually increase the closer you are to your trip date.

 

[Golf4food]

Wait, I was just on ABD website and it says that airfare is not included. Please tell me they are not charging 20K with no air!!

wow

ABD rates for 2013 for London/Paris:

Adults range from $5,469-$6,029 per person, double occupancy
Children range from $5,209-$5,739

For our family of three that is $16,147-$17,797 before air fare from Florida.

That's also before we add any days at Disneyland Paris, and any non-included meals or activites or souveniers. That's where I come up with the nearly $20K price.


Thanks for the tips, everyone. If you have specific recommendations for hotels, etc., feel free to share.

 

[eliza61]

My first time to paris I stayed at the concorde Opera. Wonderful hotel right in front of the St. Lazare train station. we got a great rate of 225 bucks a night a few years ago.. that included breakfast daily.

http://operaparis.concorde-hotels.com/en/?

I've also stayed at the Secret de paris. wonderful hotel. I try to keep it under 280 a night.

Hotel Sainte Beuve is also very nice.

http://www.hotelsaintebeuve.com/

Don't be fooled into believing you have to be in the 1st quater (called arrondisments) to be close to every thing. paris is easy to navigate

 

[BadgerGirl84]

I second what other posters have said...if you are just going to do Paris and London, you could EASILY plan this yourself. Get the Rick Steves books, check out his site, look on TripAdvisor for the best accomodations and activities.

I planned a trip last May to Paris, Switzerland and Munich for me and my husband. It was challenge because I wanted to do it as budget as possible (and included some nerve-wracking moments when I was buying rail tickets on a French-speaking site because they jack up the rates on the English version of the site!) but it does NOT have to be complicated. Especially since it's only one rail ride between Paris and London.

My one tip: SKIP Disneyland Paris. I spent two days there in May and it just wasn't worth it for me. There was a single ride that was really stand-out compared to what we have here in the US (Crush's Coaster) and the nighttime show was very neat. Other than that, everything was sub-par compared to WDW or Disneyland. I just came back from my first trip to Disneyland, which is similar to Disney Paris in that's it's two parks (a MK-like park and a HS-like park) but it was SO MUCH BETTER than the Paris version. When I was in Paris, all the characters were on strike so there were no parades or character meet and greets. Most of the counter service restaurants were shut down and there was a lot of smoking while waiting in line. Picture Disney with nearly all of the magic sucked out of it, and you get Disney Paris. Spend your time and money elsewhere.

 

[Judyat]

Take a look at www.Gate1travel.com We have done ABD and Gate 1 was well as Go Ahead Tours. We like them all. ABD does not include airfare. Gate 1 and Go Ahead do. What I like about Gate 1 is you can look at their trips, add options and see the flights included in the price. I like to know and be able to pick flight times etc. They require a very small downpayment and final payment is not due until about 2 months before the trip I think and if you send them a check instead of using your credit card you will save 5% more.
Everything is online to see and you can also call them. They are very helpful and they are very reasonable. We did Costa Rica fly and drive with them and it was under $1,800 total for 2 and a 17 day southeast Asia tour with them. I went with friends but did a single supplement that came out to under $3,000 for 18 days including everything even travel ins. etc. It was a wonderful trip and not only included airfare but also 3 other flight from Thailand to Cambodia and 2 flights in Vietnam. If you call them and want to add a day or 2 ahead they will arrange it. We wanted to cut down on jet lag and they suggested we leave a day earlier. We just paid for the extra night which was only $64 and the hotels were wonderful. You can also see those online and in some cases pay an extra $150 if you want to upgrade your hotels. We are currently looking at a trip to London and Paris.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Wait, I was just on ABD website and it says that airfare is not included. Please tell me they are not charging 20K with no air!!

wow

Yeah!

But you too can go to Europe and NEVER meet a European that's not been "Disneyfied" Seriously, read the trip reports. The only Europeans you meet are those that are paid by Disney. It's a very costly bubble IMHO!

One of the participants kept telling me, "but we got to ride on a double decker bus". So did I, with real London citizens going to work LOL! Most of the other "exclusives" she claimed were so great with Disney were also available (at a lower cost) to the rest of the world, but of course you have to transport yourself etc...

Now if it was JUST OP and her DH I would skip Disneyland, but with a kid... it might be a "carrot" to use for some museums you want to see. Visually it's a BEAUTIFUL park. Just remember it's in France. The French service industry is REALLY not on a first name basis with those they serve... they try at Disney but it's going against thier entire culture. So don't expect the same "happy face" you get in Florida. Plus they aren't the world's greatest at lines I have gone twice and enjoyed it both times so the poster above may have just picked a bad time (no one was on strike when I was there)

Another option, depending on how long you want to stay might be to look into apartment rentals. Gives you more space and a kitchen. I am on the fence on this, but lots of people love it. I was going to rent in London this year and used Coach House, they were great to deal with (We changed the trip to Provence so no London this year) In Paris I have used Vacation in Paris, they are an American company so easy to work with!

 

[Lewisc]

Almost all accommodations in the Orlando area will accommodate 4 guests. The average hotel room in Europe is smaller and will only accommodate 2 guests. Some hotels may even charge a little more if you have two guests in the room. Make sure you list 3 when you research accommodations.

I agree with the PP. You probably don't need a tour.

Sites like affordabletours will let you compare tours from different vendors.

Higher end (more expensive) tours feature higher rated hotels, in the center of cities. Less expensive tours may feature hotels just outside the city.

More expensive tours may include more meals, that has pros and cons.

More expensive tours include more tours. Less expensive tours will give you time for optional tours or time to do it yourself. Sometimes a less expensive tour will just be accommodations, breakfast and transportation between cities.

More expensive tours may offer better transportation between cities. Air or train instead of bus.

ABD tours are $$$. Tauk tours are similar and are frequently less money.

 

[Golf4food]

Thanks for all the tips. You've convinced us to go it alone and plan everything ourselves. We may still save up for an ABD trip someday, but not for London/Pairs or at least not until our little guy is much older.

 

[maggiew]

We did Paris on our own using the Rick Steves Paris book. I highly recommend using his books. They have suggested itineraries for 4,5,6,... day trips. He lists the most important things to do first and then what to add on as you add on days. Also, there were "guided" tours in the book so you didn't really need to do a tour at places. For example, when we went to the Louvre, he had a tour in there that we followed that had commentary about each piece of art, etc. He also has audio tours of places like the Louvre that you can download onto your phone or ipod.

He also has travel tips in the books. He explained how everything worked like the trains and buying tickets, etc. I felt very comfortable there and not lost at all because of having read his books.

Maggie