Suggestions for Comparable tour to ABD France?

[flechette]

Hi All!

Now that I'm (hopefuly) posting in the right area...

My husband just got his R&R dates for this tour which will be May 1- May 15 2012. We'd love to do Paris France, but 1) Disney doesn't list any tours that early and 2) frankly $4-5k per person is a bit out of our reach, we could manage $3-3.25k each... probably.

I do realize this board is dedicated to ABD, but I figure you all would know best who 2nd best is.

Any suggestion or advice to be had? I'd greatly appreciate it!

M

 

[Bobo912]

I would suggest checking Tauck, Abercrombie & Kent and Classic Journeys.

 

[WeLoveABD]

Or Insight--much less expensive than ABD/Tauck etc. We did a trip to Ireland with Insight and it was fine--but you do get what you pay for!

 

[Judyat]

Take a look at Gate1 Travel and GOahead Tours. They both include airfare and are far less than ABD. We have done all three and have enjoyed all. ABD is nice but so are the others and the others are far less with air than ABD was without air.

 

[flechette]

Thanks for the suggestions!

I've heard really mixed reviews on Gate1, mostly customer service issues if a problem arises. Still I will check them out

Also, to make things more complicated, hubby will most likely fly in by himself from Kuwait while I fly in from the States.

We'd like to spend roughly May 1 - May 6/7 in Paris, maybe then do 2 nights in Disneyland Paris (tho we're open to going there via train), then get to Munich, Germany and the Edelweiss Resort roughly May/8-9 to May 15th.

I can fly back from wherever we are, but hubby has to fly in and out of the same place (it is free for him).

So most likely we'll wind up with a completely different vacation than outlined above.... but that is our starting point.

I asked hubby if his dates were definite - set in stone- he said... "maybe plywood"

Still off to do more research, Thanks for the starting points!

 

[sayhello]

The train to Disneyland Paris is really easy. They have their own train station that is right in their version of Downtown Disney!!

Sayhello

 

[Bobo912]

If your a AAA member, you might also take a look at their small group escorted tours. I have considered them in the past and decided to go with companies that offered family trips because of my son, where it's more likely that there are more kids on the trip. But as he gets older and that becomes less important, I think I'll take a look at them again. I'm not sure if they have a trip to France this year. I think the itineraries change somewhat from year to year, just like other companies. I just happened to see a AAA commerical on TV and thought I would check out their website and there are some nice features included in their trips including a generous cancellation policy and guaranteed departure (seel below). And their website says their small groups are never more than 20 people. I didn't read the fine print, but I'm going to look into it more.

ETA: I just noticed you don't have to be a member to book their trips. Some trips there is a price difference for members, but I saw some where the price is the same.

Cancel up to 30 days before departure for a 100% cash refund, no questions asked.

Just $100 guarantees your trip. Your trip is confirmed and the price is locked-in with just a $100 per person deposit. Your tour fare will not go up for any reason. And remember, your deposit is refundable in cash along with the total cost of your trip up to 30 days before departure.

All departures are guaranteed. Book your vacation with total confidence knowing that our departures don't require a minimum number of travelers to operate.
Most departures include comprehensive travel insurance, with broad coverage before and while you travel.

Free airport transfers on select departures when you purchase specially priced air from AAA Exclusive Vacations.

Fly across the Atlantic with our airline partner Lufthansa and choose to relax pre-flight in Lufthansa's Business Class Lounge or spend €25 in-flight on duty-free shopping. Fly with our airline partner LAN to South America and receive $25 in-flight duty-free shopping.

All visa costs are included where applicable. Visa and processing fees can add hundreds of dollars to the cost of your trip. But rest assured, we include all these costs.

 

[kristilew]

I suggest you consider doing Paris on your own, and booking a couple of day tours with Paris Muse. It's a really easy city to enjoy just by walking around - get the city pass, which covers most of what you'd want to see and lets you cut to front of the lines. The guides from Paris Muse are amazing, and in addition to giving you a great tour can also give you ideas for what to do next. Disneyland Paris is also easy to get to and do on your own.

On the other hand, Eidelwiess is a great spot for relaxing and catching up. Garmisch is a really cute little town to stroll around, and the Lodge offers all sorts of tours and day trips - or you can rent a car and do your own touring. So a Bavarian vacation would also be great.

I'd be a little hesitant to do a full on tour group for R&R time, because you might not get enough, um, hotel time to yourself

Thank you for your husband's service and your sacrifices!

 

[flechette]

Thanks again Everyone!

We're considering doing a non-group tour but still over all prefer some hand holding for our first venture into France. But given our wish to spend 7-8 days in Paris, we may have to go solo - not finding much that works.

I am an AAA member but there doesn't seem to be a tour that matches our desires: either too short (4 days) or too long (12-15 days and not just Paris or even Paris and the rest of France)

Dates aren't correlating with his travel time either~

Thank you Kristi for the well wishes~

Still looking at 1 river cruise and starting to investigate the many hazzards of studio apartment renting in Paris

Now there are some scary travel stories~

Still looking!

 

[sayhello]

Still looking at 1 river cruise and starting to investigate the many hazzards of studio apartment renting in Paris

Now there are some scary travel stories~

Still looking!

You might want to make some inquiries before getting too far into that planning, as I read an article just a couple of months ago that the French government were looking to put a stop to people renting out apartments who did not have a business license to do so. So that may become a less likely option.

Sayhello

 

[need2travel]

We did 2 tours to France w/ Tauck & they are fabulous. They are a little more than you wanted to spend but still less than ABD. Check out their Tauck trips & their Tauck Culturious trips as well-they are small group tours that are more hands on than the larger ones. We love them so much we are booked on our 7th trip w/ them this summer. Enjoy whatever trip you decide on!