We are planning a family vacation to London / Paris for this summer. ) Club ABC seems to have exactly what we are looking for, in terms of destinations, timing and price, does anyone know anything about this tour?
A little about us: My parents are in their mid 50%26#39;s, I%26#39;m 27 and my sister is 19 (going on 25). None of us have ever been to London or Paris so we obviously want to visit all the tourist attractions, however, my sister and I would hate something very regimented where we couldn%26#39;t do our own thing - check out the night scene etc.
Are there other recommended, non regimented tours that I should research?
Thank you!
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It is usually %26#39;the tour %26#39;, where everything is organised for you, sometimes with a little free time built in, or you organise you own travel arrangements and itinerary and then get to do only what your heart desires.
An organised tour is a good place to start if this is a first time experience for you as a family group.
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I understand this trip will be your first time in London and Paris, but you don%26#39;t tell if you have other travel experiences ?
If so, I would recommand to skip the organized tours. You will be stuck to other people with different interests. You will only eat in touristical places dedicated to groups, shop in touristical shops, etc.
Both Paris and London are places that are easy to be visited with a good guidebook, everything is very well indicated for tourists (my parents are in their 70%26#39;s, speak almost no english and experienced a very nice vacation in London by their own).
Moreover I think that you and your sister will enjoy more if you are involved in the preparation : buy guidebooks, use this forum to choose your hotels and decide where you want to go !
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We are inexperienced travellers as far as Europe is concerned. In Europe, I have only been to Amsterdam (although I can%26#39;t remember much of that, lol). My parents have never been. We have been to the Carribean a million times. My father gets %26quot;trip anxiety%26quot; if things are not planned out ahead of time, or if my sister and I are unhappy with food/hotel etc. So maybe planning through trip advisor is a good idea and then scheduling some day tours???
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I fully agree with you : to be travelling by your own does not mean that nothing is planned...on the contrary ! It depends if you have time to cope with your trip organization (or if you want to pay so to do it for you), and also if you like to do it ?
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We just returned from our first trip to London and Paris and decided that we were not the organized tour company type. With a little apprehension and some good advice from friends, we did it on our own and had a fabulous time and are so thankful that we did not do the group thing. I saw some pretty bored faces staring out of the tour buses from the younger age group. I%26#39;m in my late forties and took my college age son who is 20 and my 18 year old daughter. We knew the basic French phrases, had our maps and guidebooks in hand and went everywhere with no problems and can%26#39;t wait to go back. We purchased our rail tickets, museum passes all before leaving the states and that helped tremendously. No confusion once we got into the Metro or train stations. You%26#39;ll be fine, just be organized before you go and you%26#39;ll not regret exploring London and Paris on your own. It%26#39;s the only way to go in my opinion.
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What type of ABC tour are you talking about. They offer a tour of London/Paris that gives you a half day tour in each city plus breakfast each day and the rest of the time you are on your own. if this is the case, get yourself a good guidebook for each city and have a wonderful time. Also, check what ABC describes as a nine day tour. Usually their nine days is actually eight days and seven nights not counting the night you lose flying over.
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I think that%26#39;s exactly the tour we are looking at. I guess my parents are just really aprehensive about planning the whole thing and it seems that ABC has all the %26quot;optional%26quot; tours.
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If you call in at the Paris Tourist Office at the Rue des Pyramides, you can find lots of information and leaflets about guided walks, coach tours etc that you can pick and choose for yourself. Also there%26#39;s an English-language newspaper and website that you can find in the %26quot;Frog and Rosbif%26quot; bar (horrible, horrible name but better than it sounds).
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%26quot;optional tours%26quot; means overpriced and over regimented. For instance, many tours are offered to Versailles, usaully only offering a half day option. Versailles is so easy to do on your own. A train ticket is all of 5 euros, entrances 9 depending on which inside areas you want to see, or if the garden fountains are on, come to another 10 to 20 euros,, so that means you could do it for less then 30 euros a head, and have the time YOU want to spend there. Tours to Versailles often come to well over 50 euros a head, ( and more) and you are herded along on someone elses timeline.
You and your sisters are definately old enough and smart enough to organize your own trips. I can understand that your parents , being not so young( but not so old, LOL) may be apprehensive if they had to plan this on their own,, but, with this site, and some guide books, you could plan a great trip, and save money!
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I checked the ABC tour you are referring to in their latest catalog. They are not even giving you the usual 1/2 day tour in each city. Their 9 day London/Paris package includes airfare, breakfast, hotels for 7 nights, airport transfers and Eurostar passage to Paris. This is not necessarily bad so long as you realize what you are getting. You will basically be on your own in two cities where, with some planning, it is relatively easy to see things on your own.
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