The all encompassing travel thread (for your tips, tricks, recs, questions, help).

[The Evil Genius]

Hoping that people will contribute to this thread to keep it alive. Feel free to share your recommendations for travel, any tips for airlines/transit, etc.

 

My wife and I are trying to plan a first time Paris and London trip next May..and would love to hear any tips if anyone has been to either. We'll likely be flying out of SFO and it looks like there are direct flights to Charles DeGaulle in Paris or Heathrow in London. Assuming a train between London/Paris is the easiest/cheapest way to get across the Channel?

 

Other than the major tourist stuff in Paris and London, any must see or must do recommendations? Stonehenge? Dover cliffs? We plan on spending about a week in each so day trips are OK.

 

Is it worth driving in either? I know from our Venice/Rome trip in 2019 a car wasn't needed. 

 

Also, weird question but has anyone gone to Disneyland Paris? We have 3 nights free near it and she is really wanting to go.

Edited July 18, 2023 by The Evil Genius
Their, there

[EmirOfShmo]

31 minutes ago, The Evil Genius said:

Hoping that people will contribute to this thread to keep it alive. Feel free to share your recommendations for travel, any tips for airlines/transit, etc.

 

My wife and I are trying to plan a first time Paris and London trip next May..and would love to hear any tips if anyone has been to either. We'll likely be flying out of SFO and it looks like their are direct flights to Charles DeGaulle in Paris or Heathrow in London. Assuming a train between London/Paris is the easiest/cheapest way to get across the Channel?

 

Other than the major tourist stuff in Paris and London, any must see or do recommendations? Stonehenge? Dover cliffs? We plan on spending about a week in each so day trips are OK.

 

Is it worth driving in either? I know from our Venice/Rome trip in 2019 a car wasn't needed. 

 

Also, weird question but has anyone gone to Disneyland Paris? We have 3 nights free near it and she is really wanting to go.

 

Yay, a travel thread! Sounds like a great trip you're planning. We went to the Skins vs. Bengals game in London and had a great time. I'll look thru our pics & post the best places we visited. 

I've been looking at making a trip to Paris over the past several years. There's a Marriott timeshare not too far from Disneyland Paris I was looking at (using points to stay there). Doing research of the area I read a lot of people really liked Disneyland, BUT, they all said the food was horrendous there. 

We're headed to Barbados on the 25th, staying at a condo in Paynes Bay. We've been there before - stayed at the Hilton in Bridgetown. We did a lot of the touristy things on that trip so we're going to bounce around to several of the beaches on the west side we didn't see on our first trip. 

 

Thanks for starting this thread!

[The Evil Genius]

10 minutes ago, EmirOfShmo said:

 

Yay, a travel thread! Sounds like a great trip you're planning. We went to the Skins vs. Bengals game in London and had a great time. I'll look thru our pics & post the best places we visited. 

I've been looking at making a trip to Paris over the past several years. There's a Marriott timeshare not too far from Disneyland Paris I was looking at (using points to stay there). Doing research of the area I read a lot of people really liked Disneyland, BUT, they all said the food was horrendous there. 

We're headed to Barbados on the 25th, staying at a condo in Paynes Bay. We've been there before - stayed at the Hilton in Bridgetown. We did a lot of the touristy things on that trip so we're going to bounce around to several of the beaches on the west side we didn't see on our first trip. 

 

Thanks for starting this thread!

 

Thanks. We have like 500k in Marriot points so the entire housing part of the trip could be mostly free if we aren't too picky, especially since we have 3 free nights at the Merriot Village d'ile de France (the one that is close to Disney Paris). 

 

Also looking at burning some airline miles or Chase rewards to soften the plane tickets. From what I can tell, international flight fares usually start dropping 6-7 months out, right? 

 

 

Edit... and if anyone is thinking about going to Venice or Rome, I would definitely recommend. We really liked Venice but it can be done in 2-3 days if you want to skip some museums. Take at least 4 or more days for Rome. It's massive. 

Edited July 18, 2023 by The Evil Genius

[The Evil Genius]

Top of the Spanish steps in Rome.

 

 

 

In Venice,  take a day trip via ferry or water taxi to the islands of Murano and Burano. 

 

In either city (Venice, Rome), the house wine is spectacular in most restaurants.  The gelato is always cheap (and good), and they always know what's in their food (apparently Italy has a large gluten-free population). 

Edited July 18, 2023 by The Evil Genius

[EmirOfShmo]

8 minutes ago, The Evil Genius said:

 

Thanks. We have like 500k in Marriot points so the entire housing part of the trip could be mostly free if we aren't too picky, especially since we have 3 free nights at the Merriot Village d'ile de France (the one that is close to Disney Paris). 

 

Also looking at burning some airline miles or Chase rewards to soften the plane tickets. From what I can tell, international flight fares usually start dropping 6-7 months out, right? 

Same place I was looking at for Paris (for a couple of nights). And I can't remember where I read that info about the Marriott. I'll track it down & post. It had some really good info about traveling from there to Paris & Disneyland. 

I've been using Hopper the past couple of years to track flight price changes. It does a good job of telling you when you should buy tickets.

[Warhead36]

Definitely take the train from Paris to London(or vice versa). 

 

When in Paris, definitely go check out Versailles. Its not far(I think like ~30 minute drive away) and I believe you can take the train(went last year but we were hungover AF so just ubered).

 

If you have Chase rewards, the best redemption is actually World of Hyatt. You get insaaaaaane value. 

[PleaseBlitz]

This thread is long overdue. 
 

Mrs. PB and I did the London Paris trip in 2015. Some pics are below. I can provide more details later. 
 

High Tea at Brown’s Tea Room, and had a suit made on Saville Row, which is one of the more baller experiences I’ve had. 

Edited July 18, 2023 by PleaseBlitz

[PleaseBlitz]

Paris. 
 

Pre-fire Notre Dame, lunch at the Jules Verne, the Michelin Star restaurant on the Eiffel Tower. 
 

 

[Fergasun]

Use "ITA Matrix" to cost out your flights.  I think "earlier is better" post pandemic, but I don't know.  Seems like airlines were dropping/reducing flights in 2022 and having a ticket felt great when we traveled to Europe. We were able to fly "Premium Economy"... choosing Business or First gave us interesting choices.

[PleaseBlitz]

5 hours ago, The Evil Genius said:

My wife and I are trying to plan a first time Paris and London trip next May..and would love to hear any tips if anyone has been to either. We'll likely be flying out of SFO and it looks like there are direct flights to Charles DeGaulle in Paris or Heathrow in London. Assuming a train between London/Paris is the easiest/cheapest way to get across the Channel?

 

Yes, definitely take the Eurostar (i.e., through the Chunnel).  It's fast AF and the food (and wine) is ****ing amazing compared to US trains/planes.  Plus it goes from the heart of each city to the other.  Plus train travel is just great in general compared to other modes of transportation. 

 

5 hours ago, The Evil Genius said:

 

Other than the major tourist stuff in Paris and London, any must see or must do recommendations? Stonehenge? Dover cliffs? We plan on spending about a week in each so day trips are OK.

 

In London, get tea at a historic tea room (Brown's is where we went), get some Indian food, get some fish and chips, go to a for-real pub and drink a pint (or 12). 

 

As I said, I got a suit made on Saville Row, which was an awesome experience. 

I walked in, the tailor was like "how can I help you." 

I said "I'm from America, I've always wanted to have a Saville Row suit made." 

He said "Do you like Whiskey?" 

I said "I've come to the right place."

 

We were only there for 3 days, and so did no day trips.  I feel like I could have spent a month in London, never left, and still not have seen everything.  Of the touristy things, we walked around and saw Big Ben/Westminster, the London Eye, walked across all of the bridges, wife did a service at St. Pauls (I did a service at a pub around the corner), went to the observation deck at the Shard, saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham.  You should do all of those things.  Full disclosure, my wife and I seriously considered moving to London at one point during the pandemic and even spoke to a realtor.  It's an awesome town (but SO expensive).  

 

In Paris, we pretty much ate and drank everything we could.  Went to the Tower and ate lunch on the restaurant, hired a photographer and got maternity photos (I don't recommend this), saw the Louvre but didn't go in, walked up and down the Champs Elilise, went to the top of the Arc de Triomphe (**** you spellcheck, it's a foreign language), but mostly walked to and from things while eating and drinking every damn thing we could lay our hands on.  We also went to this place (Bel Canto) which is a fancy french restuarant with an opera happening around you.  It was pretty cool.  

 

5 hours ago, The Evil Genius said:

 

Is it worth driving in either? I know from our Venice/Rome trip in 2019 a car wasn't needed. 

 

Maybe if you are taking day trips, but in the cities, just take cabs.  Especially in London where the streets are laid out like toddler scribblings.  The test for London cabbies is considered one of the hardest tests in the world.  https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/10/t-magazine/london-taxi-test-knowledge.html.  They've passed it, you haven't, let them do the driving. 

 

5 hours ago, The Evil Genius said:

 

Also, weird question but has anyone gone to Disneyland Paris? We have 3 nights free near it and she is really wanting to go.

 

We have Disneyland and Disney World stateside.  Why would you waste a day in Europe doing something we have in the US?

Edited July 19, 2023 by PleaseBlitz

[Fergasun]

The cabs were awkward in Barcelona.  Just we didn't have cellular, so we were using WiFi app in the hotel.

[FuriousD]

Use Uber when you need to get around. Used it in London, Amsterdam, Bruge, Paris, Madrid and Barcelona. Couldn’t be easier and eliminates any potential language problems..

[Corcaigh]

7 hours ago, The Evil Genius said:

Stonehenge? Dover cliffs? We plan on spending about a week in each so day trips are OK.

Stonehenge is a bit of a tourist trap now, but still impressive. If you have time and like hiking you could spend some time on the ancient Ridgeway and visit some of the sights such as the Uffington White Horse and Avebury.

 

Another consideration is getting the train to Oxford and walking around the colleges. Rather than the White Cliffs of Dover a trip a little further west and hiking part of the South Downs (Beachey Head and Seven Sisters)

 

If you are into WW II history in London the Imperial War Museum, and Churchill Rooms are very good, and a trip out to Bletchley Park might be of interest too.

 

And a driving tour of the Cotswolds gives you old picturesque villages and some very nice English countryside.

 

 

Edited July 19, 2023 by Corcaigh

[Corcaigh]

1 hour ago, Fergasun said:

The cabs were awkward in Barcelona.  Just we didn't have cellular, so we were using WiFi app in the hotel.

 

We would have the hotel call the cab and tell them our destination, so that there was no confusion.

[Corcaigh]

2 hours ago, PleaseBlitz said:

We have Disneyland and Disney World stateside.  Why would you waste a day in Europe doing something we have in the US?

They serve ratatouille in some of the restaurants. Where else can you eat a character?

 

That’s all I got.

[The Evil Genius]

4 hours ago, PleaseBlitz said:

We have Disneyland and Disney World stateside.  Why would you waste a day in Europe doing something we have in the US?

 

Mainly because the wife wants to go. And I prefer not to sleep alone on the couch for the rest of my life. 

[EmirOfShmo]

6 hours ago, The Evil Genius said:

 

Mainly because the wife wants to go. And I prefer not to sleep alone on the couch for the rest of my life. 

Found it...2 threads with info.

 

https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/marriotts-village-dile-de-france.353889/#post-2947909

https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/touring-from-marriotts-village-dile-de-france-rent-a-car-or-a-driver.351690/#post-2932738

[Fergasun]

11 hours ago, Corcaigh said:

 

We would have the hotel call the cab and tell them our destination, so that there was no confusion.

When we tried that, someone else stole our cab.  The hotel staff we stayed at weren't that helpful.  They acted like the cab driver was going to come to the hotel.  This was also when we were departing to the airport.  

[Corcaigh]

2 hours ago, Fergasun said:

The hotel staff we stayed at weren't that helpful.  

Travel tip: stay at a nicer hotel.

[Busch1724]

Agree and check on air conditioning. Many places do not in Europe. 

[balki1867]

50 minutes ago, Busch1724 said:

Agree and check on air conditioning. Many places do not in Europe. 

 

We went to London last month for the Cubs-Cardinals series (my GF's family are massive Cubs fans).  Our Marriott Villa (aka Marriott's version of AirBnb) didn't have A/C and I assured them you don't need A/C in London.  I was wrong.

 

That said, the Marriott Villa was really nice and perfect for a group of 8 including small children.

[The Evil Genius]

We didn't need AC in early May for Venice/Rome 2019. I suspect the same would translate for early May in London/Paris.

 

 

6 minutes ago, balki1867 said:

 

We went to London last month for the Cubs-Cardinals series (my GF's family are massive Cubs fans).  Our Marriott Villa (aka Marriott's version of AirBnb) didn't have A/C and I assured them you don't need A/C in London.  I was wrong.

 

That said, the Marriott Villa was really nice and perfect for a group of 8 including small children.

 

Did the villa have laundry services or laundry machines in the rooms? Figure a 2 week+ Europe trip might require some clothes washing for me.  

[balki1867]

They had a laundry machine but it was undersized (imagine an efficiency appliance in NYC) and the dryer had issues.  I never washed any of my clothes in it, but others did and didn't have good results.  That probably varies from property to property.

[Warhead36]

17 hours ago, FuriousD said:

Use Uber when you need to get around. Used it in London, Amsterdam, Bruge, Paris, Madrid and Barcelona. Couldn’t be easier and eliminates any potential language problems..

Yep Uber works everywhere but in Paris normal Ubers are capped at 3 passengers(instead of 4), which made things awkward at times for our group of 4.

[Ball Security]

Going to LA for the Rams game. I’ve stayed in Pasadena and Manhattan Beach before.

 

Looking at Hermosa or Redonda Beach. 
 

Any recommendations, things to look out for?