janisj

aramis' main joy in life seems to be telling newbies not to listen to those mean old Fodorites, and that their - let's say '<i>difficult</i>' - plans/itineraries are just absolutely hunky dory.

bendigo

I am sure crazy did have a "just fine" plan back there somewhere, but I've long-since lost track of it amongst the ever more convoluted and erratically changing "plans"!

Now that Qantas has just started flying through Dubai under an arrangement with Emirates, I am fully expecting that she will be wanting suggestions for two days in Dubai en route to or from Europe.

genhassall

Hello!

Florence is in Tuscany, so it is a beautiful city with lots to do, plus you can get a 20 minute bus to the village of Fiesole, which is very beautiful, or day trips to Siena, Pisa, Chianti region etc. Lots of options and has the Italian countryside ambience you are after.

I adore Nice, partially because when I was spending a grey and cold winter in Europe, Nice was all sunshine and blue skies. Dazzling and gorgeous city, but I've heard people complain that it is very busy and touristy in summer. I still think its amazingly pretty! I love it and will go back this year.

Paris is more expensive than other cities for accommodation - I have found reasonable accommodation to realise it is in the outskirts or in Montmarte ( 18 and 19th), which are much further out of town, and even nice hotels had reviews that the street it was on and they got approached by beggars all the time. Probably not what you want when you have little kids with you ! Likewise, Montmarte is beautiful and I love it, but there are more pickpockets and it's also has Paris' red light district, idk...nice during the day but as you are with a family you probably want somewhere you can feel more comfortable during the late afternoon and evening.

I lived in Montparnasse for a while and loved it, like anywhere there are dodgy streets and I didn't relish walking around alone at night, but that is normal I guess. Latin Quarter might have some reasonable prices as well. 16th will be one of the most expensive areas.

Have fun!

crazyfamilyof4

Ok . . .this is where we are at:
arrive London - one week at the hotel regency
Fly to Avignon and taxi to uzes - one week staying in an apartment with french cottages - great company to deal with!
Train from avignon to paris -
Paris apartment for 5 nights
then . . 3 nights . . .

do we stay:

a) http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowUs..._Ile_de_F.html

Pros -3bed townhouse, 1/2 the price of b, looks like a nice hotel in general and has good ratings

b) http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Hotel_...de_France.html

Pros-right next door to the disney park, you get things like characters at the breakfast etc. Everyone raves about it.

However . .I am 90% sure the (a) choice is the best one for us!

From here my mum leaves paris for home and hubby and I continue on with a train ride from Paris to Brive pick up a hire car and drive to sarlat for our 4 days the we drive to Carcassone for our one night stay and then drive to Barcelona find our apartment unload and then drop our hire car off . . we know it costs more to drop the car off into a different country but we feel given our circumstances this will just be easier and less stressful.

Barcelona is for 4 days and then we catch a ferry over to Genoa and then we pick up a car for Italy.

we are doing 4 days in Lucca and 5 days in Varenna and then 2 nights in Milan before we fly to Prague.

4 days in Prague then we train to Berlin

4 days Berlin and then we train to frankfurt

5 days frankfurt - planed day train trips to luxembourg and offenburg plus some catchinh up with friends etc

So really all I need help with now is advice for disney choices and then some must haves when we are in the places we have chosen.

Many thanks to those that choose to help.

Gretchen

You are going to taxi to Uzes for a week long stay with no car to tour Provence?

thursdaysd

What Gretchen said. With no car you should have picked Nice, as I said lo these many posts ago.

Doppio

>>><i>Paris apartment for 5 nights then . . 3 nights . . . </i>

So much for all of our advice.

Cathinjoetown

I think you're smart enough to weigh the pros and cons of each place. At this point will you have a car? If not, does the Marriott provide a transfer to the park?

Some times Disney offers 3 nights for the price of two. Is that offer available for your dates?

Disney seems to throw in a lot of kid stuff such as the character breakfasts. Frankly, I would weigh that against the two days you plan to go out of London to Legoland and Thomas the Tank Park and perhaps drop one of those to off set the cost of the Disney Hotel.

crazyfamilyof4

HI Everyone,

We just want to taxi initially from avignon and then we will see about hiring a car etc. The owner of the cottages believes he will be able to help us in this area etc.

The town looks beautiful and we have a gorgeous apartment and I am really happy with Uzes.

In regards to Paris ... the manager of the apartment really thought that the first apartment for 5days was better and was able to offer us a huge discount as it was inbetween bookings etc.

In regards to disney . . .we are waiting to hear if we can get a good deal for the castle but if we can't then we have reserved the Marriott . . .and yes if we stay here we will be hiring a car but they also do shuttles to the park and station.

We thought if we had a car we could do other things then just disney for three full days etc . .you know morning disney . .car trip kids sleep afternoon trip somewhere kids sleep car and evening disney etc .. just a thought.

Cath even if I was to take of those parks we would still be about $2000 out ...it's around $5000 to stay at the castle since we would need two rooms etc Marriott is under$1500 . .MASSIVE price difference and since I know the kids really won't remember it the character breakfast . .as much as I would love it . .is just not worth $3000 . .however...like I siad ..they might have a family special or something for us so I will wait and see.

Cathinjoetown

For that savings, Marriott wins.

Gretchen

WHY on earth would you not rent a car at the Avignon airport!! Uzes is a good way from Avignon, if my memory serves==maybe a couple of day's rental money.
Uzes is an absolutely charming little town==and has wonderful poteries!! BUT get a car straightaway.

socaltraveler

You are going to spend a small fortune on that taxi transfer, with the the plan that your landlord 'may' be able to help you with a car rental in Uzes? Can he assure you car seats as well? Rent a car in Avignon and be done with it.

Do not spend a fortune for any part of the Disney experience your chldren will not remember.

Just curious - why are you spending 5 days in Varenna?

Finecheapboxofwine

I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask if you and family have your passports and other travel documents yet?

thursdaysd

And why would you not arrange the rental ahead of time? I don't know about Australia, but in the US you usually get a better rate arranging ahead of time from home.

And are you seriously proposing to leave your kids in the car while you go off sightseeing????? People get arrested for that in the US.

crazyfamilyof4

I just want to see the roads etc before I make the choice of having the confidence in driving.

Hubby will be fine which is why we will hire the cars when he is with us ahead of time.

and NO! we will NOT be leaving our kids in the car on their own! I mean they will sleep while we drive to wherever

and YES we have all got passports

The 5 days in Varenna is for a few reasons. We will have a car so if we feel the need to drive somewhere we can but the apartment overlooks lake como and is just a chance for us to relax at the apartment . .it has a pool etc. If we want we can train to venice for a day trip ...we just felt it would be nice for us.

and yes we know they won't remember it . .I really want to go . . we know that USA disney will be much better and we hope that in 5-7years time we will be able to go to america and do a big trip that they will remember!

thursdaysd

And what if you see the roads and decide you DON'T want to drive? Then you're stuck in a place where you need a car.

socaltraveler

So if you don't like the look of the roads, you will be carless while in Uzes? What do you plan to do for getting around?

I just remembered your comment about buying diapers, etc. while traveling. Fine idea, just remember to pack twice as many as you think you will need for the plane ride and first day on the ground; it's a very long flight and you cannot overestimate in case of unexpected need.

surfmom

The idea of Disney... drive... visit somewhere... drive... Disney is insane. You will not be able to keep up that pace and everyone will be cranky and tired and hungry. Don't do it.

If you are going to see Disney, do Disney. Get up early - be at the park when it opens. Ride the rides, see the stuff, go back to hotel for proper naps and sleep and rest. Swim if you have time. Then go back if you must (or just have dinner and bed - there is nothing wrong with sticking to bedtimes while on vacation). I've never done Disney Paris, but that is my advice from years of WDW. Trying to stick something in the middle of your day is crazy.

in fact, if you stay at the Marriott, plan to eat dinners in - early dinner - and then go back to the park depending on hours (if you must). I find after being around people all day and crowds and stimulation, we all need some quiet time and peaceful time. Sitting around the table as a family is a great way to relax and regroup. Doesn't have to be fancy - baguette, yogurt and fresh fruit. Or a simple pot of noodles.

Don't feel you have to "do it all". You will just make yourself miserable. Do a little, but enjoy it! Life isn't over - you will have an opportunity to come back!

SusannahT

I recently had to decide if I thought I could drive in Europe & decided not to. So, I chose places to stay that were in walking distance of train &/or bus. Worked fine.

For another part of the trip, my 23yr son decided he could drive, but chose an automatic. Worked fine. Would you feel happy with an automatic?

If you don't think driving is a possibility, I would encourage you to find a place near regular public transport.

We have taken our children to Europe when they were young and while they remember little, we have lovely memories of being able to spend lots of time with them.

StCirq

The idea of taking a taxi to Uzès is insane. I did the taxi calculator for the Bouches-du-Rhône and it will cost almost 200E (the taxi will want to be paid for the return trip, of course). And then, should you decide the roads are up to your standard (why in hell wouldn't they be? French roads are awesome) and rent a car, you will pay through the nose for it, and almost certainly get a small car that's manual transmission. Places like Uzès don't have automatic minivans just sitting around. In fact, the car will probably have to be brought in from somewhere else, and without the protection of an outfit like AutoEurope, you'll get stuck with those charges. And if you DON'T get a car, are you going to just miss out on the Pont-du-Gard, St-Rémy, Les Baux, Glanum, etc?