Hello all! So I'm fairly new here and have been lurking around a lot, got a lot of help in the threads I made, and got my first flights with rewards! I'm flying to Europe- a few days in Paris (to go to Disneyland), then to Italy (staying with family) then the Netherlands (staying with friends).
I haven't purchased hotel rooms for my Paris stay yet, and it's just over two weeks out. I have points with United, Southwest, AA, and US Airways right now (50k+ on each). I found hotel rooms with Southwest will run me ~11k a day, but Google was finding me hotel rooms for $60-$70 a day, so maybe I should just do cash?
What's the best way to find hotel pricing, and what should I do for transportation? (any tricks on getting a cheap rental car, or should I do public transit? I'm just planning to hit Disneyland for the most part, maybe spend an evening walking around)
One other question:
I just got AT&T to unlock my iPhone. What could I do for cell service while there?
Redhead
May 3, 12, 4:51 pm
I haven't purchased hotel rooms for my Paris stay yet, and it's just over two weeks out. I have points with United, Southwest, AA, and US Airways right now (50k+ on each). I found hotel rooms with Southwest will run me ~11k a day, but Google was finding me hotel rooms for $60-$70 a day, so maybe I should just do cash?
At $60-70 a day (even if that is 60-70 Euros), I would definitely pay cash. Miles are worth more than that, even on Southwest (*shudder*)
clacko
May 3, 12, 6:16 pm
search the budget travel forum for paris hotel....
edit...lots of hits there but nothing current....might be some cheap places you can check on the web....
Ocn Vw 1K
May 3, 12, 10:20 pm
Let's enlist the help of the Destinations->France forum readers. I'll move this thread to that forum. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.
slawecki
May 4, 12, 5:51 am
use venere.com. look at B&B'a for decent inexpensive. last time i looked there were very inexpensive rooms at disney world from Marriot(?) or someone with timeshares that did not sell.
have you read any of the prior posts on paris? all the ones that state"do not get a car in paris" do not get a scooter in paris.
Hello all! So I'm fairly new here and have been lurking around a lot, got a lot of help in the threads I made, and got my first flights with rewards! I'm flying to Europe- a few days in Paris (to go to Disneyland), then to Italy (staying with family) then the Netherlands (staying with friends).
I haven't purchased hotel rooms for my Paris stay yet, and it's just over two weeks out. I have points with United, Southwest, AA, and US Airways right now (50k+ on each). I found hotel rooms with Southwest will run me ~11k a day, but Google was finding me hotel rooms for $60-$70 a day, so maybe I should just do cash?
What's the best way to find hotel pricing, and what should I do for transportation? (any tricks on getting a cheap rental car, or should I do public transit? I'm just planning to hit Disneyland for the most part, maybe spend an evening walking around)
One other question:
I just got AT&T to unlock my iPhone. What could I do for cell service while there?A rental car, or car in general, will be far more trouble than it's worth in major cities in France. Public transit is plentiful, reasonable, and avoids having to spend lots of time looking for parking spaces (not cheap), non-automated gas stations (a US non-chipped credit card won't work in most automated machines), very high gas prices, and limit lines that are often placed much further back of the intersection than you're used to.
For your phone, you might consider getting the iPhonetrip card, which will run about $13/day for unlimited data (actually 5-7 gigs/week but that's pretty close to unlimited) and use Skype to make all your phone calls. You can buy local sims and maybe save a bit, but unless your French is very good you might have some issues with getting it activated (and they're going to require a French address, no biggie, since you can list your hotel, but it can throw you off).
On hotels, if you're willing to forego the French experience, check out the eTaps. They'll run about $60-$80/night, very clean, each one identical in room format to the next. You can find them online at accorhotels.com. Just try to find one that's near a train station or metro.
Disneyland Paris? Don't spend more than a day there. There is so much more to see and do in Paris itself. Even if you don't have a plan, just walk the city from one side to the other and you'll be amazed.
LizzyDragon84
May 4, 12, 11:59 am
Ditto what others have said about public transit- it's way better then renting a car.
Disneyland is ok- I wouldn't spend more then a day there. Really, if you want to leave the city for a day, the Palace of Versailles would probably be a better choice.
Praxis
May 4, 12, 2:22 pm
Let's enlist the help of the Destinations->France forum readers. I'll move this thread to that forum. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.
At $60-70 a day (even if that is 60-70 Euros), I would definitely pay cash. Miles are worth more than that, even on Southwest (*shudder*)
I've actually been pretty pleasantly surprised with Southwest's new international offerings. I can pretty freely book flights on KLM, Alitalia, Air France, etc using my Southwest points and the prices are pretty cheap!
Disneyland Paris? Don't spend more than a day there. There is so much more to see and do in Paris itself. Even if you don't have a plan, just walk the city from one side to the other and you'll be amazed.
Ditto what others have said about public transit- it's way better then renting a car.
Disneyland is ok- I wouldn't spend more then a day there. Really, if you want to leave the city for a day, the Palace of Versailles would probably be a better choice.
Been there before, but it's been years :) Alright, you guys have me convinced, I might just bum around the city for a day, and no car Alright, thanks all for those answers about public transit!
----
There's something else I hadn't considered. I've got a ton of cards from my churns (Delta Amex, United MileagePlus, two Southwest cards, two AA cards, US Airways), but I don't think any of them waive international fees.
Any suggestions on that? Should I pick one, call and ask if they're willing to?
menton1
May 5, 12, 7:47 am
Last year Chase did not have foreign conversion fees for United Mileage Plus. Check that out if it's changed, but probably not, probably the same perks as their Sapphire Preferred.
nicolas75
May 6, 12, 1:41 am
Hi Matic (http://www.hi-matic.net/en) is a new budget hotel concept designed by Matali Crasset. Location in very trendy 11th arrondissement.
Mama Shelter designed by Philippe Starck is a bit more expensive (Sunday's brunch is great).
neu
May 31, 12, 1:56 am
Got a free stay in Paris in June (1 night since I'm just arriving by rail and flying off Sunday evening (yay for 4pm checkout)) by using their Best Rate Guarantee.
Not sure if you would want this as an option. If you're staying 2 nights in Paris and can find a IHC BRG room at IC you might want to consider enrolling in IC's Ambassador program and use the BOGO voucher for your second night *If I recall correctly it has to be over a weekend though.
The ambassador enrollment would be 200 USD but that's 200 USD for 2 nights stay at a 5 star hotel. (You might want to find out if you can get approved and the voucher in time for your stay)
neu
May 31, 12, 2:00 am
One other question:
I just got AT&T to unlock my iPhone. What could I do for cell service while there?
I'm not on AT&T but if you're traveling multiple countries it might make better sense to rent a sim from iphonetrip.com
My local carrier gives me roaming in countries at about 10 USD per day but the cut off for each "day" is 12 midnight. Since I don't want to go through the hassle of having to activate the unlimited roaming for each country and potentially double paying across two countries, I went ahead and did a rental with iphonetrip. I do have an unlocked mifi device though and I'm planning to share the connection across 5 devices.