"jst" wrote in message news:2Oiuf.1482$Dh.1371@dukeread04...
Our family of three( 2 adults & 17 y/o )are considering a trip to Europe
this summer. We would want to spend at least 2-3 days in London then 5-7
days going from France ( Paris a must ) to Switzerland ( the alps ). We
have traveled the states extensively and have never been overseas.Is
this the type of trip that we should do exclusively with a travel agency
and do the group tour bit. We have never been the types to do a group
tour but would do one if we could find the right locations included.
We are just starting to look into this and any recommendations would be
appreciated. We are budgeting 10 - 15 thousand , is this reasonable ???

I agree with most things that have been written about independent travel,
London, Paris and travel between the cities, so I won't add to that.
When going to Switzerland I would take the train from Geneva to Interlaken.
Take a day trip to Jungfraujoch. Train from Interlaken to Grindelwald and
then another train up the mountain. If you take the very first train of the
day you get a 50% reduction but you have leave Jungfraujoch before noon. On
the way down (as well as up) you have to change trains at Kleine Scheidegg.
I would take the opportunity to go for a walk along the path to Mannlichen.
This is almost level. You can then either return to KS for the train or
continue the walk to M and take a cable car down to Grindelwald. All in all
a great day out. There are other day trips you can do from Interlaken as
well.

Gerrit - Oz