"jst" wrote in message news:77juf.1487$Dh.457@dukeread04...
Ken Blake wrote:
jst wrote:

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.


Your choice, of course, but personally I hate group tours and always make
plans on my own.


We are just starting to look into this and any recommendations would
be appreciated. We are budgeting 10 - 15 thousand , is this
reasonable ???

10-15 thousand what? If you mean US dollars, for 7-10 days for 3 people,
it should be more than sufficient unless you insist on first-class
everything.

First class everything for my family, you must be kidding. LOL. We have
saved a while for this trip as gift for our daughter who reaaallly wants
to go. Any Ideas on where to start planning?

Decide on the cities you want to visit (though 3 days is barely enough to
scratch the surface of London, and a week is just enough to give you a nice
feel for Paris). Since this is your first trip to Europe, I wouldn't spend
it running from city to city. Remember, too, that your arrival day is
pretty much shot, even if you're one of the lucky few who doesn't suffer
much from jet lag. I can't make recommendations in the Alps -- my
experience of Switzerland is limited to Zurich -- but I'd suggest trying to
plan an open jaw trip, i.e. fly into one city and home from another. There
is no cost penalty to do this, and avoids having to backtrack.

Remember that summer is high season for European travel -- you usually can
do better, airfare-and-hotel-wise, if you travel in the shoulder seasons,
April/May or October/November. Also remember that August is the month of La
Grande Vacance, when the French traditionally vacation.

I'd recommend that you pick up a couple of good guide books to start. My
wife and I like the DK Eyewitness series -- they're beautifully illustrated
and make nice souvenirs after the trip. They contain illustrated
neighborhood maps, and will help you decide where you want to stay. They
also contain hotel recommendations, which will give you a starting place.

You'll do better on airfares if you arrive and depart midweek. Once you've
selected your gateway cities, and priced airfare, just move on to selecting
your hotels. To get from London to Paris you'll want to take the train
under the channel. Last time I checked, first class was around $350 US per
person -- a bit pricey, but it takes you from city center to city center,
saving a huge amount of time and money over flying, as you do not have to
get to the airports, which are fairly distant from London and Paris. For
Paris to Switzerland, consider the train. European trains are comfortable,
reliable and inexpensive.

In any city, we always try to schedule day trips. These are particularly
easy from London and Paris, as both are central hubs for train travel. For
London, one of our favorite excursions was to Bath, a beautiful Georgian
city about one hour away. For Paris, a day trip to Versailles is almost a
requirement.

Within each city, it's really a question of what you enjoy -- are you an art
museum and old castle kind of person? Shopping and culture? Pub crawler?