Hi All,
Let me first start by apologizing for such a vague and general post but I%26#39;m very unsure of what to do for my honeymoon in early September. Currently, I have tentative reservations for 3 days in Nice, 7 night Monte Carlo to Athens cruise with Regent, and 1 night in Athens. I%26#39;ve already made bookings for hotels, flight, and cruise but not yet fully committed to any of them.
My fiance is wary about being on a boat and also having too aggressive of a schedule without enough relaxation. I initially thought that the cruise would be a good idea to see Europe for the first time and to be active enough where we%26#39;re not bored. I%26#39;ve done a lot of research into that trip and the more I do the more I think the cruise may not be such a good idea. Looking at different messageboards and travelers photos onboard past cruises, the average age of the guests appear to be somewhere over the 65 yr. mark (we are both around 30). Not that we planned to spend much time with the other travelers but the scene maybe a little different than what we%26#39;re used to (this would also be our first cruise and this is a luxury cruise with a more senior group).
I%26#39;m now thinking of maybe doing a Barcelona to Nice trip by way of land with around 3-4 days in Barcelona, 2-3 days in Avignon, and 3-4 days in Nice for a total of 12 days or so in early September. We would use those 3 sites as jumping points to other areas so as to not carry around our bags to 9 different towns.
Can anyone please provide some insight as to what you think of this alternative itinerary considering it%26#39;s our honeymoon, first time to Europe, a good mix of relaxation and getting out (fiance needing some down time since I still haven%26#39;t heard the last of it regarding doing too much while in HI), and transportation considerations (trains/cars vs. traveling by boat and seeing much more but not immersing ourselves because of lack of time. (Note: Our last trips have been to Hawaii, including Maui and Kauai with a fair amount of outdoor activites such as hiking, Costa Rica, Bahamas, and so on.)
Again, I apologize for such a general post but I really need some advice and direction. Europe has proved to be more than I can handle given the endless choices. Any advice on hotels and suggestions on travel would be greatly appreciated but I am looking more for advice on why this type of trip would be better than the one I currently have booked.
Regards,
Tom
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I would certainly vote for the Barcelona, Avignon, Nice version. They are all beautiful and interesting places with plenty to see and do but, if you stay in decent hotels, you can be as active or lazy as you want on any particular day. I would be inclined to pick up a car on the day you leave Barcelona and drop it off the day you arrive in Nice.
I am 65 and would dread to think of being stuck on a ship with hundreds of people of my age. I used to meet an elderly relative off cruise ships and the average age of the passengers was closer to 80.
The hotel reviews on TA are as good a way as any of finding the best places to stay. If you can afford it, the Hotel D%26#39;Europe in Avignon is as good as you will find anywhere.
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Bob, Thank you for your advice. I think I am def leaning towards travel by land. The cruise part is sounding less and less exciting although the ports sound awesome. Someone on the Barcelona post thought I may feel like I%26#39;ve left Europe missing out on the major cities/cultural centers so I%26#39;m thinking about adding Paris to the trip and possibly Ibiza at the tailend?
Given that I have around 13 days, would Paris to Nice to Avignon to Barcelona to Ibiza be way too aggressive? My fiance is concerned about exerting too much energy transferring with our bags and would like to relax. I thought Ibiza would be a good way to end the trip where we could just completely shut down for 3 days.
So the itinerary would be 2 nights Paris with train to Nice. 3 nights in Nice to check out St. Paul de Vence (sp), Monte Carlo, among others. Rent car and spend 2 nights in Avignon and drive to Barcelona (still need to research the area for both). 2 nights in Barcelona and then 3 in Ibiza.
Should I cut out something from this itinerary and if so which would you recommend leaving out? I always use TA for hotels and thank you for your hotel recommendation in Avignon.
I feel better about this already but I want to make sure that I don%26#39;t pack in way too much.
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Your itinerary sounds exhausting to me - If were you [and i know you aren%26#39;t, but still] I%26#39;d cut it down to 3 places maximum - and probably do Paris , Avignon and Nice because it would be a fabulous contrast and give you time to see a bit of the places you were staying in as well as travel outside . Or maybe Paris, Nice and Barcelona
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Thanks again Bob! No pressure, but I am really listening to your advice and I am already making arrangements.
By the time I had read this I had already decided to take out Ibiza and only spend 1 night in Avignon. So my itinerary would look more like this:
4 nights (Hotel not chosen yet) in Paris. Take train late afternoon to Nice (Hotel Palais de la Mediterranee) and spend 3 nights there. Get car and drive to Barcelona with one night stop in Avignon at the hotel you recommended. Finally, 3 nights in Barcelona (Hotel Arts).
Does this itinerary sound better? I think I%26#39;ve eliminated enough to where we could be lazy in Paris or Barcelona if we wanted to. And the drive from Nice to Barcelona would at least allow us to see many towns along the way.
Again, thanks for being a great Destination Expert. You guys always provide the most insight and I would be lost without the posts on this site.
- Tom
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Tom.To a lazy,laid back Englishman like me you Americans always seem to want to be busy busy on vacation with a time-filled itinerary.Somebody explained to me it was because you don%26#39;t get such long holidays from work as we do.
I had 5 days in Provence last year and I was smitten. But it wouldn%26#39;t be my honeymoon choice.Against your instincts I would take the cruise option.You don%26#39;t have to leave the ship at each port of call.If you want to chill stay aboard.True the age range may be a problem (I don%26#39;t know anything about Regent)but they (we) don%26#39;t all have hearing-aids,incontinence pads and walking sticks.
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Hello Tom,
I went to some of the places you mentioned for my honeymoon (7/2002) and 1st yr anniversary. I wouldn%26#39;t take the cruise if I were you, it%26#39;ll limit what you can see/do. We are in the same age group (I%26#39;m 31) and I can understand you want to have fun and relax at the same time. I%26#39;m going to tell you what we did and see if you like it.... I would advise flying into Paris, stay there for a few days, check out the city...then fly to Nice, stay there a few days and use that as a launching pad to check out Monte Carlo and Cannes (which are both nearby if u rent a car...we also went the San Remo, Italy) and then fly to Barcelona. We had a good mix of sightseeing and relaxation. I must say however, that after being in France I wasn%26#39;t too crazy about Barcelona, I felt I was visiting something more local and not more %26quot;European%26quot;...but that%26#39;s just my opinion!
We also went to Greece by flying into Athens and then immediately getting on a plane to Santorini which is so unique and beautiful, after staying a few days we went to Mykonos (fun/partying/beach) and stayed there for a few days, and then flew back to Athens (sightseeing) and stayed there for a couple of days before heading home. The Athens airport is about 45 min from the city so that%26#39;s why I don%26#39;t recommend going into then city if ur visiting other parts of greece because it%26#39;s a waste of travel time. If you are interested in any more specific info on any of these places I%26#39;ll do my best to fill you in!
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Thanks for the great reply Lidia! I am still planning away (basically all I%26#39;ve been doing all night). I%26#39;ve pretty much decided to not do the cruise and stick to land and air. It def looks like you had a similar itinerary to what we want to do so I%26#39;d like to get your advice on a few things if you%26#39;d be kind enough to help.
Any suggestions for hotels in Paris? The list of hotels is daunting on TA and everytime I look at the hotel list and Paris forum I find a new %26quot;best%26quot; hotel on different posts. I know that it is subjective to each traveler but we could honestly do a wide spectrum of places, 3-5 star. I%26#39;ve looked at the Hotel de Crillon pretty closely but not only is the price pretty high, I%26#39;m afraid it may be too %26quot;stuffy%26quot; for us. I think we dress fairly well but I don%26#39;t want to dress up more than nice jeans just to leave the hotel to do some sight-seeing. I understand that nightlife would be a different story as far as dress. We%26#39;ve also looked at 3-stars like the Hotel Millesime that seem decent but we know that we would be sacrificing the nicer things while allowing the wifey to shop her heart out at her favorite places. I can already picture the shoes and bags now.
Also, do you recommend flying or taking the traing from Paris to Nice? And would you not do the drive from Nice to Barcelona? We thought it might be a good way to see some of the other towns along the way. If Barcelona was not as impressive as you had hoped, would you have spent more time in Paris or the Cote d%26#39;Azur? I%26#39;m thinking in order to make sure we aren%26#39;t doing too much I can take out Avignon and do the flight from Nice to Barcelona giving us an extra night in Paris and Nice. Or taking out Barcelona as Bob suggested and doing only Paris and the Cote d%26#39;Azur.
Thanks in advance for answering my million questions.
- Tom
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You need to consider relocation costs if you take a hire car across borders. The additional cost for a one way hire to another country are usually considerable.
Did you know you can take the TGV from Paris to Avignon? Just a few hours travel to go such a long way and from the centre of Paris rather than doing the CDG bit with waiting times and distances from the city. I think you may be able to continue to Nice on the train but I am not sure it travels at high speed on that bit.
You could hire a car in Avignon and look around Provence which is absolutely beautiful and very varied in what it offers, from Roman remains at the Pont du Gard or Nimes or Arles, to the delightful markets and towns, to the abbeys and fields, probably sunflowers by then. Maybe choose a base city and take small trips in the mornings, have lunch and then siesta in the afternoons.
I am not sure how useful a car will be in Nice. Good if you want to get to places like St Paul, but the traffic is awful along the coast road and pretty bad on the motorways where you don%26#39;t see much anyway.
Because of the car thing I would train or fly to Barcelona. There is much to see if you are into art and architecture and a reasonable beach scene for just relaxing.
Congratulations. Just don%26#39;t try to do too much. Three destinations are plenty.
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Tom,
I think the idea of train to Avignon is a good one. It is super fast and, unlike flying, allows you to see much of the French countryside. The same train is slow to Nice but there are great coastal views along the way. When in Nice you can go to places such as Eze, St Jean, Villefranche and Cap Ferrat, all of which are spectacularly beautiful, unlike Monaco, and only a few miles from Nice. Public transport is cheap and fairly efficient, although in September traffic will not be so much of a problem as in August so car rental is worth considering.
I fully appreciate that having travelled from the US you want to see more places on one trip than we Brits do, as we can make multiple visits for little cost. Avignon is a good base for seeing places such as Arles and the other sites of western Provence, so I would be inclined to rent a car and spend a few days in the area. If you want to relax I would view Paris as less suitable than Provence.
Whatever you decide I am certain that you will have a wonderful trip to one of the world%26#39;s most beautiful places.
Bob
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I think we stayed at the Hotel Lutetia (St. Germain de Pres) while in Paris. It was decent, the staff was nice, good location...but it was picked out by our travel agent, knowing what I know now I would have gone with a different choice....so I%26#39;m no help with picking out a hotel in Paris!!
Now, Paris to Nice......we flew just so we don%26#39;t waste time. My husband couldn%26#39;t wait to get the the beach, enough of old buildings for him! lol I%26#39;m sure the train would be nice if you want to see the countryside but if its the highspeed train I%26#39;m not sure exactly how much ur going to actually %26quot;see%26quot; I prefer getting to my destination faster so I have more time to things once I%26#39;m there. Now...hotels in Nice...we had booked an oceanview room at the Le Meridian....we got there took one look at the hotel and one look at our room (which faced a inner wall of the building) and left right away. We went down to the Hotel West End which is right on the beach and got a room there. The room was nice, the hotel was under renovation at the time so I%26#39;m sure it%26#39;s
better now...the best thing about it is the location.
I wouldn%26#39;t do the drive from Nice to Barcelona....it seems like it%26#39;s too long and your wasting time with doing too much of nothing. If you really want to go to Barcelona then fly there. The best thing that I liked about it is the shopping, other than it almost felt like we were in Mexico (although we did go to a bull fight which was fun)
If you go to Nice and spend an extra night or two there you can check out Monte Carlo and Cannes and the other nearby towns. There is a good mix of things to do once you get to the French Riviera. We had such a great time there we%26#39;re going back!
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