Maricat
Senior Travel Member
Posts: 52
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Post by Maricat on Feb 27, 2003 21:35:50 GMT -5
First, I wanted to say that this is a great site! Lots of great tips. I have a couple of questions that would fit into various forums here, so hopefully it is OK that I try to condense them into this single post.  I am planning a 2 week trip to France and Spain in May, and wondering whether to try to include Portugal also, and whether we (there are two of us) would be better off to purchase a rail pass or just try to go for point to point tickets? Tentatively, we will be flying into Paris and returning from Barcelona, although this may reverse depending on flight availability and pricing. Cheapest rate so far for a flight that I have found is $700 for the open jaw tic from Tucson, AZ and am wondering whether I should hold out for a potentially cheaper fare or buy now? Any advice on this would be much appreciated as my friend and I are at odds about whether to buy now or wait. Thirdly, any help in planning an itinerary would be greatly appreciated! I have been to Paris once (for 2 days), but have never been anywhere else in France and never been to Spain or Portugal. Thanks in advance! |
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Post by BigRay on Feb 28, 2003 2:18:12 GMT -5
With just two weeks, I would recommend skipping Portugal, as you would end up spending a lot of that time travelling and would likely rush through many cities in the hopes of seeing them all. Here is my recommendation of places to see in two weeks time:
Paris is a great place to spend a lot of time. Some of my favorite places in France are in the south on the Atlantic coast. Namely, the French Basque towns of Biarritz and St-Jean de Luz. From there, you are a quick trip over the border to San Sebastian, Spain (an incredible place, well-visited by many on this site). From San Sebastian you can take a day trip to the Guggenheim in Bilbao.
San Sebastian to Barcelona is a night train or bus away, and Barcelona is a great place visit. You can fly home from here, or if you have extra time, get to Madrid and fly home from there. The Madrid airport is larger and probably cheaper to fly out of. Or you can go to Madrid before Barcelona.
So in short, here is a possible itinerary:
Paris (3 days)
Biarritz - St-Jean de Luz (2 days)
San Sebastian (3 days) - with a day trip to Bilbao
Madrid (3 days) - possible day trips to Toledo, Segovia, or Avila
Barcelona (3 days)
I think this itinerary gives you a good mix of cities and smaller towns as well as shows some of the diversity in France and Spain. I'm sure Kim or Ginger here could give you possible itineraries, too, of places they enjoy.
I am a firm believer in quality over quantity, and I would recommend staying longer in places and getting to know them a little more rather than rushing through in the hopes of stopping in more cities. I am also heavily biased towards the places I mention, so my advice would be to read up on the destinations and see what interests you (ie, cities, museums, beaches, partying, etc).
Have a great trip!
Ray
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Maricat
Senior Travel Member
Posts: 52
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Post by Maricat on Mar 5, 2003 15:50:52 GMT -5
Hi Ray,
Thank you so much for the feedback! I really like the itinerary that you suggested, although after doing some reading, I am leaning towards doing something like the following as I was unable to afford open jaw tickets and will have to fly in and out of Paris:
Leave US on May 10th, and
Arrive Paris on the 11th and get on train to Arles
2 nights Arles and go to Nice
2 nights Nice, and catch night train to Barcelona
3 nights Barcelona and catch night train to San Sebastian
2 nights San Sebastian, and catch night train to Paris
3 nights Paris
Fly home on May 25th
Does this sound reasonable, or like I am trying to do too much? Your comment about quality over quantity made a lot of sense, but I have always wanted to see Provence. Don't want to end up feeling overwhelmed with travelling to fast though. Any additional feedback would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Mari
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Maricat
Senior Travel Member
Posts: 52
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Post by Maricat on Mar 5, 2003 16:07:51 GMT -5
Me again.. I just noticed that there is no night train from Nice to Barcelona, so am once more re-thinking my plan. Perhaps I should skip Nice altogether, head right for Barcelona from Arles, and add Biarritz - St. Jean and an extra day in Paris instead?
It is very difficult to narrow things down with so many wonderful places to choose from!
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Post by Kim on Mar 5, 2003 16:42:37 GMT -5
I would skip Nice-it's nice but if it messes with your travel plans, it's not worth it. Some places are but in my opinion, Nice isn't one of those.
You might want to give yourself a day when you get there-you have to remember you will most likely be jet lagged and pretty tired. It would be pretty bad to have to go and get on a train right away.
Kim
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Maricat
Senior Travel Member
Posts: 52
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Post by Maricat on Mar 5, 2003 17:54:34 GMT -5
Thanks Kim.. good point about the jet lag. I was just trying to figure out a way not to have to check in and out of hotels in Paris twice, but may have figured out a way. Will definitely have to eliminate Nice.
How does this sound?
Paris (3-4 nights) and NT to Barcelona
3 days Barcelona
NT to San Sebastian
2 days in San Sebastian
2 nights in Arles
1-2 night in Avignon and take TGV to Paris airport
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Post by Kim on Mar 5, 2003 18:44:07 GMT -5
That sounds like an excellent plan! You will be busy but still have time to enjoy everything. I loved both Barcelona and San Sebastian.
Kim
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Post by BigRay on Mar 6, 2003 5:49:58 GMT -5
Sounds like you have a great plan! The only thing I would receommend is to try to spend a Friday or Saturday night in San Sebastian, if possible.
But regardless, you will have a great time and are giving yourself a reasonable amount of time in the places you will be visiting.
Have a great trip!
Ray
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Post by nitsansh on Mar 6, 2003 15:26:03 GMT -5
Me again.. I just noticed that there is no night train from Nice to Barcelona So what? Take night train to Port Bou and another train to Barcelona. |
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Post by nitsansh on Mar 6, 2003 15:32:16 GMT -5
How does this sound? Paris (3-4 nights) and NT to Barcelona 3 days Barcelona NT to San Sebastian 2 days in San Sebastian 2 nights in Arles 1-2 night in Avignon and take TGV to Paris airport No need to stay in Arles AND Avignon. These 2 are very close, so you can make day trip from one to another. Is there a good connection between San Sebastian and Arles/Avignon? I doubt that... Make sure that you go to the right airport... is it CDG you're flying from? |
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Post by emily on Mar 6, 2003 16:13:14 GMT -5
i do believe there is a night train from barcelona...i took one last may...it may have changed, but yah, we left at 9pm and got to barcelona at 9am....i think..... and then we went to valencia from there.
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Post by nitsansh on Mar 6, 2003 16:48:31 GMT -5
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Maricat
Senior Travel Member
Posts: 52
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Post by Maricat on Mar 6, 2003 16:50:24 GMT -5
Hi nitsansh,
Yes, it is CDG that we are flying home from. I am not sure about the connection from San Sebastian to Arles, and I meant to put Ambione (oops!), not Avignon because there is a TGV (1.5hrs) to CDG from there. It is almost 6 hrs to the airport from Arles, which is longer than I would like prior to getting on the long flight home.
Since we only have two weeks, I am thinking that I would have to choose between Nice or San Sebastian in order to have enough time in Paris and Barcelona. Which would you recommend? Also, has anyone been to Arles? Is this worth 2-3 days? Any other recommendations for a substitute? We will not have a rental car.. only travelling by train.
With the original plan, we would be in San Sebastian on Monday and Tuesday, so am guessing that the town would be pretty quiet. Still worth going? Would St. Jean de Luc be a better choice?
Basically, what I am trying to do is figure out the best options after Barcelona in order to get us back to the airport in Paris without having to jump right on a plane after a long train ride, or possibly having problems getting a good connection back to the airport.
Thank you so much everyone! You are all very helpful.
Mari
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Post by nitsansh on Mar 6, 2003 18:43:26 GMT -5
I have no idea what is Ambione... no such place exist on the rail schedule database...
Avignon-CDG is 3-3.5 hours on TGV.
What time is your return flight?
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Maricat
Senior Travel Member
Posts: 52
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Post by Maricat on Mar 6, 2003 18:50:13 GMT -5
Sorry.. I have been staring at so many maps that names are blurring. I meant Amboise, in the Loire Valley. However, I am not finding any direct train routes between Amboise and Arles/Avignon either.
I just found that TGV train to Arles from CDG.. we land on the 11th at 11:05 am and the first train is at 1:11pm.. next not until 4:04. Do you think we would have enough time to make the 1:11pm train?
We leave on the 25th at 2:25pm.
Thanks so much for the tip about there being no good train route between San Sebastian and Arles.. that had not even occurred to me, and you were right.. there is no fast way.
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