Holiday Planning Help

Voyager2002

Mumum said:

tightauldgit said:

An obvious choice would be Paris as it'll be a short flight and there'll be plenty options. Plus there's more than enough to entertain yourself there for 3 4 or 5 days. Ditto Amsterdam. Another place I heartily recommend is Rome but that's becoming a longer flight then. For a first trip and a short flight plus loads to do I think you'd struggle to beat Paris.  

Thanks oldgit (lol), funnily enough those were my top choices, although son not keen on Paris, I think a day in the older Disneylsnd Park may persuade him. I'd love Amsterdam but what to do apart from cannabis and the sea industry lol. Canals and windmills would be wonderful but don't think son is fussed. He's so awkward to cater for, just likes gaming and computers and doesn't like walking!! His choice is Japan as he loves the culture but too expensive and too far! I'm.nrrvous about the language barrier as I could get lost in a supermarket, hence ideally wanting a rep.

Amsterdam has cracked down heavily on the famous cafes and so cannabis is far less of an option there now.

Do be aware that costs in all three of these cities will be very much higher than in Eastern Europe.

On flying: the worst part is take-off and landing, while usually not much happens while the 'plane is cruising. So for a nervous flyer there is probably not much difference between a 30-minute flight and a 3-hour one, so it might be worth enduing the longer flight to get to somewhere like Poland. Equally, for those of us who are fortunate enough not to be nervous and who enjoy the view, modern jet aircraft are boring and frustrating, so I expect that your son will be very disappointed, unless you can somehow find an airline operating small propellor-driven aircraft (and you might find these even more frightening than a more conventional flight). 

My top suggestion: choose somewhere that you would enjoy, since by the sound of things no matter where you go your son will spend most of the holiday on his laptop in the hotel. And you might consider the north coast of France: if you really hated the flight going there you could always come back by ferry. Plus, it is a long way from the capital city and so should cost less than Paris or similar. 

Mumum

Hi everyone. Son has finally settled on Disneyland, Paris. Just.went to check flights and Southampton only fly to Orly, about a 1hr 15mins train journey to Disneyland. I was thinking we could fly there to satisfy my son and come back by ferry or shuttle. Anyone have any experience of the pros and cons of either return journey? By the way. I looked further into Poland and I'd very much love to go one day if I can overcome my fear of flying as its quite far. Would love to go Holland too. Something to consider for the future. Thanks so much for all the great input.

Mumum

Voyager2002 said:

Mumum said:

tightauldgit said:

An obvious choice would be Paris as it'll be a short flight and there'll be plenty options. Plus there's more than enough to entertain yourself there for 3 4 or 5 days. Ditto Amsterdam. Another place I heartily recommend is Rome but that's becoming a longer flight then. For a first trip and a short flight plus loads to do I think you'd struggle to beat Paris.  

Thanks oldgit (lol), funnily enough those were my top choices, although son not keen on Paris, I think a day in the older Disneylsnd Park may persuade him. I'd love Amsterdam but what to do apart from cannabis and the sea industry lol. Canals and windmills would be wonderful but don't think son is fussed. He's so awkward to cater for, just likes gaming and computers and doesn't like walking!! His choice is Japan as he loves the culture but too expensive and too far! I'm.nrrvous about the language barrier as I could get lost in a supermarket, hence ideally wanting a rep.

Amsterdam has cracked down heavily on the famous cafes and so cannabis is far less of an option there now.

Do be aware that costs in all three of these cities will be very much higher than in Eastern Europe.

On flying: the worst part is take-off and landing, while usually not much happens while the 'plane is cruising. So for a nervous flyer there is probably not much difference between a 30-minute flight and a 3-hour one, so it might be worth enduing the longer flight to get to somewhere like Poland. Equally, for those of us who are fortunate enough not to be nervous and who enjoy the view, modern jet aircraft are boring and frustrating, so I expect that your son will be very disappointed, unless you can somehow find an airline operating small propellor-driven aircraft (and you might find these even more frightening than a more conventional flight). 

My top suggestion: choose somewhere that you would enjoy, since by the sound of things no matter where you go your son will spend most of the holiday on his laptop in the hotel. And you might consider the north coast of France: if you really hated the flight going there you could always come back by ferry. Plus, it is a long way from the capital city and so should cost less than Paris or similar. 

Except an extra 2 hrs 30 mins of fearing we're about to crash! 😁

maman

I've used ferries many times but never as a foot passenger. Without a car, you'd have to get from Paris to the ferry port of your choice and then back home again. If you really don't want a return flight then I'd suggest Eurostar, then you only have to cross London to Waterloo for a train back to the South coast. 

Mumum

maman said:

I've used ferries many times but never as a foot passenger. Without a car, you'd have to get from Paris to the ferry port of your choice and then back home again. If you really don't want a return flight then I'd suggest Eurostar, then you only have to cross London to Waterloo for a train back to the South coast. 

Thanks maman. Looks like we'd have to fly from Gatwick to get to Paris CDG (9 mins train to DLP) althoigh the flight is over 2 hrs. Will then get Eurostar back, as you suggested. Just trying to work out the other connections then accommodation.

Voyager2002

Mumum said:

Hi everyone. Son has finally settled on Disneyland, Paris. Just.went to check flights and Southampton only fly to Orly, about a 1hr 15mins train journey to Disneyland. I was thinking we could fly there to satisfy my son and come back by ferry or shuttle. Anyone have any experience of the pros and cons of either return journey?

France prides itself on its railway system, which connects most places to Paris but is not so good at linking distant places to each other. So once you leave Disneyland it should be very easy to get a train to the port from where you catch a ferry home: no need to take Eurostar and then the long and expensive journey home from London. And you might manage to see Mont St Michel and/or the Bayeux tapestry on the way home.

Incidentally, please see some of Paris itself rather than dashing straight to Disney. Probably the best budget option within Paris is MIJE, whose properties are in a very attractive area (most affordable hotels are near to the Gare du Nord, which is noisy and can be rather unpleasant).

thegreenone

Please do remember that returns are generally cheaper than one ways on most modes of transport.

mtc95

Mumum said:

maman said:

I've used ferries many times but never as a foot passenger. Without a car, you'd have to get from Paris to the ferry port of your choice and then back home again. If you really don't want a return flight then I'd suggest Eurostar, then you only have to cross London to Waterloo for a train back to the South coast. 

Thanks maman. Looks like we'd have to fly from Gatwick to get to Paris CDG (9 mins train to DLP) although the flight is over 2 hrs. Will then get Eurostar back, as you suggested. Just trying to work out the other connections then accommodation.

Flight times from Gatwick to Paris should not be over 2 hours.  It may look like that, but remember that France is 1 hour ahead of the UK and departure and arrival times are shown as local time.  So for example if departure is 9:00 (UK time) and arrival is 11:10 (French time) the actual flight time is 1hr 10 mins.

strawb_shortcake

Considering 2 different modes of transport there and back you are starting to eat heavily into your budget.

I've not been for a long time but understand Eurodisney like other parks are expensive once you are in the gates.

tightauldgit

Mumum said:

maman said:

I've used ferries many times but never as a foot passenger. Without a car, you'd have to get from Paris to the ferry port of your choice and then back home again. If you really don't want a return flight then I'd suggest Eurostar, then you only have to cross London to Waterloo for a train back to the South coast. 

Thanks maman. Looks like we'd have to fly from Gatwick to get to Paris CDG (9 mins train to DLP) althoigh the flight is over 2 hrs. Will then get Eurostar back, as you suggested. Just trying to work out the other connections then accommodation.

Heathrow to CDG was about 45 minutues so I doubt that Gatwick to CDG is over 2 hours. It's just about the shortest flight I've ever taken - BRS to DUB might be shorter not sure. Are you mistakenly counting the time difference?