City break for parents

[jeanette1976]

My brother, sister and I want to send our parents on a gorgeous weekend break away around Feb for my dad's 62nd birthday. Sadly, because it was my idea, i've been left to sort it out... problem is, i don't know where to look. i was thinking 4-5 star in Rome, Venice or something similar.... i want somewhere stunning, but sadly, my dad can't walk very far without stopping so anywhere hilly is completely out of the picture. Then there is Prague, Amsterdam, Paris... although I think somewhere in Italy will competely blow them away... we're not kids so we should be able to put about �600 towards it between us, which i hope will cover 2 nights and travel...
Any ideas how to go about this and is it better to do it seperately, ie flights and hotel?

All tips would be appreciated as i have NEVER purchased anything on the net!

Thanks! X

[Buenchico]

How confident are your parents with foreign travel?

If you book a package deal, there should be a rep at the airport who will have transport waiting ready to take them direct to the hotel.

If you use the d-i-y approach, they'll probably have to work out where the bus departs to take them to the city centre. Once in the city centre, they'll then have to find a taxi to take them to their hotel.

In most cases, I'd recommend the 'd-i-y' method, basically on the grounds of cost. If you're sure you're parents won't mind the extra hassle of sorting out transport from the airport to the hotel, you can save a great deal of money by putting your own package together. However, if they're not confident travellers, you might be better to buy an 'off the peg' package. (I hope that I don't sound 'ageist' here. I know that many older people - including myself! - are perfectly confident finding their way around foreign cities. I'm simply accepting that some people - young and old alike - get worried when faced with unfamiliar transport systems).

If you want some suggestions for the d-i-y method, tell us roughly where your parents live (so we can find flights from appropriate airports) and we'll come up with lots of suggestions. (My first thought is Barcelona - which is wonderful at any time of the year - but there's little point in me costing it from, say, Stansted if your parents live near to, say, Aberdeen!).

If you decide that a package deal is better, you might want to visit a local travel agency before you start hunting around the web. They often have 'early spring' city breaks, in February, at prices just as good, if not better, than anything on the web.

Chris

[jeanette1976]

Oh you're so lovely, Chris, you were the gentleman that kindly did my surname origin check! Hahahahah! ;D

Anyway, with Rome in mind, i guessed that they would have just got a taxi at the airport to take them to their hotel, which i would have tried to get in the city centre, near all the sites. i'm not sure how far the airport is to the city centre? Instead of getting a rented car, they paid a taxi driver to take them all over Barbados, the other year!

Time would probs be beginning of March, after being paid at end of Feb.

My parents live near Tyne and Wear, so they could fly from either Newcastle or Durham Tees Valley airport.
I know that they prefer to do their own thing once on location and not have to 'go with the crowd', if that makes sense, although they did go to the Inca (?) monuments on a tour bus in Mexico last year.

I decided to try the web as people are always finding fantastic bargains, so i wanted to get an idea, but i don't know of any reputable web companies. i've heard of jet2 and BMI but think that i would have to get a hotel via a seperate accommodation site.

I'd really like to have it all sorted so we could just present them with the tickets.

Thanks for your help, i really appreciate it. X

[jeanette1976]

Meanwhile, i'll check around to see if they'd like anywhere else... I HAVE heard all about Barcelona and Prague so i'll check them out too.

[mrsann]

Try ebay for your hotel booking. My daughter and her husband regularly take weekend breaks as she has a very high stress job.They buy the hotel bed and breakfast deals incredibly cheaply always choosing 4*+ hotels and usually manage to get upgrades to business class rooms which are bigger and usually better furnished.A recent trip was to Amsterdam where they stayed at the Radison quite near the airport with a shuttle to city centre and airport.They stayed for 4 nights B and B with two champagne breakfasts thrown in(full English breakfasts too) and payed about �250 including the flights with easyjet for the two of them so you could include a voucher for a lovelt meal as well.Another idea if your Dad doesn't walk well is a river trip.There are some fabulous ones throughout Europe and they aren't at all regimented.You sound like a pretty fabulous family to me Congratulations on being so nice

[Buenchico]

(Multi-part post):

Hi Jeanette

It was only yesterday that I deleted your e-mail address from my contacts list because I thought that I'd not need it again. Perhaps I was wrong ;-)

I've taken a look at the websites for the two airports you've quoted. Ryanair theoretically fly from Tees Valley to Girona (for Barcelona) but there are currently no flights listed for the first weekend in March. This might be because they're not 'in the system' yet but, even if they were, they wouldn't be ideal because Girona airport is too far from Barcelona for a reasonably priced taxi ride. (The express bus takes 1 hour 10 minutes). There don't seem to be any other suitable flights from Tees Valley airport for a weekend city break.

The situation with Ryanair flights from Newcastle is the same as from Tees Valley. i.e. theoretically the only suitable destination is Girona (for Barcelona) but there are no flights currently listed.

Excel fly from Newcastle to several destinations but none of them are really suitable for city breaks.

[Buenchico]

So it looks as if you'll have to book with easyJet from Newcastle. They've only got three destinations which are ideally suitable for city breaks but they are all on your list of 'possibles'. They are Prague, Rome (Ciampino) and Barcelona. (That's the real Barcelona airport and not Girona or Reus which are the 'Barcelona' airports used by Ryanair).

I'm not sure how long you want the 'weekend' to last but I've worked on the basis of out on Friday 2nd March and back on Monday 5th March.

Typical daytime temperatures in Prague will be around 5C, falling to -2C overnight. (Source: http://uk.weather.com/weather/climatology/EZXX 0012?dayofyear=60 )
The flight to Prague departs at 1300 (arriving at 1610) on Friday. The return flight, on Monday, leaves at 1635 (arriving at 1750). easyJet are currently quoting an inclusive fare of �213.96 for two people.
Prague Airport is 17km (11 miles) from the city
Taxi fares from the airport are CZK34 per km, plus a flat fee of CZK34. (Source: http://www.csl.cz/en/site/klient/sluzby_kontak ty/doprava_na_letiste/taxi.htm ). That means a taxi should cost around CZK600 to CZK650 to city centre hotels. (Roughly around �15).

[Buenchico]

Typical daytime temperatures in Barcelona should be around 15C, falling to 6C overnight. (Source: http://uk.weather.com/weather/climatology/SPXX 0015?dayofyear=60 )
The flight to Barcelona leaves at 0955 (arrives at 1335) on Friday. The flight back on Monday leaves at 1410 (arrives back at 1550). easyJet are currently quoting �212.96 inclusive for two people.
Barcelona Airport is 13km (8 miles) from the city centre. A taxi from the airport should cost less than 20 euros. (Source: http://www.barcelona-airport.com/eng/transport _eng.htm ).

Typical daytime temperatures in Rome should be around 14C, falling to 5C overnight. (Source: http://uk.weather.com/weather/climatology/ITXX 0067?dayofyear=60 )
The flight, on Friday, departs at 1550 (arrives 1945). Coming back on Monday, the flight leaves at 2015 (arriving at 2220). easyJet are currently offering an inclusive price of �183.96 for two people.
Ciampino airport is 15km from central Rome. Taxis to the city centre are charged at a flat fee of 30 euros. (Source: http://www.adr.it/content.asp?Subc=1460&L=3&id Men=204 ).

[Buenchico]

OK, so far I've given you an idea of the costs to get to a hotel but I've not yet provided any information on the actual hotels (or, indeed, about the cities). I'll try to do that later today because it's now very late and I've also emptied the bottle of wine I was drinking ;-)

Personally, based upon what I've written so far, I'd feel inclined to eliminate Prague from the list simply because of the weather. Barcelona and Rome both seem to be possible destinations. I've been to Barcelona and I know that it has an excellent, cheap integrated transport system and that it's delightful at any time of the year. I've not been to Rome so perhaps I might be slightly biased in favour of Barcelona ;-)

More to follow,

Chris

PS: I've just noticed a small error above. The taxi fares from Prague airport should be CZK25 per km. (I also put the wrong figure into my calculator. That estimate of �15 should probably be regarded as an absolute maximum).

PPS: I've just re-read your post and realised that you defined a weekend as a 2 night stay. If travel is either 'out Friday - back Sunday' or 'out Saturday - back Monday' there are relatively minor changes to the flight times but, within about �10 per person or so, the fares are roughly the same.

[vehelpfulguy]

For two nights I would DEFINATELY not do a trip abroad. If your father cannot walk very far getting around at airports and getting on and off planes would make the trip a nightmare.

They will also spend a high percentage of the trip travelling compared to how long they will have there.

My wife has recently gone away with her mother to a lovely hotel on the seafront at Llandudno in North Wales.

It is very flat there, you can hire wheelchairs just behind the hotel, the food at the hotel was wonderful, and it caters for "older" guests.

The bay is flat and there are some lovely hotels all along the sea front. See picture here
http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/35221.html

I think they stayed at St Georges right on the seafront

http://www.searchhotels.com/graphics/propimage s/96/96305-01.jpg

[Buenchico]

(2-part post):

Hi Jeanette,

Vehelpfulguy is entitled to his opinions. I'd just point out that I have a friend who is 10 years older than your father, who also has difficulty walking great distances. Despite that, she loves joining me for trips to places like the Italian Riviera - and we only go for the day!

It does occur to me though, that - if your parents' other commitments allow - a 'long weekend', with 3 nights stay would mean that a great deal more could be seen. (A 2 night stay only gives one full day to see the sights. Adding on an extra night doesn't increase the cost by very much but it almost doubles the sight-seeing time).

As I see things, the availability of flights from the north-east means that you just have a choice between Prague, Rome and Barcelona. Prague will be very chilly in early March (and so I don't really recommend it) but I've included details below

Easyjet: http://www.easyjet.com/en/book/index.asp

For a good choice of hotels, I don't think that you really need to look further than the range offered through easyJet: http://www.easyjethotels.net

[Buenchico]

I've been looking through them and I've come up with the following suggestions. (All the hotels are 4 star and central. All prices include breakfast and are fully inclusive of taxes, etc. Prices for 2 nights are based upon arrival on 2nd March and departure on 4th March. Prices for 3 nights are from 2nd March to 5th March. Prices are the total for 2 people and not per person):

Prague: Hotel Roma �109 for 2 nights or �163 for 3 nights

Rome: Hotel Anglo-Americana �144 for 2 nights or �216 for 3 nights.

Barcelona: Hotel Expo Barcelona �136 for 2 nights or �204 for 3 nights.

To find out more about the cities, check out their official websites:
Prague: http://www.pis.cz/a/
Rome: http://www.romaturismo.it/v2/en/main.asp
Barcelona: http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/?go=jN7uAYLx/o IJaWVQCb4ZU93ygJVYLOpRQdvyIue/wAW6Ddhyhal0Y8Jy bdczumN4RSbo3CRL94sJBt7u1Kc=

That will do for now but, if you need any further help, just ask!

Chris