Airfares for Paris

[sjnoble]

We are visiting Paris the last week of May. I was very lucky to have Marriott move our reservation for Renaissance Vendome to May (originally reserved for Oct09 at the end of 2008 as part of a travel package before Marriott changed the program, baby came and had to cancel, points went up for the same hotel category, but I got so lucky at the end of 09 the rep I talked to let me change the dates and applied my original cert).

Anyway, we've been checking flights lately and the fares are still hovering around $1,000 or just under. Any suggestion if we should just buy now or wait?

I don't think end of May is peak season yet and was expecting to find fares around $700-$800, but not seeing anything cheaper than $900+ so far.

Are fares just more expensive now?

Also thinking of extending the trip to stay at Marriott Village d'ile de France, is that a good time to visit Disney, not too crowded I hope?

Looking for advice from experienced Europe travel tuggers, TIA!
sjnoble

[KathyPet]

Go to www.bing.com and then select travel. When you do the search for flights on that site you will also get a forecaster tool which will advise you as to whether you should buy now or wait based on the current airline fare trends. It will show up at the top of the listing of flights that you get from he search

[Smooth Air]

We just booked for May & it was $1,000 per person Toronto/Paris Air Canada.

[Latravel]

High season starts after May 15 until the end of August so you are looking at the most expensive time period to travel, not just for airfare but hotel and restaurant expenses. There's a big difference in price before and after May 15.

As a comparison, I used to get my yearly ticket to Paris (high season also) for under $600. Now I pay anywhere from $900 to $1200 and i'm happy.

[pharmgirl]

summer is low season for bussiness travel, so often for another 300 to 600 more you can buy business tickets - much nicer travel

[Swice]

Tried to go this past summer and was watching airfare.

We did get to exchange in for Marriott's Village d'Ile-de-France this summer and continued watching air.

Air was about 1,400 per person last summer and so far this summer.

Ended up using Marriott points to flesh out the FF account to avoid paying out the cash ($1,400 x 4).

[Aviator621]

We are going there over Thanksgiving--anyone have experience on what to expect for November airfares?

[Twinkstarr]

Originally Posted by Aviator621

We are going there over Thanksgiving--anyone have experience on what to expect for November airfares?

Last year, I watched flights into Paris/London out of Detroit for Thanksgiving. It was below $1000, I think there were some sales around $600-800 RT on direct flights.

[Aviator621]

Thanks for the info!

[pefs65]

KathyPet:

thanks so much for the tip on tracking flights on bing.com

That is a very helpful site.

[Swice]

I just assumed everyone knows about kayak.com

[Latravel]

Originally Posted by pharmgirl

summer is low season for bussiness travel, so often for another 300 to 600 more you can buy business tickets - much nicer travel

In my experience, business class travel is usually about $3,200 to $3500 (on sale only) and coach is $1000 to $1200 during summer high season

[pharmgirl]

Originally Posted by Latravel

In my experience, business class travel is usually about $3,200 to $3500 (on sale only) and coach is $1000 to $1200 during summer high season

try Continental
Zurich is 1880 for business in summer

[KathyPet]

Kayak gives you prices and flight information for the dates you want but does not help you to decide whether to purchase the on the day that you get the prices. Bing tracks fare trends and recommends that you wait because prices are dropping or purchase right away because prices are trending up.

[clivemark]

Just a suggestion... If you have time...

You might find fares to London cheaper and can see London as well .. then hop over to Central Paris from Central London by EuroStar...

Just an idea...

[Latravel]

Originally Posted by pharmgirl

try Continental
Zurich is 1880 for business in summer

If you stumble on any good rates to Paris from the West Coast, let us know! As Clivemark stated, there is cheaper airfare to other airports but you have to find a way to get from that country to France. Also, rates are more expensive from the West Coast than the East.

[Twinkstarr]

Originally Posted by KathyPet

Kayak gives you prices and flight information for the dates you want but does not help you to decide whether to purchase the on the day that you get the prices. Bing tracks fare trends and recommends that you wait because prices are dropping or purchase right away because prices are trending up.

It's too early to get the forecast yet for European flights for Thankgsiving.

Only available when searching for:

Bing travel cities indicated in bold when entering your search.
Round trip, economy flights
Popular dates:
U.S. domestic trips from 1 night to 3 weeks long within the next 180 days
Europe and Caribbean trips up to 2 weeks long within the next 120 days

[sjnoble]

Thanks for all the reply! After the third or forth post we just decided to purchase the flight for $960 from SFO.
Will be staying at Village d'ile de France the first week then Renaissance Paris Vendome for the second week!
Would like to visit Brussels for a day trip, would that be more convenient from Paris or is there transportation from the Disney area?

I just wish I have time to go dig through all the posts about things to do in Paris. There is never enough time with a baby!

Thanks! sjnoble

[davewasbaloo]

Crowds will depend on when in May you are going. THe last week of May is half term school break in the UK, so DLP can be quite busy then. And avoid it at weekends if you can.

Any tips, please let me know. We own at Ile de France, and have been to the area on over 50 occassions.

Flights will likely continue to go up in price, so you probably did the right thing. Hope you enjoy it.

[dlpearson]

Originally Posted by sjnoble

Thanks for all the reply! After the third or forth post we just decided to purchase the flight for $960 from SFO.
Will be staying at Village d'ile de France the first week then Renaissance Paris Vendome for the second week!
Would like to visit Brussels for a day trip, would that be more convenient from Paris or is there transportation from the Disney area?

I just wish I have time to go dig through all the posts about things to do in Paris. There is never enough time with a baby!

Thanks! sjnoble

sjnobel,

My wife and I stayed at the Renaissance Vendome (using points) last August for our 15th wedding anniversary. It is a FABULOUS location. For European standards especially, the hotel is very nice. Just be prepared for much smaller rooms and bathrooms than in the U.S. You are literally 1.5 blocks/3 minute walk to the subway ( called "Metropolitain", or metro for short) at the "Tuileries" (not sure of that spelling) metro stop. This is the huge park/gardens connected to the Louvre museum. The front entrance to the Louvre is about a 2 minute walk beyond the metro stop (so maybe 6 minutes walk total from the hotel. You can walk to the Orangerie museum (Monet's water lilies) in about the same time frame. You can walk to the Champs Elysee in about 15 minutes. Absolutely fantastic location. We also took a day/overnight trip to Brussels on the train, as I lived there for about a year 20+ years ago and wanted to show the sites to my wife. We stayed at the Marriott right across the street from the Stock Exchange, which is only a 3 minute walk from the Brussels Grand Place (main/famous town square). Also an excellent location for walking.

All trains to Paris leave from the main train station in Paris (Gare du Nord/North train station I believe), no direct options from Disneyland. It was a lot more expensive than I expected it to be (I think around $150 pp round trip).

If you want any more tips on what we did while in Paris or Brussels, feel free to send me an email.

David

[danuty]

We are going to Paris in May and I found Rick Steves book on Paris very informative. It does have a chapter on seeing Paris with children. Also, the Marriott website for your hotel should have a link for events scheduled during the time you will be there. It is quite comprehensive.

Diane