August 2022 Cruising
I have purposely delayed making final payment for this trip, having canceled twice in the past two years. Now the deadline is upon me! My husband and I are excited to think we will actually be able to go on this trip, our first ever river cruise. We plan to spend several days in advance in London, as we've never been there. Undecided whether to extend in Paris at the end of the trip. We are both retired, living in Northern Virginia. We look forward to meeting our fellow travelers.
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If you have never been to Paris I highly recommend adding post-tour days. There is so much to do and see there. However, August is not the most ideal time to be there due to the heat and tourists.
No August is not a good time for Paris and not good for London either. It’s peak vacation time for locals so lots of families about as the kids are off from school
Now you are retired, I recommend not traveling in July and August when it is so busy.
We've been to Paris 3 times as part of Tauck tours and still haven't seen everything. As the previous poster said it will be hot and crowded but maybe less this year than others as I think some countries may still be barred from traveling there. We also almost always add days to tours at the beginning, and or both. The airfare and jetlag to Europe means we want to see as much as possible.
One day I had a private driver for my son and me when I was staying in Paris in 2010. The driver took us to the incredible Monet's Garden, outside of Paris. We then went to a fantastic restaurant. I'd have to research the restaurant name. I highly recommend that excursion.
The cruise Debbie is on includes a stop at Giverny. If the scheduling is like ours they get the group in before opening hours.
That's fantastic because Giverny is really special!
The French leave town in August, so yes, tourists will outnumber locals, perhaps not the most authentic experience. debbie I am envious of all your upcoming firsts. My first trip to Europe, with a college friend who had lived abroad, I spent a week each in London and Paris (crossing choppy waters at Calais, WC & shower down the hall) and left with much still to see and do; thankfully I've been able to return to both over the years. I am still a leisurely traveler, and prefer off-season, November to March.
Thank you, everyone, for your feedback. Due to unexpected circumstances earlier this summer, we had to change our trip from August to October. Looking forward to it.
Have a great time! Please write a review afterwards if you can. We are taking this tour next spring and would love to hear about your experiences, especially in London. Best wishes!
This trip is wonderful. We just returned from it. My only regret is that we saw almost nothing of Paris but it's a fabulous trip. I'd be glad to answer any questions.
kfnknfzk asked for a review. I'll try to be succinct. We spent a week in London on our own, as it was our first visit there. We covered a lot of ground, but still left a lot undone. We used London Walks for several tours, and we highly recommend them. One of the guides from that group was our guide on the Tauck orientation bus tour the first morning of our official tour. As for that bus tour, we thought we would get nothing from it since we'd been touring all week, and were pleasantly surprised to find out differently. The after hours tour of Churchill's war rooms and the visit to St. Paul's were excellent. We had 3 Tauck guides that accompanied us everywhere; our group was split into 3 buses each day. Then there was an additional cruise director whom we only saw on the boat. The accommodations on the boat were very nice with a lounge, formal dining room, and a small cafe. It was apparent there were a lot of new personnel on board, but everyone tried their best. We thoroughly enjoyed the France itinerary. My least favorite stop was Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-oise, which included seeing his residence there, and a stop at the absinthe museum. Compared to the rest of the itinerary, it was just the least interesting to me. After hours at the Louvre was a dream. Didn't have enough time at Versailles. All the local guides were delightful and informative. All the on-board entertainment and activities were quite professional and well-done so don't skip these unless you have to. We did have a number of people passing around a stomach bug and a few with runny noses, but no COVID as far as I know. One thing I did learn is, for future travels, to include with my OTC meds some type of electrolyte powder that can be dissolved in water, since the people with the stomach problems could not be provided with any type of fluid to counteract possible dehydration (e.g., GatorAde, Pedialyte, etc.). According to the cruise director, they would have had to visit a local pharmacy when we were docked. It was a great trip, and if I had seen everywhere else in the world I wanted to go, I would repeat some of these places.
Paris is a magical place. I've been there a number of times and I never get tired of it. There's so much to do and experience. I used to speak enough French to get by, but not so much any more.
When people learn that we travel a lot, they ask me what my favorite place is and I always say, "Paris". Then they ask what my next favorite place is and I can't give a good answer. I usually say, "The next place we're going."
Paris is very, very special. I'm in love with Paris.
Mike
I want to second debbie6299's recommendation of London Walks. I usually do several when I'm in London. They have a sister company, Paris Walks, that I have also used on two trips to Paris. They're great for seeing different neighborhoods before or after a Tauck tour.
debbie6299,
Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences. We, too, will be adding several pre-tour days in London and am sure we will only see a snippet of the area. We are especially excited to stay at the Savoy since we have heard such wonderful things about the hotel. Thanks again!