Europe tour while R2Iing

r2idude1 · Post by **r2idude1** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 9:51 am

Has anyone here made a Europe tour on transit from USA to India?

We got this idea recently and don't know whether it is feasible or not.

We will be traveling with 2 kids (8 and 5) and 8-10 bags. All of us are USC and CIO.

If it is doable, any information on Airlines, package tours, storing baggages and other logistics will be appreciated.
TIA.

skepticmystic · Post by **skepticmystic** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 11:01 am

I am planning to do it on the R2I trip (april-may 07), but my situation is a very different, being single, I intend to backpack and stay in cheap lodging like YMCA etc, with the lonely planet guides as counsel. And the suitcases stay parked at a friends in london. Anyone else interested in joining :) ?

DoctorJ · Post by **DoctorJ** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 2:41 pm

skepticmystic;9142
Anyone else interested in joining :) ?
[/quote]

That's interesting. Are you serious? Can you please provide more details? Cost, duration, places you plan to visit etc...

b2b · Post by **b2b** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 5:48 pm

r2idude1;9132Has anyone here made a Europe tour on transit from USA to India?

We got this idea recently and don't know whether it is feasible or not.

We will be traveling with 2 kids (8 and 5) and 8-10 bags. All of us are USC and CIO.

If it is doable, any information on Airlines, package tours, storing baggages and other logistics will be appreciated.
TIA.[/quote]

I guess you are saying you are OCI holders when you say all of you are CIO.

It depends on your objectives really. Depending on that you can take either package tours or book hotels and flights and take local tours.

For package tours - there are good package tours organised by Indian operators. e.g.
http://www.tajtours.co.uk/
http://www.startours.co.uk/

These folks would advise you on visa etc as well. They can make adjustments in terms where you join them, luggage storing etc if that's neccessary. They provide Indian food, all entrance fees etc are included in the price and you get Indian movies, company of desi co-tourists on board. Of course 24*7 guide / tour manager accompany you throughout. You dont have much headeache in terms of managing your ways around, entrance fees and queues, carrying currency and booking local tours. These are relatively cost-effective as well. I know quite a few people who have done tours with them on their way back from US or even those visiting UK / EU countries.

If you want to go on your own and not tied down to the itinerary of the package tours - you can contact thomascook, www.lastminute.com, and others who will do just hotel, travel booking for you and you can manage how you spend time on your own.

b2b · Post by **b2b** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 5:53 pm

I think for USC you dont need visa to visit EU countries - see the chart in the link below

http://www.tajtours.co.uk/Visa/visa.htm

rajsriadit · Post by **rajsriadit** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 6:52 pm

r2idude1;9132Has anyone here made a Europe tour on transit from USA to India?

We got this idea recently and don't know whether it is feasible or not.

We will be traveling with 2 kids (8 and 5) and 8-10 bags. All of us are USC and CIO.

If it is doable, any information on Airlines, package tours, storing baggages and other logistics will be appreciated.
TIA.[/quote]

We were thinking about it initially, but decided otherwise. It is hard to tour with all the bags and other stuff. If you have a place to keep the bags while touring, then it becomes more feasible. We were thinking of going on conducted group tours. Here are a couple of them.

Sotc Tours

Raj Travels

My in-laws did a europe tour with Raj travels from India and were very happy with them. Of course, they are not very cheap, but reasonable. The plus point is, everything is taken care of including lodging and meals. You get good indian meals throughout the tour. Also, they take you around everywhere, which means that you don't have to worry about transportation or co-ordinating things. Also, they cover a lot of places which is a good way to see lots of different countries. The main drawback is you can't stay in a certain place for as long as you wish.

r2idude1 · Post by **r2idude1** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 10:25 pm

B2b, raj

Thank you very much for the information. I'll check with them. If we decide to make that trip I'll post our experience.

Yes, I meant USC and OCI. I mixed up PIO and OCI.

#2, I hope you get a good companion. :)

AndhraAmerican · Post by **AndhraAmerican** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:51 pm

Switzerland is a bad place to go in winter. Best time to Visit UK/ PAris / Switzerland is June - Sept time frame. Switzerland is very cold now and i guess is the only place good to see. We visited the same places in and around August / Sept time frames and saw many places. It was 10 day tour 1 day paris ( which is not Ok should have been 2 - 3 Days ) 2 Days in UK ( which is fine ) 5 days in Swiaerland which is a good time frame.

I dont think its a good idea to go from US to Europe and then to INDIA. Best option would be go to Europe from US and then back to US and then to INDIA. In all you can spend 5K for a family of 4 and can go and book your own tickets and google it out !! Its no big deal ! You can take local tours esp in Paris and UK. For Switzerland of course you have to have some knowledge of which places to visit. We went with 8 - 10 bags to all these places 4 familys with 3 kids and we were screwed left and right becuase of the luggage, not to forget the stupid idea of taking baby food / juices from costco:eek: :emcry:

karanx · Post by **karanx** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 11:47 pm

skepticmystic;9142I am planning to do it on the R2I trip (april-may 07), but my situation is a very different, being single, I intend to backpack and stay in cheap lodging like YMCA etc, with the lonely planet guides as counsel. And the suitcases stay parked at a friends in london. Anyone else interested in joining :) ?

Same here. I am on same boat. R2Iing in April. Email me at nk2025 at gmail.com.

Old-Spice2 · Post by **Old-Spice2** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 12:59 am

>>>We went with 8 - 10 bags to all these places 4 familys with 3 kids and we were screwed left and right becuase of the luggage, not to forget the stupid idea of taking baby food / juices from costco

Sounds like National Lampoon Vacation :emsmile:

Travelling on own in Europe has its down side. Biggest is the language. English does not work well in countryside and even in cities it is difficult to ask direction from locals. You may end up wasting lot of time if you go on your own and miss out on good sights. Everything is expensive and you may pay too much and get too little in return plus the stress of finding your way. I have done both and find coach tours are worth the money.