All the more popular are bus tours to Europe - and in particular to Paris .The reason for this is the relatively low cost of bus tours compared to air travel (compare the bus tour from 15,000 rubles together with railway tickets for 8-9 days and the weekend in Paris from 26,000 with air tickets) .However, bus tours have a number of features and even drawbacks, because of which it is not worth to give up the budget vacation in France, but which you should know about in order to avoid unpleasant surprises and make your trip as comfortable as possible..
Firstly
Firstly, for those who want to see Paris and only Paris, bus tours are unlikely to fit .The majority of tour companies involved in bus tours in Europe either did not move at night in their programs, or reduced them to a minimum - practice shows that even in the most comfortable Euro-class bus to sleep more than one night is rather tiring .For this reason, none of the Parisian bus tour can not do without a couple of days spent in the cities of "transit countries" - as a rule, this is Poland, Germany and Belgium..This circumstance has one more consequence - if you buy a bus tour to Paris for 4-5 days, in Paris itself you will spend on force day if the tour is 8-9 days - then 3-4 days, which is the most optimal option both for acquaintance with the city, and for visiting already loved places .
Secondly
Secondly, it is also not possible to name such tours exclusively by bus: in order to avoid the same night crossings, the overwhelming majority of them include a railway crossing to Brest or Lviv, and only from there the group travels by bus to Europe. At the same time, the cost of train tickets is rarely included in the price of the tour displayed on the travel agency's website, at the best, the cost of the tour is added "+ ж / д".
Thirdly
Thirdly, far not only the railway crossing can significantly increase the amount that you have to pay for a bus tour to Paris .The cheapness of bus tours is often deceptive, and it is worth to study the tour program carefully before making your choice .Part of the mandatory costs are traditionally not included in the tour price, it is: a French visa (for today it is 80 EUR, this cheaper multischeng opened earlier), medical insurance (about 10 EUR, it is unlikely to save on this, but it is possible buy it together with multischengen ahead of time - or get a gift for some action), the notorious railway crossing (a round trip ticket at both ends costs about 100 EUR, and this fully corresponds to the prices of Russian Railways) .Sometimes, there is also a compulsory collection from travel and fuel surcharge (at 15 euros) .Remember that prices for tours are indicated for double accommodation, so if you are traveling alone and want to single-handedly occupy a room in the hotel, you will have to pay in addition about 120 EUR .Most travel agencies place their groups in the suburbs of Paris, in free from excursion days it can create some problems, especially under the conditions of a self-transfer .If you feel insecure and do not know the language, you can pay for the accommodation in Paris itself - this will take about 45 EUR .Do it, perhaps, only if the hotel is in the center or near it - otherwise the transportation costs will be no less than the transfer from a suburban hotel .
Nuances and subtleties
In addition to mandatory fees, there are many additional costs, most of which are related to the excursion program .Here it's easy to get confused, as part of the excursions are listed as paid, but you need to buy an entrance ticket or pay a transfer .Therefore, when choosing a tour, if there is some limitations in the means and the desire to choose the most economical option, it is worthwhile to literally outline the table where to enter the names of the tours, from the base cost, as well as all the excursions and additional options desired for a visit (like living in Paris) and in the end deduce the real cost of travel .With such a detailed analysis it often turns out that the most expensive tour is the most budgetary .
If all these difficulties have cooled your fervor with regards to bus trips to Paris, then it's completely in vain .At the moment, travel agencies offer many different options for visiting Paris - from the minimalist "See Paris" with a small number of included excursions (it is calculated at those ,who re-travels to Paris ,wants to do it in a budget (10-day tour of 15 000 together with railway) and is ready to organize their own leisure) to numerous combined options like "Paris and Cote d'Azur" (bus tour with an accent on Paris (about 3 days) and beach rest) ,"Paris and amusement parks" (designed for tourists with children) ,"Paris and the Châteaux of the Loire" and the like
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