First Time Flying for Euro Trip, Need Tips on Flights, Travel, Locations Options

Hello Fellow oz-bargainers

I would like to ask a few questions about Euro Trip, flights, Flyer points and redeeming.

We have bought tickets to Tomorrowland 2018 in Belgium, July 21 -23rd! our ticket includes a return train from Paris to Belgium for the event!
We want to fly anytime from 8th 9th and 10th from PERTH, to LONDON. returning on the 1st August (must be home by Friday).
Our first time flying this far and to Europe and UK. No idea yet on what we will be doing while travelling.

I have searched flights and QATAR have that PayPal promo (thanks Ozbargain) which totals $3400~ for 2 return from Perth. Stopping at Doha. is this reasonable price for the airline? QANTAS have the similar return flights for $3480,operated by Emirates stopping in Dubai. this in points is 426000. A lot of points which we don't have.

I'd rather have comfort and convenience on a flight than to go really cheap, after all it's almost a whole 24hrs before we even get to our destination, it wouldn't hurt to know the quotes of cheaper airlines.

I currently have only 147000 QFF points, which is not enough to redeem flights, I am thinking whether to get my partner to sign up for CC to get points as well and pool them together. But given the time frame we have, we might have to look at paying for the flights in currency rather than points.
I have ANZ Black earning QFF
I have AMEX Rewards points 60k~
I have Flybuys 40k~
Both can be transferred to Virgin Velocity, which I think allows to pay with a mix of cash and points. I haven't Looked into that or flights yet.

Are these the average prices for flights to London for that time of year?
Is there a better way to fly, such as flying to a different city and flying into London from there? Just worried about Visa and immigration for this method.
Or fly across to Melbourne or Sydney and take a flight from there? can access Qantas Lounge or Amex lounge too :)
Are stopovers in Dubai and Doha any good, such as facilities and resting areas, charging, etc.
I'll be bringing my Mavic Pro Drone, will this cause an issue for airlines and customs?
No visa required to enter London, how about entering other Euro countries?

While overseas Places we will visit so far:
London (maybe a week here) (Cup of tea, Pubs)
Paris (Food, Architecture, Romance)
Belgium (Tomorrowland)(although being here is only for the event we could skip the return train to paris and stay for longer)

we might add these depending if there's enough time:
Spain (Real Madrid Soccer Club)
Greece (beaches)
Switzerland (mountains)
… and maybe more

We wanted to do a contiki tour but for the cost, we could probably come up with our own as I hear transport is quite easy (Train) and you get to spend as much time as you want at each place instead of being rushed or stuck on a bus. We are the sightseeing type and love to explore foods and landscape which doesn't involve to intense or adventurous locations.

Are Oyster Cards the transport method for London? Wouldn't bother hiring a car right? traffic?
Any good links to food bloggers for the places we visit?
Looking for places to be able to fly my drone and take videos of landscape, Rules, restrictions, culture?
To pack lightly or not? One of us can check a bag in and on our return trip we most likely will be bringing home gifts. cost for extra baggage.
And Anything else that you might feel will be worth the visit during this time that you personally have liked. (I like gathering other people's interests)

Any info on any of the above will be of great help to me and my partner, I do try and read up as much as I can but I like having the reassurance of other bargainers haha also I do shift work so little time to research, I'll keep track and reply as much as I can in return for your inputs/suggestions.

Thank you!!
Dave

Comments

  • +2

    Wow, so much content / so many questions. May I suggest you break this down into separate forums, for example:
    - Flight related
    - London
    - Paris
    - Belgium
    etc.
    You will probably get more focussed responses that way.

    Whatever you do, have fun.

    • Sorry for that, I didn't want to create too many topics, but you are right, I'll get more responses. I'll re-edit now.

      Thank you

  • +2

    TL; use multiple posts. But my first reaction is you're trying to do too much in 3- weeks.

    • We thought that as well, Just seeing if there is other options out there that people have done, most probably the contiki tours are the ones capable to do it in this time frame.

    • Agreed. Your itinerary is a pain to read, let alone understand. I recently did a 3 week Europe tour in November, and that was Germany only. Wife and I normal like to stay in a country and soak in the culture etc. Can always go to another country next time. With your 3 weeks, I would do 3-4 countries Max!!!

      • We will do the same. 1 week in london. 1 week in Paris and then rest of the time in Belgium and surrounds. Transport via train is fast enough to get to other countries, so might utilise this.

  • +1

    Are Oyster Cards the transport method for London?

    don't need to buy Oyster card,
    use an australian debit/credit card with no overseas transaction fee for your London travel.

    • Didn't know that at all, I have a Coles Rewards Mastercard that should work. Thanks!

  • -1

    Looks
    Like you’re sorted

  • If you do decide to go to Amsterdam (near Belgium) esp on a weekend make sure you have somewhere to stay pre-booked. Everyone flocks there on weekends!

    • Thanks for the heads up!

  • I'm a museum and architecture nut and London and Paris are choc full of options.
    Many of the London museums are free but they "suggest" you make a 5 pound donation.
    We stayed at this place in London. The rooms are quite small, the bathroom is a glass box in the corner but it was clean, modern and they had free wine and cheese each night and they weren't stingy with it. Also the location was really good for train lines to attractions.
    http://www.thezhotels.com/piccadilly?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIofeto…

    In Paris we get the Carte D'Musee that provides you with access to a number of museums and sights. It allows you to bypass the ticket queues but you will still hit the metal detectors. See San Chapelle - small but very beautiful. I always go "up" so I suggest going to the top of Notre Dam and the Eiffel Tower, on dusk is best to watch the light come out over Paris, also the top of Sacre Coeur and the Arc D'Triomphe. Be prepared to do a lot of stairs. Walk from the Louvre down to the Arc D'Triomphe it is mainly gardens, you go past the Opera house on the way, through the Champs Elysees and to the Arc D'Triomphe. You can also take the train to the Pantheon then walk back to Notre Dam via the Moyen Age museum. Also go to Versailles, that is a day trip so you can also walk in the gardens. The fountains are only on at certain times of the year so check. if you have the stomach for it you can go down the catacombs and see where the bones were stored when they reclaimed the land used for the old cemetaries. Fascinating but some people freak out given it is underground and there are a lot of bones. Some are arranged into patterns.

    If you want to save money either eat at lunchtime or go to the Boulangeres and Supermarkets and create your own picnic. Sandwiches, patisserie, wine, cheese that is all fantastic and at a fraction what it costs for a restaurant. I would look into Air BnB as an option for Paris. We stayed at a great place that was walking distance to the Louvre, had great boulangers, patisseries and supermarkets near it and reasonably close to a metro station as well. This also provided us with kitchen facilies to store our produce and cook.The only downside was the 5 storey climb without a lift.

    If you want a sojourn into Switzerland be warned it is very expensive and the food is fairly ordinary. For our last trip we spent roughly 12 days just doing Switzerland travelling the major train routes. It was wonderful and the highlights were Zermatt, Interlaken and Luzern. That said, the rest of the places were stayed at were pretty good too. We did Interlaken -> Montreau -> Zermatt -> St Moritz - > Lugano -> Luzern -> Interlaken. Staying a couple of days in most places.

    if you intend to travel multiple countries by rail I would look into a Eurail pass, we went first class because it is less crowded, the carriages are nicer and they have the bigger windows - but second class is OK. For the Zermatt leg we had two first class carriages to ourselves whilst everyone else was crowded in second class. We were told you needed to book international sectors and scenic ones, so we had to book all our sectors (which attracts an additional fee). Something to investigate anyway.

    Haven't been to Belgium so can't help there.

    Enjoy the trip you will have a great time.

    • We love just seeing the world out there and your insight on things will be of great help. Thanks for giving the time to provide input for us.

      I will look into the Carte D'Musee passes and also the rail passes. Although won't be able to afford first class haha.

  • I would suggest flying into Paris or even Amsterdam, it is usually cheaper than London (but definitely take a look at the different options).

    No point in driving a car in London. Buses and trains are leaps and bounds ahead of Australia.

    A week in the UK should give you plenty of time to take a train out of London.
    Bath is a decent day trip and so is Cambridge and Oxfordshire.

    Definitely try out Brick Lane one night out in London and also check out Camden.
    Camden is also a place I suggest to stay along with Queensway/Bayswater for pricing and convenience.

    If you're feeling a little more adventurous head to the East side - historically a shadier area but many places have become slightly more gentrified and cheaper accom

    • I am still keeping an eye out flight deals and not much is happening at the moment, hoping a good sale comes around for tickets.

      Walking and public transport will be out go to. Maybe even uber.

      Keeping those places in mind when we do our research of the London.

      Thank you!

  • Just an update for anyone who is interested. I will just list our revised itinerary for us 2.
    After discussion we are only visiting London, Paris and now Nice. No Contiki tours or Hop on hop Off bus tours, cheaper to plan our own.

    Flights to Heathrow have been Booked through Emirates Costing $3700, did not use FF points.
    Eurostar Train booked London to Paris return $280
    SNCF/Thalys Train from Paris to Avignon-Marseille $180
    FlexiBus from Marseille to Nice $30
    Air France Flight to Paris from Nice $225

    Will Be getting the Oyster Cards when we arrive in London Heathrow Airport, staying for 1 week so will load 25 on each card
    Purchased 20gb International Sims $70 for use in UK and France.
    Looking into the free walking tours offered in London.
    Will use share bikes to get around and local transport, not hiring a car.

    accomodation still in the process. AirBnb, and couchsurfing are interesting platforms I have heard.

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