Have you ever used a Eurail pass?

[Apple]

We will be in Europe for five weeks, so I'm looking at getting a Global Eurail pass. If I buy before the end of March, I can get 1 month with five free days added (so it would cover the entire trip), also, would get an extra 15% off if I bought mine and my son's together (effectively saving $100, since I'd have to buy an adult ticket for him). It would cost $1918 for five weeks of travel.

I want to stay flexible on plans, not pre-booking rooms, etc, so that we can move around as we want/need.

Have you ever used one? How good are the "benefits"? It says the pass can be used for ferries and pubic transportation, but really, how much can they be used (it looks like a very small benefit if you look at the sheet). Would it really make much of a discount on buses? The metro?

Is it worth it?

(mods, I don't mind this getting moved to the travel area after a few days, but with it being the weekend, no one will see it there until it has a chance to hang out on "new topics" during a weekday.  So, I'd like it to not be moved for a couple days, if possible).

[Lizard Queen]

I had one in 1995, so sorry, not going to help much.  Back then, I had a student discount.  I think you could choose 5 countries (or so).  Since the train I was on went through Belgium, I had to pay extra as that wasn't on the list.  It was a good deal with the student discount. 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Each time I went to Europe, I looked into whether or not it would be cost effective to get one.  With my plans, I could never come out ahead buying the pass so I just bought each ticket individually.

I would sit down and see what each individual trip would cost you first before biting the bullet on getting the pass.  For almost $2000 for it, I think you probably might find that individual trips are going to work for you.  I don't remember all the prices of the trips, but I do remember that Paris to Hamburg (I think that was the only ticket stub that I brought home with me) was ~$80 when I went, and it was not for the cheapest class.

[Deleted]

Yeah, I like Mich's idea. My Eurailpass experience is also ancient history but I bought it for the convenience when I was traveling. Since then, when traveling with DH, we've stayed in cities for longer periods so less moving around, and bought individual tickets.

There are some high-speed trains which don't accept the Eurailpass so you need to be careful about jumping on just any train and assuming your pass will work.

[Apple]

That's part of my problem... I'm not sure where all I'll be going, how many trips it will include.  But, I'll be in at least 7 different countries, and want to hit different parts of the different countries.  

In a way, I see myself using it a lot more if it's paid for--I'll want to make it worth while, and I'd be more willing to hop on a train to go to a new city if it's not going to cost me more money (like it would to buy tickets individually).  I'll have to check out trip costs, but I see us taking a minimum of 10 train trips (if we did one every three days, and we'll definitely do more than that).  Nope, I adjusted below, I'd want to take more than that.

I want freedom to really just pick up and go whenever we want.  I had thought about renting a car, but because I've been ineligible for overtime for almost five months (not planned), the extra money I would have saved to do that is out.  I made sure I could save for the trip no matter what, to not depend on OT, but that lack of OT really does kill the opportunities I had.

I see the train rides as being ok though.  If we want to sit down for a few hours, and are done looking around the area we're in, we could get on a train and go someplace completely new, without paying extra.  About halfway through the trip we'll stay in a hotel for at least four nights to take a break and rest, but otherwise, I want to move around fairly frequently.  This trip is just such a mix of planning, and not planning at all...

I see us on a train a minimum of every two days (in London, we took the train to get to different areas of the city, along with buses and the underground).  I guess that's another question-- can you get on and off trains like that and just follow the schedule?  A lot don't require reservations, so I can see us using one pretty often if we did it that way, up to daily.  Even if it was just every other day, that would be at least 16 train trips, so an average of around $60 per person/per trip.  I guess, right now, my next step is to figure out all the cities we want to see, and if there is a train station in each one, and how much tickets would normally average.

I bolded the question above because that will be a big deciding factor.  We've done the train in London, so I know how that works, and you could just hop on at the station, a lot like the underground would be.  Can you do that all over Europe?

[travelnut11]

Yep, totally agree with the above posters that you should check the prices for individual tickets if you have a rough idea of your itinerary.  Every time I priced it out buying the individual tickets was a much better deal but I tend to stay longer in one place rather than move around a lot.  Plus the rules for the Eurail pass sounded like a headache.

I can't speak for all of Europe but I did most of England via coach bus as it was much cheaper and the scenery was more out in the countryside rather than just what you would see from the train tracks. I also lived next to the Victoria Coach Station so it was very convenient for me.

[Apple]

So, my desired way to do this trip...

Book first two nights of trip, within short train ride from airport, in/around Paris.

Day 3, leave Paris, go to other city in France (this part will change depending on whether or not we can meet up with family)

Day 5, leave second French city, go to third French city

Day 7, leave third French city, see the beaches

Day 8, leave for Belgium

Day 10, head Amsterdam

Day 13, go to Dusseldorf, Germany

Day 14, go to Hamburg, Germany

Day 15, go to Berlin, Germany

Day 18, go to Poland (want to see Auschwitz and Krakow, but, if trains are easy and we feel like it, go to Warsaw for a day)

Day 20, Stop in the Czech Republic (or skip that and do a night train from Krakow to Vienna)

Day 21, Go to Vienna, Austria

Day 23, go to Salzburg

Day 24, go to Innsbruck, Austria

Day 26, go to Munich, Germany

Day 27, go to Frankfurt, Germany

Day 29, go to Luxembourg

Day 30, make way back to Paris  (we actually have 34 days before we need to be in Paris, so there is built in fudge room, even if we did hit every one of these cities).  The stays in France are two-days to not rush visiting people.

That's not the actual itinerary, but it would be close-ish.  Move around a lot, stay in some areas one night, some areas two nights.  The first part of Germany may just be two nights in one place, instead of moving around.  We may decide we have time to throw in Switzerland as well.  What I really want is to be able to stay an extra night, or only do a day visit somewhere, depending on how we are enjoying the place.  If we just want to spend a couple days not leaving the hotel, so we can unwind and just relax, we'll do it.  If we find a small, charming town on a train stop, just stay the night.

We'll each have one carry-on sized backpack (one is a roller/backpack).  When we travel, the room is mostly just for a place to sleep and shower, we don't spend a lot of time there.  I see the time on a train as "down time", especially if it's in the first class area and we can truly relax.

Nothing is set in stone, and it's ok if we miss some cities.  I'm going to go back and spend more time in each country, with a less hectic schedule, in the future.  I'd love to be able to spend two weeks in a different country every year.  I'm not a big city person, so if I've seen enough of one by the end of the day, I'd love to take a train to a smaller town to stay the night.  We might just go to a train station, look at the schedule, and pick where we go next based on that (the amount of time we want to travel, time of day, general location, whatever).

The only thing I really don't want to do is spend a lot of time criss-crossing.  I want to pretty much make a circle, arriving and leaving from Paris.

[Apple]

Hmmm... I'd save another $150 by paying in Euros rather than Dollars.  I should call my credit card company and find out exactly how much it would cost me if I had the website charge my card in Euros rather than dollars, if the current rates and fees will make much of a difference...

[wmpeon]

My experience was in 1998, so I'm not sure how valid it will be.  I had a student pass that was good for 10 different trips if used within a specific period of time (1 month I think?).  It was a student flex-pass and while I didn't use all 10 trips, I definitely got my use out of it.  It was most helpful for traveling a longer distance, especially overnight.  I'd share a small room with 4 others and we'd each get a small bunk.  I also used it once to ride a boat from one end of a lake to another.  It was a scenic ferry ride, and I was able to use my pass to ride free.

The pass wasn't good for inner-city transport, such as busses and subways.  It was only good for between cities and I had to reserve those tickets in advance.  Sometimes not far in advance (such as with the ferry), but it was subject to availability, so reserving always was a good idea.

[Tennesseer]

Apple - where are the beaches you are planning on visiting after your third French city? If you are wanting to visit the beaches of south France in the area of Cannes/Nice and the like, they are close to the south Alps.

Instead of travelling back across France to get to Belgium, and because you are close to the Alps, why not instead head to Austria/Poland from there. Then work your way back west from there.

Just a thought.

[Lizard Queen]

Feb 8, 2015 17:33:32 GMT -5 Apple said:

 since I'd have to buy an adult ticket for him). It would cost $1918 for five weeks of travel.

Isn't your son under 25?  Can't he use a youth ticket?

[Apple]

Feb 8, 2015 20:24:48 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Apple - where are the beaches you are planning on visiting after your third French city? If you are wanting to visit the beaches of south France in the area of Cannes/Nice and the like, they are close to the south Alps.

Instead of travelling back across France to get to Belgium, and because you are close to the Alps, why not instead head to Austria/Poland from there. Then work your way back west from there.

Just a thought.

Like I said, the itinerary isn't set, just a general idea of how we'd be traveling.  I wasn't really looking at a map...

The France part will depend on if family is available our first week there, or last week there, and their exact location.  We want to see the Normandy beaches--so it may be a day trip from Paris, or one of the family may live nearby.  Those details will be worked out, I was just trying to point out the kind of travel we'll be doing--all over the place, with number of nights being variable in different cities.  We may be going straight from Paris to Amsterdam, and leaving the rest of France for our last week there.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

It looks like you are going to be spending more time on a train than anything else.  Your schedule is ambitious.

However, I went into the Rail Europe site and put in a couple cities you had posted and it looks like the tickets seem to be about $30-90 each.  If you hit each one of those cities, you'll be hard pressed to break even with a Eurail pass.  Frankfurt to Luxembourg was $30, Amsterdam to Dusseldorf $87.

[steph08]

My brother and I got Eurail passes for our European extravaganza in 2012. We went to Italy, Czech Republic, Poland, and France (trains went through Austria and Germany).

It was useful, but I found that we had to make a lot of reservations anyway - we couldn't just hop on and off the trains. I think it was because we did overnight trains from Italy - Czech Republic and from Poland - France. But we also had to make reservations throughout Italy.

I don't know if it was worth it. And it was a pain - after trying to make reservations in Poland, I just wanted to go to the airport and fly home. Poland is not an easy country. For your Auschwitz excursion - I highly recommend getting a bus trip from your hotel in Krakow (we stayed at a little BnB and they offered it). It is in the middle of nowhere, and it is packed, packed, packed. Thank goodness we had someone in charge of getting our tickets, our headphones, etc.

[Apple]

Feb 8, 2015 20:44:37 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

Feb 8, 2015 17:33:32 GMT -5 Apple said:

 since I'd have to buy an adult ticket for him). It would cost $1918 for five weeks of travel.

Isn't your son under 25?  Can't he use a youth ticket?

He could get a youth ticket, but by the time I get him a first class (to match what I'd have, so we aren't separated half the time, and we have more seating options), and when you throw in the 15% savers discount to buy/travel together, it's cheaper for us to go that route than it would be to buy one adult and one youth.  

The first class also makes more sleeping arrangements possible during night rides, so if the only room left were the 4 bed instead of the 6, we'd be eligible.  It may have even been cheaper to do the combined ticket over him having a second class youth ticket.

I don't know if I'd spring for the full price tickets--five free nights with a discount on top of that helps quite a bit, and completely covers the dates of the trip.

[Apple]

One fear I have is that these are the train prices for now...  What would they be in the middle of summer?  I have no idea how much the prices change during the different seasons.

[Lizard Queen]

Feb 8, 2015 20:55:40 GMT -5 Apple said:

Feb 8, 2015 20:44:37 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

Isn't your son under 25?  Can't he use a youth ticket?

He could get a youth ticket, but by the time I get him a first class (to match what I'd have, so we aren't separated half the time, and we have more seating options), and when you throw in the 15% savers discount to buy/travel together, it's cheaper for us to go that route than it would be to buy one adult and one youth.  

The first class also makes more sleeping arrangements possible during night rides, so if the only room left were the 4 bed instead of the 6, we'd be eligible.  It may have even been cheaper to do the combined ticket over him having a second class youth ticket.

I don't know if I'd spring for the full price tickets--five free nights with a discount on top of that helps quite a bit, and completely covers the dates of the trip.

Oh, I see.  We were told 20 years ago that 2nd class is fine in Western Europe, but go 1st Class in Eastern Europe.    I have no idea what it's like nowadays...

Seems like pay as you go might be more flexible for you, but your itinerary sounds really complicated (and awesome!)  I wonder if there are some travel hack sites out there that can really give you the scoop.

[Tennesseer]

Feb 8, 2015 20:50:39 GMT -5 Apple said:

Feb 8, 2015 20:24:48 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Apple - where are the beaches you are planning on visiting after your third French city? If you are wanting to visit the beaches of south France in the area of Cannes/Nice and the like, they are close to the south Alps.

Instead of travelling back across France to get to Belgium, and because you are close to the Alps, why not instead head to Austria/Poland from there. Then work your way back west from there.

Just a thought.

Like I said, the itinerary isn't set, just a general idea of how we'd be traveling.  I wasn't really looking at a map...

The France part will depend on if family is available our first week there, or last week there, and their exact location.  We want to see the Normandy beaches--so it may be a day trip from Paris, or one of the family may live nearby.  Those details will be worked out, I was just trying to point out the kind of travel we'll be doing--all over the place, with number of nights being variable in different cities.  We may be going straight from Paris to Amsterdam, and leaving the rest of France for our last week there.

Your itinerary then makes sense if it is the beaches of Normandy you are to visit and not the French Riviera beaches.

[Apple]

You guys are really giving me stuff to think about though, and that's part of what I need to figure out what will work, and how I'll make it work.

I spend a few hours a day commuting already, so time on a train doesn't bother me too much, until it gets to over four hours.  When looking at real times and schedules, I may see what I can find for night trains (saves on a hotel in addition to time spent traveling, depending on route), or I may break it up by spending more time in smaller cities.

Auschwitz is one of those places I may book a day-tour for, so there is already a guide, a bus, etc.  Also to see Neuschwanstein Castle, at least, the bus part.

Outside of that, we have a few things we really want to do/see, but I want to walk around and get lost as much as possible too.

[Apple]

I'd honestly be fine with 2nd class, but 1st class does both, so more options.  I'm also looking at areas where we may just base ourselves in a hotel for a few days and ride to different areas from there.  That could end up with us riding some kind of train daily rather than a three day break between rides.

[wmpeon]

Make sure you squeeze in time to just relax and do something unexpected, without the hustle of sight-seeing every moment.  During my Euro-trip, I spent two weeks traveling around parts of Europe, taking the train which included the occasional sleeper car.  By the end of my trip, I was totally exhausted.  I enjoyed the museums and the architecture, but when you've been hitting a different city every 2-4 days, you find that you can only fit in so much before you just want to rest.  Halfway through the trip, I ran into another American and we watched a movie (City of Angels with Meg Ryan and with English subtitles  ) and went paragliding.  It was a blast!   

[tskeeter]

Feb 8, 2015 21:10:10 GMT -5 Apple said:

You guys are really giving me stuff to think about though, and that's part of what I need to figure out what will work, and how I'll make it work.

I spend a few hours a day commuting already, so time on a train doesn't bother me too much, until it gets to over four hours.  When looking at real times and schedules, I may see what I can find for night trains (saves on a hotel in addition to time spent traveling, depending on route), or I may break it up by spending more time in smaller cities.

Auschwitz is one of those places I may book a day-tour for, so there is already a guide, a bus, etc.  Also to see Neuschwanstein Castle, at least, the bus part.

Outside of that, we have a few things we really want to do/see, but I want to walk around and get lost as much as possible too.

Pomme, I assume that you're taking your DS, the history buff.  Our fantastic Normandy tour guide provided me with a reading list of 5 or 6 books during our visit.  I'd be happy to share it with your DS if you think he might be interested.  The selections I've read so far are "D-Day with the Screaming Eagles", Utah, and Omaha.  I found the first book kind of challenging to read.  It helps to be really familiar with maps of Normandy, or to have good maps at hand to help the geography make more sense.  The next two books are by the same author, and I found them to be easier reads.  But really informative when it comes to understanding what happened on the beaches during the landings.  The challenges, the tactics, and the like.

If you can manage to fit a couple of days in Normandy into your schedule, Bayeux is kind of the center of the landing area.  I think there are a couple of things in Bayeux not related to WWII that are worth taking time to see.  The Bayeux Tapestry, which documents William the Conquerer's invaison of England.  The Bayeux Cathederal is worth a couple of hours of your time.  The stained glass is spectacular and the carved stone masonry is unbelievable. 

In addition to visiting the American Cemetary at Colleville-sur-Mer, you might also consider visiting the German Cemetary at La Cambe, near Bayeux.  This cemetary is as striking as the US cemetary is.  But in a very different way.    

A thought for your flight to Europe.  You might look into flying in and out of Amsterdam instead of the Paris area.  As I understand it, Amsterdam is a significantly less expensive than CDG or Orly.  My impression is that Amsterdam is only about a three hour train ride from Paris.   

[Apple]

Feb 8, 2015 23:49:57 GMT -5 @anne81 said:

I used one in 1997.  The hitch I see is that you are on a very tight schedule.  A couple of times I couldn't get the train I wanted and had to wait a day or two or pick a different place to go (I didn't make reservations for anything, including places to stay). 

I kind of just want to show up to a station and pick location when we get there, as long as we don't criss-cross a bunch.  Mostly it's 5 weeks of whatever we feel like, just have a lot of area to cover.

[Apple]

Feb 9, 2015 1:46:42 GMT -5 wmpeon said:

Make sure you squeeze in time to just relax and do something unexpected, without the hustle of sight-seeing every moment.  During my Euro-trip, I spent two weeks traveling around parts of Europe, taking the train which included the occasional sleeper car.  By the end of my trip, I was totally exhausted.  I enjoyed the museums and the architecture, but when you've been hitting a different city every 2-4 days, you find that you can only fit in so much before you just want to rest.  Halfway through the trip, I ran into another American and we watched a movie (City of Angels with Meg Ryan and with English subtitles  ) and went paragliding.  It was a blast!   

Paragliding would be awesome, but I don't think DS would go for it (he hates heights--kid is no fun )

We've gone dog sledding, went to gladiator school, stuff like that, so I always like to do something fun.  Our first trip out, we saw Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at the theater in Dublin  DS just really needed to do something that felt "like home".  We both love theater, and watched a play in London, so I'm hoping I can talk him into seeing something again this time, even if it's in a foreign language.

Germany--we might just hit two major cities, and base ourselves in one or the other for several nights.  It could be a good half-way-through-the-trip recovery/decompress time.

[Apple]

Feb 9, 2015 14:37:45 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Feb 8, 2015 21:10:10 GMT -5 Apple said:

You guys are really giving me stuff to think about though, and that's part of what I need to figure out what will work, and how I'll make it work.

I spend a few hours a day commuting already, so time on a train doesn't bother me too much, until it gets to over four hours.  When looking at real times and schedules, I may see what I can find for night trains (saves on a hotel in addition to time spent traveling, depending on route), or I may break it up by spending more time in smaller cities.

Auschwitz is one of those places I may book a day-tour for, so there is already a guide, a bus, etc.  Also to see Neuschwanstein Castle, at least, the bus part.

Outside of that, we have a few things we really want to do/see, but I want to walk around and get lost as much as possible too.

Pomme, I assume that you're taking your DS, the history buff.  Our fantastic Normandy tour guide provided me with a reading list of 5 or 6 books during our visit.  I'd be happy to share it with your DS if you think he might be interested.  The selections I've read so far are "D-Day with the Screaming Eagles", Utah, and Omaha.  I found the first book kind of challenging to read.  It helps to be really familiar with maps of Normandy, or to have good maps at hand to help the geography make more sense.  The next two books are by the same author, and I found them to be easier reads.  But really informative when it comes to understanding what happened on the beaches during the landings.  The challenges, the tactics, and the like.

If you can manage to fit a couple of days in Normandy into your schedule, Bayeux is kind of the center of the landing area.  I think there are a couple of things in Bayeux not related to WWII that are worth taking time to see.  The Bayeux Tapestry, which documents William the Conquerer's invaison of England.  The Bayeux Cathederal is worth a couple of hours of your time.  The stained glass is spectacular and the carved stone masonry is unbelievable. 

In addition to visiting the American Cemetary at Colleville-sur-Mer, you might also consider visiting the German Cemetary at La Cambe, near Bayeux.  This cemetary is as striking as the US cemetary is.  But in a very different way.    

A thought for your flight to Europe.  You might look into flying in and out of Amsterdam instead of the Paris area.  As I understand it, Amsterdam is a significantly less expensive than CDG or Orly.  My impression is that Amsterdam is only about a three hour train ride from Paris.   

Thanks for the suggestions.  I'd give him the titles to the books if you have them

I checked all the airports in five different countries, and played with the dates to get the best deal.  CDG beat Amsterdam by a few hundred dollars (each ticket).  It may just be because I have to fly from the PNW, so have to take that portion of the trip into account, but CDG was consistently the lowest price for me.

We'll be stopping at Ardennes Cemetery in Belgium, but a German one would be a very different experience.  

[tskeeter]

Feb 10, 2015 0:57:49 GMT -5 Apple said:

Feb 9, 2015 14:37:45 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Pomme, I assume that you're taking your DS, the history buff.  Our fantastic Normandy tour guide provided me with a reading list of 5 or 6 books during our visit.  I'd be happy to share it with your DS if you think he might be interested.  The selections I've read so far are "D-Day with the Screaming Eagles", Utah, and Omaha.  I found the first book kind of challenging to read.  It helps to be really familiar with maps of Normandy, or to have good maps at hand to help the geography make more sense.  The next two books are by the same author, and I found them to be easier reads.  But really informative when it comes to understanding what happened on the beaches during the landings.  The challenges, the tactics, and the like.

If you can manage to fit a couple of days in Normandy into your schedule, Bayeux is kind of the center of the landing area.  I think there are a couple of things in Bayeux not related to WWII that are worth taking time to see.  The Bayeux Tapestry, which documents William the Conquerer's invaison of England.  The Bayeux Cathederal is worth a couple of hours of your time.  The stained glass is spectacular and the carved stone masonry is unbelievable. 

In addition to visiting the American Cemetary at Colleville-sur-Mer, you might also consider visiting the German Cemetary at La Cambe, near Bayeux.  This cemetary is as striking as the US cemetary is.  But in a very different way.    

A thought for your flight to Europe.  You might look into flying in and out of Amsterdam instead of the Paris area.  As I understand it, Amsterdam is a significantly less expensive than CDG or Orly.  My impression is that Amsterdam is only about a three hour train ride from Paris.   

Thanks for the suggestions.  I'd give him the titles to the books if you have them

I checked all the airports in five different countries, and played with the dates to get the best deal.  CDG beat Amsterdam by a few hundred dollars (each ticket).  It may just be because I have to fly from the PNW, so have to take that portion of the trip into account, but CDG was consistently the lowest price for me.

We'll be stopping at Ardennes Cemetery in Belgium, but a German one would be a very different experience.  

I'll send the reading list from home, tonight.

In some respects, I'm glad to hear that CDG is the most cost effective for you.  We're west coasters, too.  What you found means that we probably haven't been paying too much of a premium to go in and out of CDG when we've been to Paris.

[Sunnyday]

Feb 8, 2015 21:10:10 GMT -5 Apple said:

You guys are really giving me stuff to think about though, and that's part of what I need to figure out what will work, and how I'll make it work.

I spend a few hours a day commuting already, so time on a train doesn't bother me too much, until it gets to over four hours.  When looking at real times and schedules, I may see what I can find for night trains (saves on a hotel in addition to time spent traveling, depending on route), or I may break it up by spending more time in smaller cities.

Auschwitz is one of those places I may book a day-tour for, so there is already a guide, a bus, etc.  Also to see Neuschwanstein Castle, at least, the bus part.

Outside of that, we have a few things we really want to do/see, but I want to walk around and get lost as much as possible too.

Your ambitious schedule won't allow much for this.  I would personally try to enjoy 4 countries and really get a feel for it then go all over Europe, not really seeing or talking to anyone but other tourists. But that's me.

As for the pass, I would seriously crunch the numbers. Those passes are mostly advantageous for students only, not adults. I did the math 9 years ago (when I could have gotten the student pass), and it still was cheaper to buy individual tickets than the pass. And fyi, in many places during peak times, you may also have to reserve anyway even if you have a pass. And prices are higher during the peak season.  All things that you might want to consider. But I really feel that going into with a vague plan is not a good idea for your ambitions.

[tskeeter]

Feb 10, 2015 0:57:49 GMT -5 Apple said:

Feb 9, 2015 14:37:45 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Pomme, I assume that you're taking your DS, the history buff.  Our fantastic Normandy tour guide provided me with a reading list of 5 or 6 books during our visit.  I'd be happy to share it with your DS if you think he might be interested.  The selections I've read so far are "D-Day with the Screaming Eagles", Utah, and Omaha.  I found the first book kind of challenging to read.  It helps to be really familiar with maps of Normandy, or to have good maps at hand to help the geography make more sense.  The next two books are by the same author, and I found them to be easier reads.  But really informative when it comes to understanding what happened on the beaches during the landings.  The challenges, the tactics, and the like.

If you can manage to fit a couple of days in Normandy into your schedule, Bayeux is kind of the center of the landing area.  I think there are a couple of things in Bayeux not related to WWII that are worth taking time to see.  The Bayeux Tapestry, which documents William the Conquerer's invaison of England.  The Bayeux Cathederal is worth a couple of hours of your time.  The stained glass is spectacular and the carved stone masonry is unbelievable. 

In addition to visiting the American Cemetary at Colleville-sur-Mer, you might also consider visiting the German Cemetary at La Cambe, near Bayeux.  This cemetary is as striking as the US cemetary is.  But in a very different way.    

A thought for your flight to Europe.  You might look into flying in and out of Amsterdam instead of the Paris area.  As I understand it, Amsterdam is a significantly less expensive than CDG or Orly.  My impression is that Amsterdam is only about a three hour train ride from Paris.   

Thanks for the suggestions.  I'd give him the titles to the books if you have them

I checked all the airports in five different countries, and played with the dates to get the best deal.  CDG beat Amsterdam by a few hundred dollars (each ticket).  It may just be because I have to fly from the PNW, so have to take that portion of the trip into account, but CDG was consistently the lowest price for me.

We'll be stopping at Ardennes Cemetery in Belgium, but a German one would be a very different experience.  

Here's a reading list from Stuart Robertson of Normandy Battle Tours.

Joe Balkoski

    Omaha Beach

    Utah Beach

George Kosimaki

    D-Day with the Screaming Eagles

Chester Wilmot

    The Struggle for Europe

Robin Neillands

    D-Day 1944

    The Battle of Normandy 1944

I believe that all of these books are available from Amazon.  You might also be able to find at least some of them at your local library.

If you are considering a self guided tour, PM me your address and I will send you my copy of Stuart's book, Following in the Footsteps of Heroes, D-Day. June 6th 1944 by Stuart Robertson and Dale Booth.  I believe this book is only available from the English publisher.  What makes this book special is the historical perspective, the personal accounts it contains, and the fact that it contains directions to the locations where the events the books describes took place in sections called "Visiting the battlefield today".