a long weekend in paris

If you're playing along at home (or following us on social media), you know that we've been on the road this week.  We spent Labor Day weekend in Iceland, which was so fantastic that we can't wait to get back. Then, we continued on to Bruges (for fun), and the Loire Valley (to do some scouting for our upcoming cycling trip that you should totally join with us, by the way). But now, we've settled into Paris for a few days.  Our hotel in Montmartre is super cute, and very affordable, so it got us thinking about how we might send you here, as well!

When we talk to people about how we started a travel business, one of the first things people say to us is, "Well, why would anyone use a travel agent, when they can just book things on-line?" There are a couple of answers to that--the first answer is "death by internet search." You could go cross-eyed looking for the perfect hotel at the best price, or you could let us handle it for you, knowing that we'll put you in this adorable little hotel in Montmartre, which you might not have found if you were scrolling through thousands of properties in Paris.

The second answer to "Why would I use a travel agent?" is that we can often find you a better price than you'd get online. Even if all you need is a flight and a hotel, we can bundle your hotel room with a bulk airfare, which will be cheaper than a published fare.  And keep in mind that you're not paying any kind of fee to us for booking the trip for you--we work on commission.  (We might charge a small upfront fee for planning something that's super complicated and difficult, but those trips are few and far-between.)  So, when you book your hotel, just know that someone's getting the commission--it might be the big booking engine--Kayak, Travelocity, Expedia, or whatever. Or, if you book directly with the hotel, the hotel just keeps the markup for themselves.

So, here's an example for that long weekend in Paris that we know you're dying to take. If you have Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day off of work next month, you could tack on an extra vacation or personal day, and leave on Thursday, October 8. You knock off work at the end of the day and go directly to JFK (or whatever city you're in).  You'd get on an Air France flight that lands in Paris on Friday morning. You take the train in from Charles De Gaulle Airport, and take the Metro to that super-cute hotel we just showed you, and then you spend the next couple of days eating amazing food, going to museums, strolling through one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and having a blast. Then, on Monday, you head back to the airport in the late afternoon, and you're back in New York that night.  Easy. Breezy. Beautiful. Covergirl.

How much would that run you?  Well, keeping in mind that prices fluctuate all the time, I just ran the numbers through one of our super special travel agent booking tools, and for two people traveling together out of JFK and sharing that amazing king-sized bed in that adorable hotel we just showed you, that'd come out to $1587.55, or $793.78 per person.

By comparison, I went online to a consumer site to see what it'd be if I booked the lowest published airfare, and booked the same room directly with the hotel (which was the lowest price I could find. on a consumer site). The consumer site price, booking air and hotel separately came out to $1744, total, or $872, per person. So, by booking with Huckleberry Travel, you're saving nearly $200. And, like I said--you don't pay us--the airline and hotel do!

We can also add in sightseeing tours and transfers to and from the airport (if you don't want to deal with the train when you've just landed in a country where everyone speaks French quickly).

So, how about it?  Wanna jump on this trip? We're ready to book it for you! Just drop us a line, and we'll get it done!