Paris and globus tour

Hi Kiwigrandma,
That does initially sound expensive, so some analysis will be necessary.

Firstly, to make it a bit easier for everyone, let's convert your NZ$ to euros, which is what you'll be paying if you arrange a hotel yourself. Using a retail exchange rate of 0.60, my rough guess is that NZ$200 is about €120. 

I stayed in a far northern suburb of Paris for four days last June at what I considered a good value, budget hotel. It cost me €119 per night for the two of us - room only and no breakfast. If you can get something closer into the centre of Paris and not substandard you'll be doing well. We were paying around €70 a night in some of the French regional cities, but Paris is far more expensive.

There are two aspects to the price you're paying: the hotel price in euros and the exchange rate. Sometimes the exchange rate is the main culprit, although we end up incorrectly blaming the hotels. Just ask any South African and they know only too well that the low value of the Rand is making overseas travel very expensive. The NZ$ was somewhat higher against the euro several weeks ago, but it's now come off a bit.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but NZ$200 per night doesn't sound an exorbitant price in central Paris. Maybe other members can advise on cheaper hotels, but do remember that you might be getting an uncomfortable place if you go too cheap. 

A 7am arrival will be almost impossible to get an early check-in without paying something extra, but you can at least ask. A better option is to skip the 'lie down' if that's what you wanted, leave your luggage and see a bit of Paris at a quiet pace until your room becomes available.

For a self tour, you can certainly save money by not including the breakfast which is usually overpriced.

We prefer to stroll along the streets to find a cafe for breakfast - it's cheaper, better variety and we get to absorb the sights, sounds etc of the location. We would only pay for a hotel breakfast if it's not near local cafes.

What is the hotel, if you don't mind saying?

Yes, I do understand the need to lie down after a long-haul flight, Kiwigrandma. I try not to because I adapt faster to the different time zone that way, but everybody's system is different and what works for one can be awful for another. Unless you're good at sweet-talking or garnering a sympathetic treatment, hotels will probably try to charge you for a too early check-in. Your best bargaining position is when you're considering booking the hotel, so that means going direct to them via email. If the hotel isn't fully booked they can easily give you a vacant room if you ask nicely and make it clear that you're likely to stay at whatever hotel can do this for you. Good luck.

I have some good news regarding Ypres and the Belgium WW1 battlefields - I was there in June. When I've caught up with the many tasks I've fallen behind in, I'll be writing my travel tale here so you can read a lot about Ypres and the other places I visited. 

And what a splendid travel tale that was, Tulips - one of the most widely read on the Trafalgar Forum if I'm not mistaken. 

I took some printouts of it with me last June as it covered parts that I was seeing on a self-guided tour. It was very helpful!

My own trip was a broad-based tour of Benelux and France and whilst it did cover Ypres, battlefields and war cemeteries, my travel tale won't deal with them as specifically as yours did. Kiwigrandma will indeed get plenty of information from your helpful summary.