Unexperienced Travler seeks advice

Beverlee: 21 days is longer than we have ever done at one time. If SalB was here (she is on vacation) I believe she would recommend LEASING (not renting) a car from Peugeout. (It has to be 17 days or longer and that yields the best rate.) Pick up the car at any number of locations and go out and explore. By all means spend some time in Paris and then see Beaunne, Lyon, Burgundy, etc etc etc. You can never do too much planning or research and the internet is invaluable. By all means check out the links from this site as well. Donerail

Hi, Beverlee. Don’t know if you are still looking for information or not but I’ll give it a try.

We usually go over for a month to six weeks and have only begun to scratch the surface. France may be the size of Colorado, but it has thousands of years of history attached to it. The landscape is amazingly diverse too so there is always plenty to see and do.

Donerail was correct in stating that if you are going for more than 17 days, it’s less expensive to lease a car. We’ve always leased a Peugeot and they cover taxes and other expenses. They also have 24 hour roadside assistance that is wonderful when you need it. We’ve only needed it once, and they were there and had us back on the road in 30 minutes on a Bastille day weekend.

As for hotel or hostel, you can make a choice or try both. On our first trip we tried camping, French chain motels, French small local hotels and a timeshare. Your first trip is a good time to explore. If you click on the blue and red France.com at the top of this page, there is a terrific hotel search engine. Click on "Hotels" and then search by town or region. They give you photos of the hotels and lots of reviews written by people who have stayed there. We’ve used their online reservation service many times and it is excellent.

Another recommendation is the Logis de France hotel chain. These range from small local hotels to chateaus with a very wide range of prices. Their web site is http://www.logis-de-france.fr/uk/ in English. You can search by town, hotel name, region or on a map. They have photos but no reviews. Again, we’ve used their online reservation service extensively and it is excellent. Most of these hotels have very nice little restaurants associated.

Best time for your money: That’s a tough one. France is pretty inexpensive compared to some other European countries so it’s not as much of a concern as it could be. The airline fares are usually lower in the Spring and Autumn. The Riviera is most expensive in August because that’s when they have the most tourists. It is also the most crowded time and unless you enjoy major traffic jams, I’d avoid it in August. On the other hand, if you like excitement, that’s when to go!

May and June are lovely, air fares are pretty good and the tourist season hasn’t really started yet. September and October are somewhat the same, so those four months would be the least crowded and least expensive.

Looking for air fares: Again, try the blue and red France.com at the top of this page. When you get to the home page, look over on the far right and find the link to Airlines. Click and check prices there. I’ve looked at a lot of sites and this one is usually very good. It’s a bit of a gamble because you don’t know the airline until you buy, but the money you save may be worth it. If you care seriously about what airline you use, you may not like this site. We got a great deal for next October and I couldn’t come close on any other site, so you should at least look at it.

That should get you started. Happy planning. You will have a great time. France is wonderful no matter where you go.