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France...major itinerary mistakes ?

tostaky

New Member
Hi !
we (2 adults and 2 kids of 11 and 15 years old) will make a road trip in France in July-August. We have 37 nights for that trip. We know July-august is the worst time to travel but having kids in school and being a Teacher (me) and a school psychologist (my wife) kinds of dictate our travel time ! It will be our fifth trip in Europe with the kids so we have some travel experience.

So our trip is july 4 to august 11. We will rent a car (so expensive for now !)

Paris: 6 nights get rental car at the end
Honfleur: 2 nights and day trip to Etretat ans stop to Rouen on road
Bayeux: 3 nights ddays beaches, tapestry, museum, enjoy 14th july ! Head to Brittanny with a stop in Mont St-Michel (we will get up early to try to avoid daytrippers)
Britanny : 8 nights ( 3 Dinan, 4 Quimper and 1 Vannes)
Puy du Fou : 2 nights in a airbnb in a village near (our tickets are bought so we cant leave that one out !)
Dordogne (2 km from Sarlat): 5 nights
Murat (Auverge): 1 night with a stop on Puy Mary
Puy-en-Velay: 2 nights
Thônes (French Alps): 5 nights. Daytrips to Annecy, Chamonix and other mountains around.
Lyon: 3 nights . Leave our car in our Arrival in Lyon. Fly back to Montreal on the last day ( at 1 pm)

We made reservations (refundable) only in Airbnb (beside Lyon)

What about that ?
 
Wow what an adventure! How lucky you are.
We are also teachers and must travel during summer months. And while we dream of retirement travel in fall and spring have had wonderful experiences during the summer months.

I have only been to a couple of your destinations; Paris, Sarlat & Lyon so I cannot speak to your entire itinerary, but I have a couple of general thoughts.

While you're visiting amazing destinations, you might be doing too much. I'm sure others will chime in more specifically but you will quickly tire of the 2 night stops for a couple of reasons: hauling the luggage (even if it's just a backpack a piece) from where you need to park the car is never fun (can be inconvenient), it is often at that two night mark that you realize how lovely a place is and regrettably you'll need to leave, and lastly that "always on the road" feeling is exhausting.

It looks like you're visiting some lovely places in the NW area. Could you stay somewhere central for those two weeks and do day trips? Allowing yourselves an overnight in Mont St-Michel? Everyone who goes says to spend the night because that is when the hoards of tourists have left and the magic begins. We have often booked in somewhere for 3 weeks and then done overnights or even two nights elsewhere. It allows for that "home base" sense. It isn't really more expensive because everyone offers a price break when you stay for 2+ weeks.

Regarding the price of the car, you should look into leasing a car. This depends on the number of days you have the car, but we've found it to be much more affordable when we've had the luxury of a 6-7 week trip.

Less is more, Tostaky. Setting up fewer home bases allows for you and your family to really get to know an area. To become part of the town, village or neighborhood. To establish a routine.

Have fun planning!
Laura
 
Hi Laura ! Thanks for the answer.

We are not in our first trip, we travel every year with the kids since they are born. It doesnt mean we are foolproof but at least we kind of of expect what is going ! Some thoughts:
1) We are light packers, we only have a small carry on each. We also are efficient to pack and leave. I know that drag liggage can be a nightmare (we have done that mistake !). It will be our fourth european trip with the kids and we can add many road trip in USA and Canada to those. We generally try to avoid one or 2 nights stops but we can manage some here and there.
3) Must of our airbnb got private parking.
4) Making a reservation for three weeks to go sleep elsewhere doesnt make sense...we would still have to pack some luggage for those one nighters elsewhere.
5) Mont Saint-Michel is only a photo op from away for us. We dont feel the need to saty overnight there. All the great picture nare not taken inside ont St-Michel but from afar, I guess there's a goodn reason for that !
6) We have read about car leasing. Is not a deal because for now it would cost around 2200$ (Canadian) while a rental would cost around 2000$. My credit card include insurance.
I also have to take a lease in airpport so Taxi to CDD($$$) and from Lyon to town ($$$ again). Also, from what a advisor from europeuto (who make lease for Renault, Peugeot and Dacia in Canada) the car isnt guaranteed, in our time I could learn 3 days before getting the car that the wont be avaible.
 
Paris: 6 nights get rental car at the end
Honfleur: 2 nights and day trip to Etretat and stop to Rouen on road
Bayeux: 3 nights days beaches, tapestry, museum, enjoy 14th july ! Head to Brittanny with a stop in Mont St-Michel (we will get up early to try to avoid daytrippers)
Britanny : 8 nights ( 3 Dinan, 4 Quimper and 1 Vannes)
Puy du Fou : 2 nights in a airbnb in a village near (our tickets are bought so we cant leave that one out !)
Dordogne (2 km from Sarlat): 5 nights
Murat (Auverge): 1 night with a stop on Puy Mary
Puy-en-Velay: 2 nights
Thônes (French Alps): 5 nights. Daytrips to Annecy, Chamonix and other mountains around.
Lyon: 3 nights . Leave our car in our Arrival in Lyon. Fly back to Montreal on the last day ( at 1 pm)

We made reservations (refundable) only in Airbnb (beside Lyon)

What about that ?

Without being able to comment too much on the specifics, my thoughts were more logistical

- Solid 6 nights in Paris :). Whilst not the ideal location to get over jet-lag (I find countryside better than the bright lights and noise of a city), I think this is a good choice, as it gives you some time to get over jet-lag / the journey, and avoids you having to get straight into driving. If you have lots you want to see in Paris, it might be worth asking yourself if you lost a day through jetlag messing with sleep patterns, would it still be enough.

- Length of each stop. I generally suggest avoiding too many changes of base, due to the wasted time checking in / out, packing / unpacking and thus 'wasted / unenjoyable time', but if you have a car it does give more flexibility. I think your itinerary does what I'll suggest in parts, but I wonder if it could be tweaked to make it a more definite approach

Suggestion: Break the trip into more definitive:
a) normal stays of 3-6 nights, to reduce hassle and allow you to explore / embed a little in the location. Try to factor a clothes washing part day into these longer stays, as they give you a chance to get them washed and dried, as well as providing a little 'chill time'.

b) 'Road trip' section or two, where you're changing base every night or two. By having it better defined like this, you can get organised by leaving most of the luggage in the car and simply taking a day pack into the accommodation. This should reduce the pain of packing/unpacking a little, and feels like a planned change of pace.



- Lyon. Is being based in the city essential? It can be a pain to not have the car for a last leg, and having a car makes transporting heavy luggage to the airport much easier. There's some lovely nearby countryside / villages in Beaujolais/Macon and the wider Burgundy area. Perhaps somewhere that is in easy reach of day tripping in, perhaps driving to a train station and taking the train in?

p.s. I see the comment about light packing, and whilst I think it's a great mindset, perhaps on a longer trip like this, and with a car, you can cut yourselves some slack and have a little more luggage. That doesn't necessarily mean packing all the clothes you want, but leaving good space in the luggage to buy some nice new clothes in France, maybe a bottle of wine or two to take home, and anything else that appeals to you whilst there. You're setup to be able to do this with a car, so it might make sense to (temporarily) relax the brilliant 'light travelling' skills and enjoy the option to graze the things you like.

p.p.s. It won't always be possible to do this, but ideally do any longer motorway driving days on Sundays. The reasoning for this, is most large lorries are banned from the road on Sundays, and this makes a noticeable difference to the traffic on the roads.
 
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Hi Ian Sutton and many thanks for that answer !
Some thoughts about your good ideas:
1) About Lyon. yes we really want to be in town. We want to go to Lyon to enjoy the food scene. We are kind of foodies (dont know if we still use that term in 2022 but still). Haveing a good meal, with a bottle of wine in the evening with a nice walk back to the lodging is a perfect way to end a trip in our minds,
2) Having bigger lugagge would also mean pay for them in the plane, getting a biger (and more expensive) car, dragging them around and having to wait for them at the airport. We really enjoy travelling with carry-on only. In summer we have light clothes so we can pack a lot in our small suitcases ! We like wine but not to the point of bring back some bottles and we hate shopping for clothes so....
 
One final thought... the kids.

Have they taken an interest in the planning / have you got specific stuff lined up that will interest or excite them?

Are they learning French and hence it's an opportunity to put it to use - or even help their parents out with translations?

Is EuroDisney an appeal for them? Anything else they're excited by?
 
The kids....when we ask them what they want to see, to make some search or to check the travel books we borrow at the library they never do it. We know they like to swim (so we got a pool in Sarlat and will bring the swimsuits everywhere). They are very easy kids to travel with : a pack of candy here and there, a nice meal they chose in a restaurant, an ice cream on a hot day some free time on their tablet when we drive and they are pleased.

Eurodisney ? No thanks !

They speak french on a daily basis. Like you must have noticed english is a second language for me, french is our first.,
 
They speak french on a daily basis. Like you must have noticed english is a second language for me, french is our first.,
Not at all, but apologies as I I hadn't put 2 and 2 together from the departure airport.

It certainly would make engaging with other children much easier, so hopefully they make some fun contacts on the travels.
 
Welcome to the forum!

That will be a great trip, we've been to most of the places except the Alps and area. When you go to the D-Day beaches, a few miles from Bayeux there is a Canadian military cemetery. The American cemetery gets all the attention, but the others, Canadian, British and German are equally interesting in their own right.

You might want to reconsider rent vs. lease on a car. Saving that $200 could be penny wise and pound foolish. Firstly, if a rental is only costing you that little for that period of time it can't be a comparable car, plus the lease car is brand new, not with 50,000 KM on it.

More importantly, I would encourage you to check the insurance coverage from your credit card. I have several credit cards and only one (AMEX Platinum) provides primary coverage. The other cards will only pay the difference after submitting a claim to personal car insurance. If you get in an accident in France, your personal insurance company will likely automatically put fault on you. I don't know Canadian insurance practices, but for instance in my state, Massachusetts, your insurance rates go up for an at fault accident.
 
What a great adventure! It sounds like your family is used to traveling, so it will be doable. We have been to almost all those places, but over several trips. A few recommendations: In Paris, I'm sure St. Chapelle, and the Orangerie are already on your list, and I would also recommend the lesser known Metiers Art & Science Museum which we found fascinating. Near Metiers is Cafe des Musees which has the best beef bourguignon. Also we found the best onion soup at Bistrot Richelieu near the Louvre.
On the drive from Paris to Honfleur stop at Monet's house & garden at Giverney (after seeing his water lily paintings in the Orangerie). In Normandy, be sure to see the Memorial de Caen which is one of the best WWII museums, explaining how the world spiraled into the darkness of war. They also have the most wonderful cheese in Normandy!
In Brittany, we enjoyed St Malo where you can walk the walls, and at low tide walk out to the fort in the harbour. Also enjoyed Fort de la Latte out on a rocky point north of Dinan. South of Quimper is Concarneau, a fortress island. And of course see the standing stones at Carnac.
In the Dordogne, there are still a few real caves (not recreated) with prehistoric cave paintings that you can visit (book online ahead). We saw Peche Merle cave near Cahors and Grotte de Font-de-Gaume near Les Eyzies. Cahors is worth a visit as is Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, Rocamadour, and of course Sarlat, Domme, and La Roque-Gageac.
Have a wonderful time! I'll look forward to reading your report on the trip.
 

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