Slow down! Is this your family's first trip to France? That also makes a difference.
I live in the American West also, used to long distance driving, and have traveled extensively in France. Frankly your itinerary gives me the heebeegeebees. I look at it and feel exhausted. I think you're "covering" too much. Granted, most of us in these forums are slow travelers and enjoy "being" places, not just getting there. So take all of this with a grain of salt, knowing you have asked a group called "SlowEurope".
As you make your way from town to town, village to village you will find it impossible to take it all in. 4 days in Paris, including your arrival day and your departure day leaves you with barely 48-60 hrs. 48 hrs where you are recovering from jet lag. If it's your first trip you will want to walk everywhere and "see it all". This is not enough time. 4 days including arriving and departing Sarlat is not enough time to do Sarlat and the surrounding areas justice. Your distances, combined with the overall time frame of 16 nights seems overly optimistic, a lot like a "See France in 16 days" itinerary. Take it slower, see less but experience more. You will not regret it.
I can't imagine only your wife is affected by jet lag. The time difference and lack of good sleep on the plane is enough to fatigue anyone.
On a side note, Versailles is only a "must" if one of you would come home depressed that you hadn't been there. It is always crowded and tours have you pushing through at an uncomfortable pace. Skip it if no one sees this as a "bucket list" item. If you just want to see the grounds and gardens, that is easier. Keep in mind the busiest days and how/when you'll arrive.
What is the 19 year old in to? Ask this person to plan part of the itinerary or to give serious input. That may affect where you end up and what you visit.
Laura
Laura,
Thanks for your reply.
We have decided to drop Versailles. Nobody’s going to miss it.
I can confirm that I do not suffer from jet lag. With trips both directions (Germany and Japan), I have had zero difficulty. I hit the ground running and immediately adapt to the new schedule. I even fall into a normal sleep pattern per the new clock, right on the first night. But, as previously noted, my wife will struggle. How my son will react is yet to be seen, but he’s young and easily stoked, so I don’t think he’ll be a limiting factor.
Despite the distance covered, there is an element of “see less, experience more” at play here. We tend to pick our three or four top items for a location and then move on to the next. If we stay in one place too long, we get bored, even if there’s more to do there. So we really focus on a few things, we don’t rush them, and then we go somewhere else. Think of it this way—from Sarlat, there’s a dozen or more excellent Châteaus within easy reach. But we don’t need or want to see a dozen Châteaus. So we pick what we think will be the best one (maybe two) and we’re satisfied with that. Do that for a couple other types of sights and we’ve had our fill. Quite frankly, based on our Germany trip, we feel like we’ve seen enough cathedrals to last a lifetime.
This is how we did a week in Germany last year. Three main bases but not too many sights at each base. It worked perfectly for us, even my wife, who prefers leisurely pace. As wonderful as Fussen was, after three days, she was ready to move on to Rothenburg.
Upping Paris to four days is already a huge compromise for me as I don’t care much for any large city. I could see adding time to Sarlat. And we’re not going to France without a stop in the Alps! I’m confident we can enjoy that now that we’ve dropped both Carcassonne and Corsica from the itinerary.
To answer your last question,when we travel in May, my son will have completed his freshman year at college which includes a minor in French. He did four years of French, and French Club in high school. He just wants to get exposure to French language and culture. I have tried to engage him in the planning, but he’s just so happy to be going to France, he really doesn’t care what specifically we do while we’re there. He just got home fo Christmas break, so I’ll reengage with him on this.
