France Roadtrip advice

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Shorns

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Oct 14, 2011
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Hi everyone,

We're heading to france in september/october and planning on a 3 week roadtrip, roughly we're planning on heading down the Route Des Cretes across to Dijon then down the Route des Grande Alpes to Nice and across to bordeaux via the cote de azure (hopefully).

Now usually I'd be happy not planning accomodation and stops along the way but we'll have a 3 year old in tow and the old fall back of sleeping in the car isn't going to cut it. Soooo what are peoples experiences lobbing into a village and finding accomodation for the night? It's coming off high season, would there be any spots that might be worth booking ahead?

Cheers
Sean
 
Make sure you read up on the rules about carrying a personal breathalyser, safety vest, triangle and what not. Now mandatory ... although apparently they are still not enforcing the breathalyser rules (due to massive shortages)
 
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My dream Europe trip would be to fly into CDG then spend a month very, very slowly driving down through the south of France and Northern Spain and flying out of somewhere like BCN, spending at least 3 nights at each stop. Lots of farmhouses, walks through the countryside, little villages and of course, excellent food and wine.

I would be very interested to hear about your experiences in planning and conducting this trip.
 
We spent two weeks driving from Paris to Barcelona, via Epernay, Beaune, Chamonix and Avignon. Just glorious. Sans enfant though. Why not do your bookings through Booking.com which only require 1 days notice of cancellation and no upfront charge.
 
We have travelled throughout France. We have been every year for the past 3 years. Each time in September/October.
I myself do prefer to book ahead to get my preferred places to stay, however free wheeling it is also good.
I feel at that time of year you will always find accommodation but whether it is your preferred location or price will be a bit of a gamble. September/October is still a popular time of year. France is a little different than say Britain or Ireland where it seems easy to locate vacancy signs outside B&Bs and hotels.
Pushka does have a good suggestion about using booking.com even if it is the night before to see what may be available in the next town or city for the next day.
If you arrive in a town looking for accommodation call into the local tourist office, because they always have listings and often ones that do not appear on the internet booking sites.

You will love the areas you plan to travel to. A couple of years were spent a week in the Alsace area, such beautiful countryside and the cutest villages. It will be wine harvesting time also.

I love France and especially the small villages. Are you visiting Provence, there is always a great local market happening every day in a village nearby. If you are heading to Bordeaux, try to plan a few days in the Dordogne region, lush countryside, great castles and prehistoric caves and great food!
 
We spent two weeks driving from Paris to Barcelona, via Epernay, Beaune, Chamonix and Avignon. Just glorious. Sans enfant though. Why not do your bookings through Booking.com which only require 1 days notice of cancellation and no upfront charge.

Actually thats a brilliant idea that I hadn't even thought of! We use hotels.com a lot who offer the same thing on 99% of their rooms.... Definately look into that one!
 
SWMBO and me did something similar 4 years ago. We booked in Paris and Nice to be sure of having something in the big city, apart from did it freelance. One night 2 places were full before we go somewhere, otherwise no probs. Good luck, it sounds like a great trip.
 
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