We plan to drive around the Loire, Dordogne and Haute Marne (Champagne) regions in very early and mid-October. Do we need to book our accommodation before we go or will most of the smaller B&B or guest house-type places have rooms that time of year? We'd very much like to have the freedom to just base ourselves in one town for a couple of days and explore the countryside in the rental car, with the flexibilty to change destinations as the mood strikes. But if we can't do that, we'll book ahead and hope we like our choices.

Also, in the Haute Marne I am trying to trace my family history (Crance). Any suggestions on where we should go and who we should see? I know my geat grandfather Joseph Crance was born and raised there (do not know the town) and migrated to Ohio in the 1850s. We think we might start out at Chamont.

You wouldn't be the first to travel adlib I'm sure, but I wouldn't do it that way, just incase you do have a bit of trouble finding accommodation in your immediate location. The other things is, it will take up part of your day(finding accommodation). The other thing to consider is at what cost you are prepared to pay to find available accommodation, and what quality are you expecting?
Also check with the insurance company you intend to use if they cover personal belongings theft from your vehicle?

Hi As,

Will Rogers once said,
"There are three kinds of people: those who read, those who observe and those who have to pee on the electric fence for themselves".

If you prefer to be no. 3 instead of no. 1, please let us know how it turned out.

OTOH, you could do a little research and have an idea of where you might wish to stay in any of several places.

A bit harsh, ira

Maybe you can book accommodation with a generous cancellation policy ( say; no cost for cancelling withing 24 or 48 hours). Then you have an option to be flexible.

Remember to be polite and diligent about cancelling in plenty of time.

Remember that a lot of places close up for guests about that time through to spring.

There's always Etap or Formule 1

We did some 'freestyle' driving around the Loire in early October last year, as well as the Dordogne. Both regions were still very much 'open for business', so I don't think you'll have any trouble finding a place to sleep, if you're just after a double room. It's really a matter of the quality of the stay you want. We went from one chambre d'hote in the Loire which was beautiful, characterful with great hosts, to another place where we turned around & left 10 minutes after we arrived, as it was filthy & quite creepy! We also left it a little late in the day to search for a room in Amboise, so ended up paying top dollar, so it would be sensible to sort out your quarters earlier in the day. If you travel with an IPad etc, then this should be easy to do. Just ring ahead while you're on the road. I can't comment on the Champagne region, but you may find it busy due to vendange at that time.