rita79

Either due to my foolishness or to my ingenuity I have booked 2 nights at the le vieux logis which i initially was really looking forward to as we are there on a tapas gourmand night. However since reading reviews on this website I am wondering whether to cancel not due to the hotel reviews but the posts about the dangerous roads. I am not used to a right hand drive and it will be my first time driving around france and I was planning to pick the car up at bordeaux airport equipped with GPS SAT NAV. I would much appreciate any feedback on this route and if it really that dangerous as that would really spoil the holiday
regards
rita

ira

Hi Rita,

The only thing that I think would be dangerous about this ride is that it is 2:30 hr and you will be jet lagged.

>I am not used to a right hand drive..

Do you mean one where the driver sits on the starboard side, as in England? If so, you have been misinformed. The French cars are just like US cars - left hand drive, stay on the right side of the road.

Go to www.viamichelin.com and enter "Airport/Bordeaux/France" and "Tremolat/France"

You can zoom in to get a highly detailed view of your route.

It is on major highways and good secondary roads up to Limeuil.

Your last 10 km or so will be on a narrow road through mountains.

If you will be there before dark, you should be used to the car by then.

On the highway, I suggest that you stay in the right lane and do the speed limit.

Enjoy your tapas.

moolyn

Rita, I just added a description of our June lunch at le Viex Logis to my Dordogne trip report. Check it out for inspiration. We didn't find the driving difficult in that area, even in the last section of mountain that Ira mentions.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...olyn&fid=2

rita79

Hi ira
Sorry I think I meant left hand drive. I live in the UK and so am used to right hand drives! I also shan't be jet lagged as it is oonly a 2 hour flight so hopefully that is ok.
By the way on the motorway are there any rest stops and are they easy to spot. also the tolls are they english user friendly?

Thanks so much for the tips. I think it is best to be prepared and there is so much experience in this forum that one can't pick up from a guide book.

RonZ

There are rest stops [called "aires'] all along the auroroutes.

Toll tickets are dispensed by machines. At the pay stations, pick lanes leading to manned booths. Be sure to say bonjour! There will a display showing the amount of your toll. You can pay by credit card if you wish.

In roundabouts, the direction of traffic is counter clockwise, and cars entering have to yield.

ira

Hi Rita,

Plot your route at www.mappy.com.

At the "town" level, it will show you the rest stops.

When approaching roundabouts, if there are 2 lanes entering the circle, stay right to make a turn into the first street, stay left if you are going into the others.

Michael

My recollection is that there are no rest stops on the autoroute between Bordeaux and Périgueux.

rita79

thanks so much for all the info. 2 questions i need to clarify, I have heard thtat in some parts of france the driver who enters the roundabout has the right of way but it appears that in Bordeaux and dordogne it is like Britain in that the car entering the roundabout stops and gives way to the cars already on the roundabout.

Also is it quite easy to work out from a distance which toll booths are manned...is there a particular sign I am looking for?

kind regards
rita

Michael

It's been a long time since the person on the right had the right of way entering a round about. All round abouts in France give priority to the car already in it.

ira

ditto M