Car or van rental
 

I am bringin my family of five (3 teenagers plus my wife and I) to France this summer. I will need to rent a car or van large enough for the 5 of us. (one week in Paris, no car. One week in the Dordogne and one week in the Loire Valley) I can rent a van but the only reservation location I am having luck with is at the airport. Has anyone rented a van large enough for 5? Any advice or suggestions? (Is the van - a VW Kombi or something like that, too large for the countryside?). Thanks for any help.

What car company or companies are you trying? I would think you would have plenty of choices of pick-up location(s). You certainly won't encounter trouble with a van in the Loire valley; it's actually wide open country. It defines a valley kinda like the Platte river defines a valley!

Of course, if you are trying to rent an automatic, then you ARE going to be limited in choice(s).

Best wishes,

Rex

Joe:

I rented a van last year - a Renault Espace. It held 7 people (with minimal luggage) or 4-5 people (with reasonable luggage). The cost was $700 including all insurance for 10 days. I'm not familiar with the Kombi, but from the sound of it, it might be one of those new vans that looks like a large insect :) At any rate, the Espace was great. I picked it up in Périgueux, which you might want to consider if your next destination after Paris is the Dordogne. You can get reasonably inexpensive family rates on the trains. Better yet, check out the 20-25€ PREMS fares and take the TGV to Bordeaux and pick up a van there. It's about 32 hours into the Dordogne on quite a scenic route (more scenic than the twice longer drive from Paris)into the heart of the Dordogne.
In case it's an issue, when I was researching vans, the vast majority were stick shift, which I wanted anyway, and the price for an automatic was fairly astronomical.

That should have read "it's about 3 hours into the Dordogne...." not 32!

I rented a van about 2 years ago. It was a Renault Espace, manual 5 speed, and with 7 seats (the 6th and 7th seats limited the luggage space at the back, but can be folded away). Picked it up at Place Invalides and drove it with 5 other people to Alsace, Burgundy and Loire.

I believe I rented it from either Sixt (sp?) or Europcar.

It has sufficient power and torque, is nimble enough (at least, for me) to get through the small streets in small towns in the country, and is a diesel engine which made it less costly to drive. It was also a fun way to travel for a group.