Hi,

My wife and I now have four weeks booked in France this September/October, including over two weeks in Provence, a week in the Dordogne, and just under a week in Paris. I intend to rent/lease a car, either in Avignon, or Arles, keep it for day tripping and moving to Sarlat in the Dordogne, then drop it off, for the train back to Paris.

I'm looking for advice on the issue of car rentals or short term leasing. Which is preferred? Experience? Hertz, Avis, EuropCar, versus Peugot/Reneault short term lease?

Oh, and part two of question: Which maps are best suited for this kind of day tripping and then move to Sarlat?

I've ordered Michelin's Southern France; would love to find a good quality Michelin (or other) good scale map for touring.

Thanks for all ideas/thoughts.

Robert

We always rent the smallest car available with standard shift. This year we are paying about $800 for 32 days of rental (it would have been cheaper if we could have trimmed off one day but we had to split the rental which increases the cost). We always decline the CDW (check Kemwel which was about $200 cheaper than Autoeurope and look at their <b>basic</b> rates) because we carry the CDW on our Visa card with no deductible (31 days maximum rental). The lowest lease I found is about $1200 for the same period of time.

If you need an automatic, it may turn out that the rental cost and the lease cost are about the same. But it is usually better to check the prices with a consolidator (Autoeurope or Kemwel) than the actual rental companies.

Michelin maps are at every kiosk, maison de la presse, bibliotèque, and supermarket in France, and it's cheaper to buy them there. For the Dordogne you'll want the yellow series #329.

Language Quest is having a big sale on Michelin maps. There is a page on the site that divides a map of France into small areas. You can click on each area to see which local Michelin map covers it. See here: http://tinyurl.com/k8kfe.

Oops! Actually the map number is superimposed over each area. If you click on the area, you'll get detailed information about the map covering it.

I suggest a buy/back lease from Kemwel for your trip--you can pick what car you " buy". I love the coverage as well.

Thanks for the assistance, and particularly the Kemwel reference. I'll have a car for 24 days, which qualifies for a short term lease. (I don't even want to think about driving in Paris!!)