I am hoping to take a day tour with Paris Vision or ParisTrip.com to the Loire Valley in September. Has anyone been on one? I am not used to day excursion tours. Is there anything I should be looking out for?
We are not intereseted in renting a car, and thought this would be a good way to see some of the countryside.

In terms of simplicity and ease of planning...a bus tour is probably best.

Parisvision has Chambord, Cheverny and Chenonceau. I've seen the 1sr and last. Chambord was great from the outside (all those chimneys), bit empty inside. Chenonceau is a gem.

Cityrama is another coach tour company. Interestingly enough, they go to the same chateaux!

We did this tour with Parisvision. We did the minivan tour so there were only 7 or 8 people on the tour. It was January so there were no crowds but it was a bit chilly. We really enjoyed the trip. Our guides were charming and the lunch we had at a place near Cheverny was excellant and included in the price.

We did the Cityrama and had the same good time Suzanne2 had with Parisvision! Compare prices and itineraries-I don't think you can go wrong with either.

I do remember saying to DH that the area looked lovely for a long drive through sweet little towns.

The bus tours usually take around 3 hours to get to the Loire Valley whereas it's very easy to take the TGV train from Gare Montparnasse to the city of Tours (1 hour) and from there catch a minibus tour. The mini bus tours depart from the tourist office, across the street from the train station. Taking the TGV allows you to spend a greater part of the day in the Loire Valley and less time travelling.

Here's the link to the tourist office's minibus tour page:

http://www.ligeris.com/excursions_en.php?id=4

Forgot to mention that if you still prefer to take a bus tour departing from Paris, there's another company worth considering: http://www.francetourisme.fr/.

Thank you for all the helpful comments.
I used the TGV to get to the Champagne region and was very pleased. I will be doing all the day planning for our time in Paris, and think I'll stick with an excursion from the city because it will give me a break from finding my way and 3 hours each way off my feet.

The city of Angers is an easy 90 minute trip from Paris via the TGV from Gare Montparnasse. The Chateau d' Angers is an easy 10 minute walk from the Gare St. Laud. Within the Chateau d' Angers is the Apocalypse Tapestries; one of the premier works of art extant from the 14th century.