BriMSP

Friends and I are traveling for 10 days in France in the beginning of August. We'll be in Paris for a few days and then are headed to Provence. The dilemma we are facing is whether to rent a car in Paris and drive south or to take the high speed train to Avignon or Aix-en-Provence and then hiring a car there.

I'm a fan of the former, renting in and driving back to Paris just for the flexibility of it all, but already ladies in our party are baulking at the idea due to concerns of August being too busy and such. We'd be traveling on a Mon/Tues/Wed and Thurs during this part of the trip so avoiding, hopefully most of the weekend traffic.

Does anyone have any thoughts or opinions on the matter. We're all from urban Minnesota so I think we can handle most of the driving speeds and can figure out the signage and right-of-way issues, but are we only introducing doom and dissention into our party by renting the car and then driving it all those days? We've done a group trip together to Peru and to Ecuador and still, we treat each other as friends. I don't want this to end it!!

Many thanks!

baldrick

Ladies,

July and certainly the 1st half of August is top holiday time. Some days last year traffic congestion on French highways exceded three hundred km.
If off weekend driving may help a little and notwithstanding the fact that you are undoubtedly alert urban Minnesota ladies, the TGV (high speed train) offers comfort and time to relax.

Where would you rent the car; Paris airport when arriving or in town when leaving for the South? Your car will be a nuisance during your time in Paris.
What size of car would you rent when renting in Paris for your friends and luggage? Would the car be smaller therefor cheaper to rent in the South as you would be mainly driving without your luggage and for shorter distances?
Where would you render the car? Are there any inconveniences in going by train to the airport after your trip? Do you have an open jaw tickets to fly back home or do you have to fly back from Paris?

Let's hear from you...

kerouac

When I have plenty of time, I enjoy driving everywhere, but your trip appears to be short, so it's probably best to take the TGV to Avignon and pick up your car there.

Or you can do a combination, which is what I'm doing in about 10 days: I'm taking the train to Avignon to go to the festival. I pick up a car at the station every year because I prefer to stay in a hotel in the suburbs, and then when I leave, I drive back to Paris to return the car, choosing the most scenic route that I have time for.

christycruz

We rented a car and drove to Avignon in August (from the Dordogne). If you choose to do this, you should know the term "bouchon" and that they use their emergency blinkers to indicate a "bouchon." Once we got to Avignon, we parked it in the garage and didn't use it again until we left.

We swore we would NEVER do something that stupid again. Take the train.

kerouac

Well yes, somebody staying in Avignon the whole time has no reason to have a car. I drive into town every morning, park outside walls and do my theatre stuff until about 14:00. Then I'm off to Nimes, Les Baux, the Pont du Gard, Orange, l'Isle sur la Sorgue or whatever, including shopping at the shopping mall next to my hotel (summer sales).

BriMSP

Well everyone, thanks so far for the comments. We're actually not all ladies--it's basically 4 of us, 1 married couple and two singles (guy/gal) who have been traveling together now for 3 years. We thought it a good idea to try a European location this year.

The guys feel very much that we might be able to handle the French traffic from Paris to Avignon, but I'm gathering that others have not had very good experiences, so we may just rent our car in Avignon and drive around the area rather than renting it in Paris and driving down and then back. We'll arrive on a Fri, sightsee in Paris, leave for Provence on Mon and return to Paris on either Thur or Fri to fly out on Sat. Very short trip but such is our mutual professional lives right now.

Kerouac--is there a high surcharge on returning the care to Paris after renting it in Avignon?

Christycruz--did you tour more than jsut Avignon when you arrived there or jsut stay in the city? I'm wondering how you got around if you just left the car parked?

Again, thank you all for your comments and opinions. I'll keep checking back.

Christina

Kerouac isn't omniscient, check with your rental company as to whether there is a surcharge. Most don't have them in my experience, but I'm sure some might especially for that long a distance.

Dukey

"The guys feel very much that we might be able to handle the French traffic from Paris to Avignon..."

Great news..NOW..WHO is going to be doing the DRIVING and how do THEY feel?

IMO, and having driven in France in August more than once, the "traffic" is going to depend on a lot of factors just as it does anywhere. Yes, a lot of people are on vacation during that time but this does not mean they are ALL going to be out on the road and gunning for you on the same day.

I really like using the roads..both the toll rods and the D roads, etc., in France..particularly the toll roads as unscenic as some of them are because at least people seem to obey the rules, don't hog the left lane, etc.

But if your sole intent is to get from Paris to Point B and everyone gets to see the scenery along the way, then I'd opt for the train down and perhaps the car back, especially if you want flexibility on the way back or want to go to some out of the way points.

Palenque

3 hours by train CDG to Avignon or all day in a car? That could test friendship IMO - check out the French Railways Train + Car scheme where you have an AVIS rental waiting for you at the Avignon TGV station (if the program is still around - have not checked in a few years but always was)

StCirq

To me this is a total no-brainer. Take the train.

1. It's a long, boring, expensive (tolls) drive.
2. If it's the beginning of August you could encounter the most astonishing traffic jams you've ever seen (the country holds the record for the longest traffic jam ever - think 500 kilometers of backup).

The train's cheap. You'll want to go online now and buy PREM tickets. Arrange for a rental at Avignon TGV station, and off you go. There is NO surcharge for returning the car as long as you return it within France.

Palenque

Friends and I are traveling for 10 days in France in the beginning of August.>

Read StCirq's warning about horrendous bouchons - backups on the autoroutes going south from Paris around the beginning of August - esp the first weekend and Friday before it - i got caught in one going north near the end of August once and we were at a standstill periodically for hours it seemed - finally got off the autoroute and followed the Bison Fume (sp/) signs that are (or were - several years ago) to route you on non autoroute roads during peak periods.

Palenque

Oops Bison Fute - not Fume though fume could be more appropo IME - in any case even in Provence it could be helpful as an alternative to autoroutes.

Bison Futé Website - FAQ
The Bison Futé road map of alternative routes. Alternative routes. In 1976, the French Transport Ministry began developing initiatives to spread traffic ...
http://www.bison-fute.equipement.gou...e.php3?id...24

portiaperu

If you want the flexibility of a car, don't be intimidated by distances, traffic, etc.

We are a family of five and we rented a car following a week in Paris and drove to the Dordogne, Languedoc-Roussillon, and Provence (over an additional 3 weeks).

We are from the Boston area and didn't find the driving much more difficult than what we encounter day-to-day at home and on driving trips elsewhere in the US and Europe.

We enjoy seeing the sites as we drive and have been known to veer off and detour to unexpected places.

We encountered one notable traffic slowdown and were delayed approx 2 hours from our estimated arrival time. And, we traveled in August. 2 hours wasn't much of a problem to our overall schedule.

My advice? Determine how much you will use a car beyond getting from point A to B and then decide.

Cathinjoetown

Here's one way to look at it--sit back and relax for under three hours on the TGV or drive for more than 6 1/2 hours (not taking into account traffic jams).

Using the autoroute, tolls and fuel will cost more than 120 euros before you add the price of the rental car. Add more hours and fuel costs if you drive cross-country.

I would get down there by train and use the drive time to explore Provence.

2010

If you chose to drive from Paris to Avignon and back, you will be spending two full precious days on a very unscenic autoroute.

According to www.viamichelin.co.uk, the drive from Paris to Avignon is 429 miles. It will take you 6h15 which does not factor in traffic delays nor stops. It will cost you 108.82€ for tolls + petrol.

As others have suggested, don't even consider driving! Take the TGV!

skibumette

One more vote for the train: you're leaving from Paris for Provence on Monday and returning on Thursday or Friday. You don't have time to wander the back roads, stopping at interesting towns along the way. If you drive directly, why spend 1-2(depending on whether you drive one way or round trip) days out of the 4-5 day total on the highways? There are too many nice things to see/do once you get to Provence. Sorry, I vote with the ladies....

mamcalice

Add one more vote for the TGV. You will have plenty of time to drive while in Provence.

caldud

I just got back from France 10 days ago. We landed in Paris, got a rental car from Sixt and headed south. We immediately hit very slow traffic on the freeway due to an accident. That took about an hour to get through. We eventually hit some open highway and headed for the Loire Valley. After the long flight from Toronto and a couple of hours in traffic we just hit the wall and had to pull over into a rest area to take a short nap. That helped. Then on to the Loire Valley. We stayed one night in Chinon and then drove down to Sarlat. After a week in Sarlat we drove back to Paris in one day with a stop at Fontainebleau on the way. I like to drive and don't view 6 hours or so in the car as a big deal. But after the long flight and jet lag and unfamiliar roads (we did have gps) I wished we had taken the train and gone straight to Sarlat. And even though I loved fontainebleau I wish we had left the car in Sarlat and taken the train back to Paris instead of driving. Unfortunately Sixt didn't have a car return anywhere near Sarlat so we drove back. I did check on a surcharge to drop the car at a different location then Paris where we picked it up. It was pretty reasonable. I think it was $75. The freeways are great. Very good roads with no potholes and not much traffic, except for Paris, at least in June when we went. Also lots of rest stops with gas and food right on the freeway which is nice. But once off the freeway it took a long time to get anywhere. I would suggest taking the train from Paris to Avignon and then take the train back to Paris. If Avignon is anything like the area around Sarlat there is probably so much to see and do within a short distance that you won't need to see anything between Avignon and Paris. Its not a bad drive but its really sort of pointless since there is so much to see in Paris you should just take the fastest way back which should be the TGV. Having just gotten back from a similar trip I would defiantly just use the car in Avignon.

sap

Kerouac: Is it that time of year again? I sure hope you'll do another pictorial report re: your experiences in Avignon!

kerouac

I'm leaving for Avignon on the 15th, sap. The Festival started yesterday.

BriMSP, I have rented from both Europcar and Hertz (through AutoEurope) and never paid a one way surcharge in France for a small car. I know that the larger cars have surcharges if they are not being returned to a big city (because the small town agencies have trouble getting rid of them).