Driving in Provence - Manual or Automatic...or at all?
 

Ok to give some background here...

I'll be in the Provence area and would like to see a few of the smaller towns in the area, and am considering renting a car. It will be me and my mother (and perhaps my dad too...not sure yet). I will be the primary driver. My main concerns are that, for one, I have never really driven outside of Florida (for those who don't know...it's flat as a washboard here) and am bad at directions. Here in Florida I have been driving a manual transmission Toyota Matrix for a little over a year and am fairly good at it...it's all I drive anymore...driving automatics are weird for me now. HOWEVER I also don't really ever deal with hills or windy roads or small roads (here everything is built for huge SUV's it seems...)...
so...knowing this...should I opt for an automatic? I really had hoped to save the money by renting a manual, but I don't want to end up miserably trying to navigate hills and tiny roads when I'm used to flat, open spaces. Or is it really that bad? I'd really prefer to not drive in any cities, preferring to park outside of them when possible and walk.

Is it possible to not rent a car at all? I want to see a lot of the smaller places too...and I wasn't sure if it would be possible without renting a car.

Thanks for your help!

You will want the car. What you will need is a good map and a truty navigator. Plan all of your routes at GOOGLE MAPS before you go. You will be fine.

Let me first say, I am a big map person. I have relied on them for years when driving in Europe. BUT on our last trip we took our GPS and I can't tell you how much more enjoyable our trip was. I still had maps to see the "big picture" but the nice thing with a GPS is you can detour if something interests you and your GPS will bring you back to your original destination. We used it in the countryside and in the cities and it worked like a charm.

I would go with the manual, but if you don't have a GPS with Europe maps, just rent one from your car rental company.

Most of Provence is pretty flat or rolling. Between Gordes/Roussillon & Sault, there are some canyons, mountains, gorges, etc - but it is really not that bad. Just south of St Remy, there are some small mountains - but you would not be driving in them for hours - more like 20-30 mins. Same for the Luberon Mnts between Bonnieux & Lourmarin. Go for a manual. Get a diesel to save $$$.

Stu Dudley

Stick to the manual transmission if that's what you're used to--very useful in hilly curvy areas. In fact you'll love it, that's twhat they are made for!

Just get good maps, and think about renting a GPS, or use your Mom as navigator, if she's good at that.

Sounds like a great trip!

You'll also save some money, manuals are cheaper to rent!

Just be sure you practice your parallel parking - there are many places where that's all is avialable and the space will be barely larger than the car. If you're really comfortable with a manual (and remember they all differ) then rent it -otherwise go for an automatic - one less thing to be a problem - esp if you don;t have a good sense of direction. (And I agree to get a god set of maps and make sure the navigator can read them properly.)

Get a manual transmission, diesel motor and a GPS. I own a Tom Tom and it is very easy to use. They are about $100.00 for the basic model and you can buy it programmed for driving in Europe. They also rent GPS's with your rental car. A GPS makes for much more daring driving and exploring, it really gives me confidence to go anywhere and as bonus since my wife is a terrible driver and bad navigator the GPS saves us many family fights. I joke that it saved our marriage. Have fun.

You will definitely want a car or else you will find visiting villages difficult.

You may not have a transmission choice - most rentals are sticks. They also tend to be diesels, which require less downshifting, so don't worry. Just be prepared for native drivers and passing zones that seem dangerous compared to the states.

We bought a Europe chip for our GPS ($40 on eBay) and brought the whole thing with us last fall. That saved over renting one and we have the chip to use again. A GPS makes you more adventurous.

There are many places to stay outside of cities and even away from little villages, many with their own parking areas. Many popular venues have parking lots.

Yes you will definitely need a car. Especially as it will be easier for your Mum & Dad. Sometimes people book an automatic and still get a manual car.

We had a GPS and also consulted maps. We found that GPS systems always wanted to go to the dead centre of town. Maybe once on the outskirts you just look for a convenient parking lot

Manual and GPS. Provence has some hill towns, but super easy to navigate, especially in a small car. But mostly flat roads, which is why there's a lot of bike tours in the area.

Get a manual, preferably diesel and the smallest one you can stand. You will be just fine.

You will need to study up on how the French direct you with road signs. It is a totally different concept and takes some getting used to, but if you have a navigator you will be fine. Unless you are on an autoroute you will encounter a roundabout every km or so and will need to know the name of the next town you are going through and the name of the nearest major city you are going toward. They do not place much importance on route numbers or direction of travel.

Rick

You will get so much more out of the region with a car, and the south of France is not a difficult drive. We rent a diesel/manual when we go, and husband drives (he only drives stick once every two years or so as we have automatics at home). That makes me the navigator. Normally works fine. If you have a GPS, bring it. No reason to panic, you are on vacation after all!

Definitely echo the poster above who said to practice parallel parking. Much of the parking you will do will be on streets.

Thanks all for your replies! I do think I'll go with a manual, and I will hope for the best!!! It also will probably be easier on my parents too. They are still quite young, only in their fifties, but still! I'm sure I'll have to have them rent the car though...or could I rent it myself? I'm 23. In the states one must be 25.

I'll probably post this as another topic too, but I will be leaving Stuttgart for Provence. Train to Provence, then car? Or rent car in Stuttgart for a one way?

Thanks for the tips on parallel parking...to be honest I really can't. I'm sure that comes more from lack of experience than ability, since (unfortunately in my opinion) Florida seems to be built primarily for cars and not people, and generally there is always parking that doesn't require parallel parking knowledge...it wasn't even required on my driver's test!!!

I'll get practicing...so glad I already drive a manual...although here it's quite uncommon. I just got it cuz I found a good deal. My husband and I learned to drive it ourselves since that's not something you learn as a teen driver anymore.

I prefer automatic, and the best ones now are far superior to a manual transmission partly because most people who drive manual transmission cars are horrible at selecting proper shift points for best perfomance and economy. But it's not worth the extra money for an AT if you have experience with a manual transmission.

Train from Stuttgart probably, as one-way fees across borders will be high. You may have trouble or may not be able to rent a car at 23. Do your parents drive manuals?

You will probably have to pay a bit extra as you are under 25, but it depends on the hire company which age they set for young drivers and how much extra you need to pay.
Rent the car in Provence, a one way rental between countries will be expensive.

I've driven in both Florida (automatic) and Provence (both automatic and manual). At home I used to drive a manual for years but my current car is automatic. I can switch to either and it doesn't particularly bother me. I would agree with most of the comments above that the one thing that will make your trip more enjoyable is a GPS. I have a TomTom and it has been a lifesaver in France and other European countries. I have also used it in Florida but it's not such a big deal there as the roads are so much easier to follow. I'm good with maps myself, but when you are the driver that's not much help as you would have to keep stopping to check.

You may find this information helpful-

http://www.slowtrav.com/europe/car_rental.htm

Info on maps-

http://www.slowtrav.com/france/planning/maps.htm

Hi Studentgirl,
As many have said, get a diesel manual. VW Golf is good for 2 w/luggage - you'd need next larger class for 3.

As others mentioned, GPS gives you the freedom to roam and get directions right to Points of Interest (POI). Without it, I think we still might be driving around Avignon looking for our hotel ;) If you decide to use GPS, I'd buy one and use it for a time before going on the trip to get used to the device while driving.

One somewhat confusing issue to watch for in new rotaries.
They may not be in the GPS database. If this happens just double check the route number you need to be on before you enter the "surprise rotary".

Enjoy your trip; Provence is truly beautiful.