We are a family of 5, Mother, Father, 3 girls ages 13,16,20. We Fly into and out of Paris in June on frequent flier miles. The only reservations we have so far is an apartment in area 5 of paris for 3 nights. We are an active family and love swimming, hiking, bike riding but want to see castles, churches and wine tasting. The kids require a few days at the beach and are all taking spanish in school. We have been to spain but didn't get to visit Montserrat Monestary last time. We need feedback on the following itinerary. Are we Crazy to do so much?
Day 1 arrive Paris
Day 2 Paris
Day 3 Paris and possibly Versaille
Day 4 car rental and drive to Beynac and stay there (4 hr drive )
Day 5 Caves, Sarlat day trip
Day 6 Drive to Calella de Palafrugell, Spain( 7 hr drive)
Day 7 Calella de Palafrugell, Spain
Day 8 Calella de Palafrugell, Spain
Day 9Calella de Palafrugell, Spain, Montserrat Monestary day trip
Day 10 Drive to Arles, France stay overnight (4 hr drive)
Day 11 see Arles Drive to Dijon and stay in Dijon (4 1/2 hr drive)
Day12 Drive to Paris stay near airport (3 hr Drive)
Day 13 leave Paris 10:30 for home

Yes, I think you are crazy. There is very little point in racing to the Dordogne for a day, then racing to Spain, then backtracking to Provence for a day, then zipping through Burgundy and back to Paris. Except for Spain, you have essentially one day in each location.

All you're going to see is the inside of your rental car.

I would forget the Dordogne and Burgundy entirely and divide your time between Paris and Spain or Provence and Spain. And I'd use trains and planes for the long-haul journeys.

So, your sightseeing/travel schedule looks like this:

- 1 1/2 days exploring Paris (assuming you arrive late morning & get to apt by noon)
- 1 day seeing Versailles, or another day in Paris
- 1 day "checking out" of apt in Paris, getting the car, driving 6 hrs to Beynac, checking into hotel
- 1 day exploring the Dordogne
- 1 day checking out of hotel in Beynac, driving 6-7 hrs to Calella, checking into hotel.
- 3 days exploring Calella area.
- 1/2 day checking out of hotel, driving 4 hrs to Arles, checking into hotel
- 1/2 to 1 day exploring Provence.
- 1/2 day checking out of hotel, driving 4 1/2 hrs to Dijon, checking into hotel.
- zero to 3 hours in Dijon.
- 1/2 day checking out of Dijon, 4 hrs driving to CDG, checking into bland airport hotel

You have 3 1/2 days "lost" to travel. If you add in 3 days in Calella, that means you have "being there time" of about 8 days.

This is driving 25 hours with 3 teens in the back of the car.

I have not visited Calella (have visited Montserrat, Barcelona, Girona, and the area around there). We have spent 10 weeks in the Dordogne, 18 weeks in Provence, 4 weeks in the Burgundy/Beaujolais area, and many months in Paris.

IMO, you should spend at least:
- 4 full days in Paris - especially if one of those days is "recover from jet-lag" day
- 4 full days in the Dordogne
- 4 full days in Provence
- 1 full day in Dijon

>>Are we Crazy to do so much?<<

Seems like it to me !!

Stu Dudley

This plan would be crazy (or at least crazy-ish) for one person traveling solo able to go at a dead run. But for a group of 5 including 2 teenagers -- it is 100% certifiably crazy.

I'd say back to the drawing board on this one. Decide which things are most important and plan around them. Paris would seem to be a no brainer since you are flying in/out of there. (Open jaw in to Paris and out of Spain would have helped a little bit - but not enough)

Focus in a few things and places you really wish to visit. Paris itself will take much more time for a reasonable visit. You will spend so many hours rushing inside a car, frankly it will be a waste, I am sure you can come out with a few places. Good luck.

hi sara,

having travelled with my teens extensively, what they hated most was being stuck in the car and what they hated almost as much was moving around every other day or so.

so, a few questions - have you/your girls been to Paris before? [I'm guessing not] do your girls like to shop? do you want to spend all your time in the Dordogne explaining why you have dragged them away from Paris so quickly? if I had done that, I think that my kids would have refused to come on holiday with me ever again [perhaps that's the mistake I made - at the ages of 22 & 19, they are still with us!]

being serious, this looks like a 2 centre trip to me - or 3 at a pinch. either a week in each of Paris and Callela, OR 5 nights in Paris, 4 in the Dordogne, and 4 in Nice, from where you can get the TGV back to Paris for your last night before you fly home.

alternatively, from Paris go striaght to the Dordogne, then to Nice, and wrap up your trip in Paris.

What you have is a very LONG road trip with 3 teens squashed into the back of a car for days on end.

Frankly, this trip sounds like hell.

Very often less is more - and I think this is one of those times.

Assuming you have not been to Paris before I think 5 night is minimum. You could then pickup a car, drive to the Riviera (for beach) spend 4 days or so exploring the area - then drive back to Paris through Burgundy - spending a full day in the area exploring. Anmd I think that's a lot of time in the car for anyone.

We have done dozens of road trips in europe and never spend more than 4 hours of so a day in a car (and that's with 2 drivers). Then we stop more or less days in each place (depending on size) and visit that with one or more day trip - to avoid constant finding new hotels, unpacking, repacking, checking out - and hours and hours of wasted time.

Also in traveling with my teen/tween stepdaughters one of the things we learned to allow for was the amount of time it took them to get up, organized, dressed, primped etc. Early starts are not a realistic option, esp on nights after we and/or the girls had been out to a club or bar the night before.

Thanks for the quick feedback. I guess it didn't take much time to figure out I really am crazy! There just is so much to do and I want to do it all! but only have 2 weeks. After discussing a little more with my girls, We will definitely skip the dordogne. They are not crazy about looking at caves anyway. Then we could spend more time in provence. It also looks like we should skip the day trip to versailles and stay in Paris? We really love the beach but I was thinking spain because after doing some research it looks like the beaches in France (mostly french riviera) are rocky, touristy and expensive. Am I right? But maybe we should skip spain this time and stay in France? Anyone know a cheap small beach town in France?

If you want sandy beaches, don't look at the Riviera. Look at Sète and the area around it. It's not a glitzy, expensive area like the Riviera.

BTW, there's a WHOLE lot more to the Dordogne than caves.

O.k. new idea inspired by your comments and previous posts. I have found fairly cheap flights from Paris to Toulouse on easy jet. 36euros per person on way. What if we go to paris for a few days, fly to toulouse and pick up a car. drive to spain then continue on the rest of the trip home with longer time in Burgundy and provence. What do you think? I had originally thought to take an overnight train but was too expensive for 5 people and a car one way from Paris to Barcelona was also very expensive. But, if I pick up and drop off the car in France it is much cheaper.

The beaches in Cassis and Cannes are white sand. So are the wonderful beaches just outdside of St Tropez. The Nice beach is one of my favorites, but it is flat polished stones - about 2-3 inches in diameter.

Stu Dudley

Calella da Palafrugell is a beautiful place, and I much prefer Spain to France when it comes to coastal fun. But I would try to get rid of much of the travel time by taking a train to Toulouse or Perpignan from France, and renting a car there to drive to Calella da Palafrugell. I would drive the car back into France. It's a 4 or 5 hour drive to Avignon from Calella da Palafrugell. By the way, there is not much to "explore" in Calella da Palagfruell. It's just a somewhat isolated beach town, very quiet and picturesque.

In the alternative, I would take a fast train to the French basque coast, rent a car there, and drive to the Spanish basque coast. Without knowing your budget, it is hard to know if San Sebastian would be too expensive for you, but that would be my first choice, especially if you want a sand beach. From San Sebastian, it's a 6 hour drive to Avignon.

Others might suggest that you stay on the French basque coast, and day trip into Spain if you like. Up to you and the family. If the family swears they won't mind a two long car trips, then I wouldn't rule it out. It's really a question of budget as well, since you might be able to find an affordable beach town in France reachable by train that appeals to you, nearer Provence. There is no right way to do this other than to make yourselves happy.

I would personally pass on the day trip to Versailles in favor of more time in Paris.

Have a great trip!

As has been said, the current plan is ridiculous. And you are wrong about the beaches in France being rocky. The Atlantic Coast has long stretches of fabulous white sandy beaches.

What about driving to the La Rochelle area after Paris--there are good beaches around there, including those on the Ile de Re, and it is a fairly easy drive from La Rochelle to the Dordogne.

http://www.holidays-iledere.co.uk/

Or look at the Atlantic Coast of Brittany, and then drive to the Dordogne.



Or, go from Paris to Normandy for your sandy beaches.

Whenever I see the question in the title of a topic, "Am I Crazy?" The answer is yes and then I read the text.

Eliminate half the places and then decide what you want to do.

sarasara,

I was typing while you were posting the last time.

I think your plan works -- to fly to Toulouse and pick up a rental car to drive to Spain, and then back into France -- provided you have checked into the baggage weight restrictions and know you and your girls won't exceed them. You are right that for five people, train tickets can be pricey (but don't forget that you will be traveling toll roads and will need gas, which is much more expensive in Europe).

In addition to looking at Calella da Palfrugell, look at Begur and -- if you aren't planning day trips -- Cadeques. There are also places nearer to Barcelona -- like Tossa de Mer -- that might appeal to you.

However, if the ONLY reason you are headed into Spain is to avoid rocky beaches or to avoid pricey beach resorts, it may be that you don't have to go that far to get what you want. But you should post your budget and your specific travel dates so that people can give you something other than generic answers off the top of their heads. For instance, the Cannes Film Festival is June 19-25 in 2011, and surely you don't want to go to Cannes in that time frame just to get "white sand." It will cost a fortune!!!

There is nothing crazy about what you want to do -- enjoy parts of historic and glamorous France while including a few affordable days at the beach as a treat for your girls. If you would like to experience two different cultures, that is not crazy either. But like I said, if the most important thing is a great affordable beach, not a different culture, Spain might not be necessary.

Sorry for being unclear in my last post: When I mentioned Begur, I should have added that while it is not on the coast itself, there are beach and hotel facilities nearby in the area of Begur.

http://www.venere.com/hotels/begur/hotel-bonaigua/

>>> I have found fairly cheap flights from Paris to Toulouse on easy jet. 36euros per person on way. What if we go to paris for a few days, fly to toulouse and pick up a car. drive to spain then continue on the rest of the trip home with longer time in Burgundy and provence. What do you think?<<

I think you need to add at least 7 days to your vacation time. A taxi to a Paris airport for a flight to Toulouse, retrieving your bags, picking up a car, then a 3 3/4 hr drive to Callella will still eat up 1 day. So if you do that and skip the Dordogne entirely, you are only saving 2 days. IMO, you will still be on an impossible/difficult schedule.

Like others have stated, decide if you want to go to Spain for the Spain experience, or just to spend time on a beach. If it is the latter, a much more relaxed & efficient schedule would be:

- 3 nights in Paris
- 3 hr TGV train (perhaps 40E per person - less if you take the iDTGV) to Aix en Provence. Then pick up a car & spend 3-4 days in St Tropez if you have the budget, or in Ste Maxime if you don't. Both spots have nice sandy beaches. There are other interesting sites to explore in the region.
- Drive 2 hrs to Provence & spend 4 nights there - hopefully during lavender season.
- Drive 4 hrs to Burgundy/Dijon & spend 2 nights there
- take the TGV from Dijon to CDG airport for your flight home. On 3 occasions, we took the TGV from Dijon to CDG to catch a late morning flight - all on the same day. If you are not comfortable with that, then take a later train to CDG the night before.

You could skip Dijon/Burgundy & take the TGV from Avignon to CDG

Stu Dudley

Still sounds crazy to me.

I agree with Egbert. Not a trip I'd attempt with three young people who'll feel like they're on a forced march. There's a disconnect here between having FF miles into and out of Paris and wanting to spend time on a beach in Spain. There are plenty of beaches in France.