TXgalinGA

*See post below

I have got to get this figured out!! I have spent more time trying to figure out where we should go. I think the country of France would be out top choice. The flights to and from Paris are very open for us. (airfare is free)

So, here's my plan: Leave for Paris next Wednesday (the 22nd). Arrive Thursday around noon. Spend 4 days is Paris. Rent a car and drive... where??? South I think? Ultimatly, we would like to go south, explore the towns & vinyards, stay in B&B's (do those exist in Fance?) and drop the car off somewhere south. Then take a train back to Paris to fly home (Hubby has never been on a train ) Is this doable?

Hubby would also like to visit Marseille bc his grandma was from there.

Any and all advice is welcome!!!!!! (our budget *could* be upped...)

cocofromdijon

Dijon is 1h30 by TGV from Paris, why don't you take a train and then rent a car to see the vineyards, Beaune etc... It is an advice often given here. and I can give you the address of a nice self catering accommodation.
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welcome in France!

rex

<<Ultimatly, we would like to go south, explore the towns & vinyards, stay in B&B's (do those exist in Fance?)>>

Sure, plenty of them - - see www.gites-de-france.com (click on "Chambres d'hote&quot - - but see also www.logisdefrance.com as recommended on your "other" post.

<<Then take a train back to Paris to fly home (Hubby has never been on a train) Is this doable? >>

Once again - - sure - - in fact, I tolerated a "second class couchette" surprising well, just two weeks ago (from Biarritz to Paris).

See

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34616959

and a little bit of follow-up on

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34618473

For recent ideas on <i>budget</i> travel, see also

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34617502

Best wishes,

Rex

mjs

$2K for 2 people for 14 days including transportation, hotels and food?

suze

I think your budget is low once you get moving around. On the previous thread we were talking about staying in Paris and the budget was 3k. Somehow we just lost a $1000 and added a bunch of different places!! Maybe it's still do-able, but it's a different request now than before. Car rental's not cheap.

Christina

You plan to spend only US$2000 for two people??? For two weeks including everything, and a rental car? I don't see how, unless you hardly eat and stay in really really cheap places. That's only $140 a day per person, which even though the euro has fallen a little in value, is still only about 110 euro per person for everything.

Okay, room maybe 50 euro pp on average, so you are going to eat and pay for all transportation and all activities for 50-60 euro a day pp? YOu can do it, but won't be eating much.

That didn't take out the hundreds of dollars for car rental and gasoline out of that budget, though. Train fares would take out a good chunk, also. YOu could do this perhaps if you stay in one place. Because you are doing this last minute, you probably can't get discount train fares.

suze

I want to reiterate, the plan of staying IN Paris, only for 2 weeks, and using the higher end of your original budget ($3000). Even that is only $214 USD per day for two people. I consider that pretty tight.

BUT by staying in Paris, avoiding long distance train fares, staying in a 2-star hotel, and eating casually I believe it is possible (but just barely).

The new plan and the new budget I don't feel is reasonable at all.

ira

Hi TX,

I encourage you to keep working on this.

A rental car for 2 weeks is about $500.

See www.novarentacar.com get a quote from them and then ask www.autoeurope.com to match it.

The reason for this is that Nova insists that you take the CDW, while AutoE allows you to use your CC for insurance, and you won't have any deductible.

This leaves you $1500.

Train fare is as low as 25E ($30 pp) if you get PREMS fares 60 days in advance at www.sncf.com.

You can easily find accomodations for 60E ($72/nite) outside Paris.

You now have $700.

A hotel in Paris will cost you at least %100/nite.

You now have $300.

This will just about pay for gas.

You can do it on $3000, if you are careful about where you stay, where you eat, and buy wine at the grocery.

TXgalinGA

Hey all, thanks for you help! Budget has been upped to about $3K MAX- also hotel in Paris is paid for (AA miles) We can also fly for free throughout France. Our plan is to stay in Paris for 4 nights, then either take a train or fly (free) to Provence. Then, rent a car and drive to Nice and fly back to Paris (again, free).
I'm thinking it is doable.... thoughts?

suze

hey, you're making this tricky to answer since the budget, the itinerary and the amount of freebies you have keeps changing! we're aiming at a moving target!!

So let's see... you've got free plane ticket over, free plane tickets possible within France, a free hotel stay in Paris, and 3k for the rest now?

I give, since I only know about staying in Paris, I'll let the other posters with better experience and car rental knowledge chime in.

rex

I think that it is possible, but the question is, will you get bored in the kinds of places where you can find the lodging cheap enough to work for you.

Step one: make it 10 days, not fourteen.

Step two: make the car the last seven of those ten days. Car rentals give you seven days for the cost of five in many cases - - but too often, the eighth day is back at the single day rate.

Step three: get to work on finding places on logisdefrance.com or gites-de-france.com that keep you in the sub 100 euro (&quot;half board&quot; - - room/bkfst/dinner) range

Step four: use viamichelin.com to map out (a) route(s) that avoid the (toll) autoroute(s). It costs over 50 euros each way just for tolls from Paris to the south.

Step five: if you really are content on riding the train to get back to Paris, you COULD still get a bargain fare for Tue, July 5 (this woud make your departure Thu or Fri, June 23 or 24, going with the ten nights plan). The Biarritz-Paris fare we got last month is available (in fact 70 euro for two people; we paid 80) for July 5. This is (just barely) cheaper than the combination of tolls and fuel (about 105 euros, but remember that you will have to pay about 15 euro per person to get from Paris to the airport if you take the train whereas you could simply drive yourself to the airport if you kept your rental car).

There are more steps, I am sure, but these are some basic starters, if I were planning it for you.

rex

Oh. Free hotel in Paris. That does change a lot (of my get out in the country advice). How many nights? All ten? or 14?

ira

Dear TX,

Please stop thinking out loud.

Put together your final itinerary and we will help ou tweak it.

rex

I disagree, ira - - what's wrong with seeing a process unfold, in real time?

suze

Could you stay free in Paris for 14 nights? If yes, with ree airfare and free hotel, your $2000-3000 budget starts to look downright luxurious!

Wayne

Excellent suggestions from Rex, and on-target observations from several of you. I believe our patient needs to back off, think it over, develop a plan on his own, including destinations and methods of travel, define ALL of the costs that he really must incur, and set out his best estimates of cost. I believe he may be close, but right now I'm not even sure he/she has any firm idea of where to go or what kind of things to see or do.

blh

TX - I think $3K is great for two weeks, with 4 nights lodging in Paris paid, that only leaves 10 nights - and there are many options for less than $100 in Provence. I would suggest flying (for free) to Marseille, renting a car to drive in Provence, then fly home from Nice. It would be good to keep the car rental to 7 days if possible. You might consider staying in Paris another couple of nights (especially if you could stay for free). Or spend the first couple of nights in Marseille before you pick up a rental car. This plan would have you spend all your time Provence (which would be a great plan in my opinion).

As far as the budget, I feel that $3K is good as long as you are fairly budget minded. We usually travel for two weeks with rental car for one weeek, for about that amount. Last fall we spent ten days in Provence and Burgundy, with the last four days in Paris. We did share the rental car costs with another couple, but did not have free lodging or flights while there.

ira

t

suze

posting to see how this one turned out?

rex

Thanks for the kind remarks, Wayne - - and I hope that TXgal is not put off by the remarks that everything has to be &quot;figured out&quot; before posting questions or seeking advice for a trip that is very much in flux (and in a hurry).