FRENCH RIVIERA
 

My boyfriend and I are wanting to take a train into Marseille and travel around the French Riviera the first week of April. Can we rent a car and then drop off in a different location? Do we need to make hotel reservations in advance or is it easy to stop in a village and find accommodations? Any advice would be great as I have never been to France.
Thanks!

You are going next week and you have no reservations? Holy Moly!

April is early in the season, but I would suggest you get at least your first night's reservation done yesterday. Same for your car reservation. As for myself, I would much rather spend my time sightseeing or drinking wine in a cafe than scrambling around trying to find a place to lay my head for the night.

Many of us on this Forum are a bit compulsive, I know, but some of us feel that the good accommodations will be snapped up, and reserve many months in advance.

You can rent a car in Marseille and drop it off in a different location. Where you drop the car depends on who you rent from. I suggest booking in advance on the Autoeurope site.

If you're looking to stay in villages then you can probably go without reservations but not all villages have accommodations. You should at least have a list of hotels/gites/chambres d'hote to choose from so you're not driving aimlessly.

If you want to stay in a town that is larger than a village and one that has a lot of tourist activity then you should book ahead.

I'm not one of those who book in advance and have been places inc south of France with no reservations up to June. I would not chance it in July or August.

I would definitely reserve the car because there may be no car for you if you just turn up. Also you get better car rental prices if you shop around and book ahead.

Yes, reserve the car in advance.

You can also check prices on www.carrentals.com

They also are a consolidator for all the major car rentals companies.

I agree with Adrienne & Iris, at least reserve a car (or two) as a back up on two separate dates if you can't pin down the exact specific rental date. A regular car reservation doesn't ask for credit card guarantee anyway. Hotel rooms are plenty in early April as long as you're not particular. It's easy and common to rent one way with a reasonable drop off charge.