loisco

I am wondering how much detail should be in our plans for 7 week trip to France. I have hotels in mind for the first night (and dinner) in Giverny.

From there we go to Normandy area...now should I plan for each city/area there and know my hotels and restaurants or wait??????...

After that we have Loire, Dordogne, Provence, etc. Again, would it be best to know ahead where to stay?and eat?

Any suggestions as to how to do this planning will be appreciated.

ira

Dear lois,

Some folks rcommend planning the first and last nights and winging it for the rest of the trip.

Some create a daily itinerary.

Whatever makes you comfortable.

JeanneB

For a 7 week trip, I wouldn't want to nail down ALL my accommodations. I would mix it up. Perhaps make reservations in more popular destinations or where you've heard of a particular hotel you want to try. As for restaurants, you would have to judge that by what you know of a particular establishment. If you would be heartbroken not to dine there and you know when you'll be in the area, then I would go ahead and reserve.

Otherwise, I like the spontaneity of not having to be any particular place at a certain time. (It also depends on whether you're going high season or low season. I can't recall when you said you were leaving.)

StCirq

You said on another thread you'll be arriving in September. When in September? In many parts of France the high season extends pretty well into September. I wouldn't, for example, necessarily xpect to find hotels available on the spot in the Dordogne and Provence in September.
At the same time, I can't imagine doing a day-by-day itinerary for a 7-week trip. Part of the fun of a trip of that length is being able to explore and discover things you didn't expect to.
What we've always done on a trip like that is:

1. Book hotels ahead of time for the big cities.
2. Book the first and last nights of the trip in advance.
3. Bring a list of hotels/b&bs/whatever that we have researched, along with their phone numbers. Before taking off from the first night's hotel, call ahead and reserve for the next night. Keep doing that throughout the trip except when you don't need to in big cities because you've already booked those. It's easy to do this with your cell phone, or you might have the staff at your booked hotel do it for you.

Mary_Fran

When we visited France in 2000, we booked our first and last nights and one hotel in Honfleur ahead of time. For the rest of the trip, we visited the French tourism office as we were leaving a city, to book that night's stay in the next city. It worked out just great for us. Few of our accommodations were truly memorable, but all were satisfactory and within our price range.

Intrepid1

To me it is jaust"as much fun" to plan all the hotels and the basic itinerary in advance as it is to "winging it."

As Ira said above, whatever makes YOU happy and comfortable since it is your trip, your time, and your money.

Frankly, I wouldn't want anyone else planning my trip for me, but I guess we're all different.

Patrick

The success or failure of a good trip is not based on how detailed your plans are, but how obsessed you become with following those plans to the last detail.

loisco

Good answers. We have Paris the last 10 days. Someone asked when we are going. We leave San Diego September 1. Don't know if that is high season over there. I suspect it is.

Someone said to make hotel reservations in some popular areas..not sure which ones are altho I suspect the Loire might be. Am I right?..

Thanks for all your help.

JeanneB

As for the Loire, I think it would make sense to go ahead and make reservations if you've found a particular chateau that appeals to you.

Will you be spending about 10 days in each location? Perhaps the thing to do would be to reserve a special place for the first few nights in each area. While you're touring the area you could keep an eye out for inns & restaurants in ideal little villages where you might want to spend more time.

loisco

No we haven't set a time of 10 days for each location. The only set time is the last 10 days in Paris. That is a final decision..

I think I will check the board for Loire suggestions...

Lexma90

I can't advise you much on which locations you should book in advance, though generally, September (especially the beginning) is still a big travel time.

StCirq's advice is good, in having a list of possible lodgings and having someone at hotel you're currently at calling ahead for you. (We've travelled that way, and it worked out fine, though we didn't always find a room at our first choice, or in one case, even our first-choice town.)

Particularly as you said you don't mind booking in advance, you might want to do more of that. Also, you could create "wiggle room" in your itinerary by not booking some of the days in between destinations. That way, if you like the Loire (for example) and want to extend your time there, you can possibly add days at the hotel you're already at (or that hotel could help you find lodging at another place in town), or alternatively, you could move on to your next destination (either arriving at your chosen hotel early, or staying somewhere else for those days in between). That way, you know where you'll be most of your nights, but have some flexibility.

Huitres

If I have the time beforehand, I print out a monthly calendar from Outlook and type in the places I want to see on the days I want to go there (i.e. Monday, February 7 = Paris to Giverny, hotel=___, restaurants=____, etc). For some reason, the visual calendar and seeing my month in front of me, helps me track the days and the activities planned better. Otherwise, I always bring a 8 1/2" x 11" notepad and write out the names of the cities/places I am planning to visit with highlights and restaurants listed in each place. For some reason, it gives me a sense of accomplishment to check that off my list (plus provides a good place to jot down notes in the margins for trip reports to follow later).

If you would rather not do a day-by-day calendar thing, then I would break it into regions as you have indicated and jot them on a notepad (as above). For example, Normandy: Rouen (cathedral, Joan of Arc burned-at-stake monument, etc); Bayeux (Bayeux tapestry, cathedral); DDay Beaches (Omaha, Juno, etc. British Museum, American Cemetery); Mont St. Michel, etc.

Also, you might find it helpful to bring along the hotel's email or faxed confirmation page with all info listed, including contact numbers, rate, etc. Many a time a hotel will misquote me a rate upon arrival (sometimes higher) then I show them my sheet and they realize their error.

Additionally, if traveling by train, I would recommend printing out the schedules from www.scnf.com (i.e. Paris to Giverny, Giverny to Rouen, etc) for the day of your desired travel. Granted, sometimes train schedules change, however, it is helpful in planning arrival and departure times and your day's events.

I use the "Let's Go!" guide for terrific references to city sites, hotels, restaurants, and transportation options available in each city. (If you don't want to carry a guidebook with you, then I recommend jotting down info - as suggested above - on a notepad that you carry with you).

Nutella

I like to make my hotel reservations in advance. However, when I'm traveling in the off season, I leave one or two "wild card days" in my schedule between cities. This way, if I'm enjoying my stay, I can ask the hotel to extend my reservation. And if I've had enough of the place, I can move on and see if I can check in a few days early at the next place. With your 7 week trip, you'll have plenty of time to change your itinerary and reservations in advance without incurring penalties at the hotels, should you'd like to deviate from your plans.
As far as the restaurants go, compile a list of place's you'd like to visit, but play it by ear once you're there! : )

mamc

We were in France this past September, late in the month, and it was definitely still the high season. We usually make hotel reservations in advance to save time while traveling. It is frustrating to me to arrive in a town and have to take time to find a hotel. I guess traveling for 7 weeks you will have time to do that but there are better things to do IMHO. As for restaurants, reserve in advance only those that you want to be certain about. Otherwise, wait until you arrive and reserve at that time. Your trip sounds lovely - enjoy the planning and the travel!

clevelandbrown

I like to book in advance, and not spend a lot of time trying to find something at the last minute.

I trace this back to my oldest son's college days. He had an internship at Los Alamos laboratory, near Santa Fe. For our vacation that year, we piled the family into the car and resolved that we would visit all the major sites as we drove out to pick him up and bring him back. Since we were driving we had a lot of freedom, and who knows how long it will take to see a painted desert or the grand canyon, nor even how long you can drive without getting tired.

The result was that we saw a lot of beautiful sites, but always felt rushed as we had to find somewhere to stay. Often places were sold out. Maybe we were just unlucky, but I find it hard to believe that Las Vegas, a town of nothing but hotels and motels, would be entirely sold out! Similarly, when we arrived in Vail, very late in the day, our rooms had been given to other persons, and there were no rooms anywhere else. We drove overnight on that occasion, all the way to Illinois!

In Europe, there is usually a lot to see within easy driving distance of anywhere, so my advice would be to pick some centralized towns, find a nice place there, make reservations, and use that as a base for exploring the area.

suze

For me, hotels booked in advance but restaurants left to chance is the most comfortable combination.

I don't know if you will be in a car or going by train. At minimum, I would call one town ahead for hotel reservations rather than be on foot from the train station looking for a place to stay dragging my suitcase around (maybe this is not the case at all, as I haven't been following your planning on other threads).