R. Handy

Am planning to travel to Europe this summer for 12 days and would like to rent/lease a car from Renault Eurodrive. Am undecided whether to do a pre-packaged tour (buses, etc), mediteranean cruise, or simply drive around with my wife. Was wondering if anyone has any advice, I'm leaning towards the car choice, but am concerned with finding accomodations (at a good price) as well as the safety factor. Please advise! Thanks.

elvira

Definitely drive! I am not a fan of tours (except for a day trip now and then) and I've never been on a cruise (by choice), but I have done the south of France by car. All sorts of neat places to visit...We had rented a house, so we just did day trips from the house. When we then went further afield, we had made reservations ahead. If I were doing it, I would try to make reservations. Summer in Provence is very busy (the French, the British and the Americans both enjoy the ambience!) so I would not want to take a chance on not finding a place to stay.

Mary Ann

I would agree with the above. By car lets you go and stay where you want to go. We were there in 1997 and had no problems even in places where English was not spoken. Definitely make reservations. We are going back this September to Anncey, Chamonix and Ville Franche sur mer on the riviera. A couple places were already full. Reserving is easy, especially with e-mail, web sites and fax machines.

Ann

I also say drive! My son and I vacationed by car in Provence in early April. We tried to drive back roads as much as possible and really loved the countryside. We had no trouble finding our way around, as the roads are marked very well. We used Michelin map #245 (Provence and Cote d'Azur)and thought it was excellent.

John

Hi Roland, <BR>I agree driving is best especially in view of the tremendous variety in this wonderful region. We've used the Renault Eurodrive program and think it's great, but my recollection is that for less than around 3 weeks it may be more expensive than ordinary rental car rates (although you will get a new and maybe slightly bigger car for the same money...but I'd check it out). <BR>It's hard to go wrong on places to see, but I'd recommend picking no more than a couple of bases and take day trips, rather than bouncing from one hotel to another. For fun places to stay, check out http://www.chatotel.com/english/ <BR>Bon Voyage!

Dan

My wife and I toured the French Riviera and Italy by train and bus last year. It was fantastic. No parking worries, no gas to buy, no traffic to dodge. Very inexpensive and convenient! We went everywhere and saw everything we wanted to see. Give it some thought!

Al

We used Nimes as a base and toured the south of France by rail several years ago. Day trips to: Arles, Avignon, Carcassonne, and more. No hassles on the road, no problems with parking, from city center to city center. Saved a lot of wear and tear on the old nerves. Used cabs in towns a lot or took local public transportation. It was a breeze.

Eric Bredesen

Visit http://www.ideamerge.com/motoeuropa to learn about the low-cost alternative to renting a car: a Renault Eurodrive tax-free, short-term car lease. These deals may seem too good to be true, but they are true! Anyone wanting to drive in Europe from 17 days to 170 days should check this out. You can even order online. <BR> <BR>This site is also a full and free guide to European motor travel. <BR> <BR> <BR>

MaryL

My husband and I were in the South of France last month for 10 days. We used Aix-en-Provence as our base and took several day trips which included visits to Arles, Pont du Gard, Avignon, Moustier Ste. Marie and the Gorge du Verdon. The advantage of a car is the ability to be spontaneous and to take advantage of the sites that appeal to you along the way. I would agree that having 1-2 bases is better than loading and unloading each day. It also allows you to make reservations ahead of time. This trip was my first experience driving in Europe and I agree with the other posters that it is no problem. We also used a Michelin map and were quite pleased. The best advice we got was to attend more to the signs directing you to the location of interest than to the road numbers per se. While the road numbers are present, the signs for the towns are much more ubiquitous and we found, much more helpful in getting you to your desired destination. Have a great trip, it's a wonderful place.