dodo5000

3 of us will be driving in the south of France this June and don't want to be tied down to a certain area. We're thinking about not making any reservations for hotels during this leg of our trip. We're hoping that there will be rooms available. Is this a mistake? We want to be adventurous, not stupid.

nukesafe

Not necessarily stupid, just a waste of vacation time. I'd rather be enjoying the sites, or sitting in a cafe than frantically wasting hours scurrying around a town looking for elusive last minute hotels. Plus the fact that you will probably end up sleeping in the worst place in town; one nobody else would touch. At least make a few reservations in central locations so you will get at least a few good nights worry free sleep.

artsnletters

You don't say how long your trip is or the places/areas you are thinking of exploring. However, if you pick a base around, say, St-Remy, the sightseeing possibilities are numerous without needing to pick up and go every night or two.

I'm with nukesafe that your hotel options will be restricted if you wait till you get into town, especially if you are on a budget. The best places with the best rates are snapped up early, and you'll be left with more expensive, less convenient, and/or less appealing places.

StuDudley

I made our gite & hotel reservations for our June trip to Provence several months ago.

I agree with nukesafe - June is a popular time for Americans to visit France - and they love the South. There is a ton of stuff written on this forum to give you plenty of suggestions on where to centrally base yourself.

Where in the south are you travelling??? Cote d'Azur, Provence, Languedoc, Lot, Dordogne, Roussillon ???

If you really want to do a little wanderlusting, I would spend 5 nights in Provence with reservations (St Remy, Luberon). Then hit the road for about 4 days heading west through the Languedoc region - stopping to explore the Gorges du Tarn, many caves, small villages, Carcassonne, etc. End your trip with 5 nights in the Dordogne with reservations at a hotel near/in Sarlat.

Stu Dudley

klondike

Depends on what you mean by "South France" because some areas are definitely more popular than others.

That being said, we have traveled in the late high season the last couple of years in the Dordogne and Languedoc regions without having reservations. It was do-able, but we had to call first thing in the morning from our current hotel to our next envisioned town's hotels (used Logis de France and Red Guide Michelin) to lock in a room for that night, which means reserving "sight unseen". Sometimes it was a few calls before we got a room. Never disappointed because we trust these 2 sources, but it was a chore, and if I had it to do over again, I'd have a locked in reservation.

France is a majaor vaction playland and Provence a prime destination. The days of stopping in at 3 or 4 in the afternoon to find a room that night at a decent place are loooong gone (sigh). Trying Stu's suggestion with some reservations and some "free-lance" nights is an option that leaves you more lee-way.

StCirq

I once did a week-long trip in "the south of France" (which is huge, BTW; we'd need to know precisely where), in the Languedoc actually, without reservations, and in MARCH, and ended up staying at the worst hotel I've ever stayed at in France. We had the Red Michelin with us and at least one other guidebook, and we had cell phones, and we'd call ahead in the morning to secure a room for the coming night, and frankly it was a royal PITA. Would never do it again, and definitely wouldn't consider it in June.

dodo5000

O.K. Here are some specifics. We are taking a train from Paris to Avignon and then renting a car for 4 days. We want to see Montpellier, lavender fields and small villages. From there we want to go to the Monte Carlo area. After that we will go back to Avignon and take an overnight train to Barcelona. Thanks for all of your help. Planning this is very exciting and stressful.

StCirq

Well, Montpellier was where we couldn't find a single room to stay in in March, and ended up in some suburb in a God-forsaken supposed "château" with bicycle tire tracks on the bedspreads, spiders the size of golfballs, and nasty staff, so there you go. And all the places you are headed to are prime tourist meccas, so I would make those reservations.

BTW, I don't think the lavender fields are at their best in June.

AJPeabody

Ah, those days of footloose and fancy free travel. Find a nice place to stop, warm up the old French vocabulary, and get a nice hotel in nothing flat.

Of course there was the local agricultural fair and it took a few hours to find an overpriced motel 30 miles away in the industrial town, and, of course, the day we drove 100 miles stopping at every place until we found a room. And the time we drove around the whole of Lake Annecy twice until we found a place (with a great restaurant and a picture window in the room to watch the sun rise over the lake, so there was a silver lining). Of course, we were traveling out of season, so it wasn't too bad.

Don't try it in June.

Barnum

Forget the adventure, and enjoy the known.

nytraveler

June is very busy in that area. Unless you don't mind spending half of your time looking for lodging I would reserve in advance.

mpprh

June is OK, but you may not be able to get into the most popular hotels. I've had some of my most pleasant surprises when travelling with no reservation.

Use local tourist offices, supplemented by hotel guides, and find your hotel by 17.00.

Chain hotels offer consistency, but tend to be focussed on business travellers, so are more likely to be near the autoroute than the beach.

Logis hotels are privately owned, reliable and often in smaller, more rural locations.

Peter

sfgirl42

Consider picking up a used (ebay, etc) copy of Rough Guide's Guide Routard. It's the English translation of the French guide to hotels and restaurants that the French use--(Michelin guide aside). I've used it in the past and found some nice little hotels with correspondingly nice (small) prices. The last edition was 2006 so the prices are out of date but the listings often stay the same from year to year. If you read French well, the 2010 issue in French just came out.
http://eurapart.com/accom.html has listings for all the chain hotels/hostels in three EU ocuntries by price category.
I've stayed at Etap, Premiere Classe, Fasthotel, Balla;din-- (all budget), and you might stand a better chance of finding something with them if you're on the road without a reservation. A friend and I found ourselves in that situation in Aix en Provence and I forget the chain, but it worked out ok.
For the most part they're close to a main road or in an industrial area but if all you need is a bed and bath, they'll do that.
The Guide Routard hotels are just the opposite--affordable, yes, but most are quite unique.

Christina

Maybe there are a few days when you thnk you will wander around until 7 pm or something and then find a hotel, but from your itinerary, you seem to have a pretty good idea of the beginning of it. I don't see any reason not to reserve hotels in the first place you intend to go (Montpellier?). I don't know why you'd go to Avignon if you want to go to Montpellier, though, as that doesn't make sense so many I don't understand your plan. You can take the TGV right to Montpellier and spend a few days there before renting the car and leaving it, that's what I would do (and, in fact, is what I did once). You'll get a room in Montpellier, no doubt, but you absolutely cannot be picky (meaning, you must be willing to accept very cheap, boring crummy rooms as well as maybe accepting very expensive rooms if that's all that is left). Montpellier is quite large and has lots of business hotels, I'd think you could find something, but I don't see the attactive of arriving in a big city like that and then what -- wandering around? yikes