carwahl

My husband, 16 yo son and I will arrive in Amsterdam early June at about 11, rent a car, and are heading for a few days in Provence. My initial plan, to minimize jet lag challenges while driving, is to go to Luxembourg or environs the 1st night, Lyon the 2nd night, and then we have three more nights to explore Provence, before we must be in Merligen, Switzerland (the next evening, so we can take our time on the way) to meet some friends. I was considering one night in Arles, then two nights further East (preferably in one place?) to take day trips from. Suggestions of towns or inexpensive but decent hotels on this route? We don't mind driving, like historic sites, hiking, markets, good market food, local music, bird watching, the simple beauty of a landscape or a sunset. We have a small budget, would prefer not to spend more than $100 or so a night, and would definitely not mind even less. I welcome advice on this itinerary and any budget conscious advice for lodging, food, and simple pleasures. Thank you!

greg

First thing I was trying to understand are your destinations. From what you describe, it looks like Provence and Merlingen are the destinations while anything else are just way points?

The natural question is why are you landing (not sure where you are departing) so far away from the apparent destinations. Are there specific interests between Amsterdam and Provence? Luxembourg and Lyon seem to be overnight rest stops.

From the description, you don't mind spending on driving costs, drop-off charge(?), etc, but not hotels, right?

I would have expected landing in Nice, rent car, rent an apartment for a week in Provence to minimize the accommodation cost and to explore the area before heading to Merlingen.

Tulips

Amsterdam - Luxemburg is about 4 1/2 to 5 hours. I wouldn't do that just off the plane with a jet lag.

Where are you flying back from? Are you returning the car to Amsterdam? It would be very expensive to drop it off in another country.

If you want to go to Provence, why not take the train from Amsterdam to Avignon or Aix and rent a car there?

lavandula

Hi Carwahl,
Are you planning to see Amsterdam at all? If so, it doesn't sound like you have factored in any time to see it. And chances are that much of the drive to Luxembourg will have to be on fast roads that are not very picturesque. I am sure that you don't want to drive for the sake of driving - you must want to see something too! There is actually an international airport in Luxembourg; you could fly there from Amsterdam if you can't get a direct flight there from where you live, if the primary aim is to get to Luxembourg, or else perhaps budget some more time between points so you have time to explore a little on the road.
Lavandula

ParisAmsterdam

While a drive from Amsterdam to Provence would be lovely, given your time constraints and budget I don't think it's the thing for you do do...

If you go to EasyJet.com you'll find you can fly Amsterdam to Geneva for as little as 46 euros. Pick up a car in Geneva and head for Nice. You can them explore the Riviera and Provence as time and budget allow. You then drive back to Switzerland and presumably leave the car there thus avoiding a potentially large drop off fee.

Rob

ira

Hi car,

A: You don't want to drive to Luxembourg while jet lagged.

B: Why are you flying into AMS?
www.viamichelin.com estimates the driving cost to Arles at 160E + cost of lodging and meals.

If you fly into Paris, it should be about the same price as AMS, plus you can take the train to Avignon (< 3hr) for about 40E pp. This gives you one more day of vacation, instead of travel.

carwahl

Hi - ParisAmsterdam, That is an interesting suggestion, and I'll look into that. Everyone else, yes, I can see that the whole thing seems non-sensical as I described it. Maybe this will help. We were invited to stay with friends in three different homes/villas/lake houses in Switzerland in June. Long story short, we need to be in those homes when the hosts can meet us. When I got the three "award" tickets from NWA, the only thing I could get (for the minimum amount of miles, all I had) (and this was nearly a year in advance so I didn't have exact dates), I had a choice, into Milan or Venice, out of Amsterdam. I chose Venice because I'm crazy about Croatia. Unfortunately, all transportation options were off the charts as far as our budget was concerned, as has been noted, drop off charges, Italy surcharges, the ferries were expensive, etc. Decided we had to come in and out of one place, and just explore where we could on the way to and from Switzerland. Lucked out and was able to change the arrival to Amsterdam (tried Paris, Milan, etc. to no avail). Then, the dates of our stay in Switzerland were settled. That's why we decided to see a bit of Provence on the way TO Switzerland, and a bit of Burgundy, and then, yes, a couple days in Amsterdam on the way FROM Switzerland. So, the dates and times and location of flight arrival & departure are not changeable at this point. We are pretty flexible and know we will enjoy just about anything we happen upon, but just asking for tips. I've been in Amsterdam quite a bit and my family hasn't, so we were looking forward to that.

JToronto

Given you are locked into the Amsterdam flights, I'd suggest taking a fast train straight down to Nice or Avignon on day 1 (you can sleep on the train, and at least you won't crash!), then rent a car and drive/explore for 4 days on your way to Switzerland. I think you would be much more relaxed and see more.

Mimar

Transavia has flights from Amsterdam to Nice for about 100 to 150 euros. The flight times might not be convenient though.

Trains from Amsterdam Airport (Schiphol) or Amsterdam Central to Avignon TGV require at least 1 change and take at least 7.5 hours. The simplest connection requires a change at Brussels. But, long though this is, it may be the best use of your first jetlagged day. (I'm assuming you're flying overnight.)

You'll want a car in inland Provence; it's not needed along the French Riviera or in Switzerland.