Logistic Planning for Honeymoon – 18.5 Days (France)

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  MaxTravels on 10/06/2013 - 10:41

  +1

  Hi,

  I would have some concerns with this itinerary, as its very action packed. is this your first visit to France? Have you been to Paris before?

  Are you only planning on travelling by rail or hiring a car. There is no train to mont saint michel and your going to struggle to get to any of the chalets without private transport or a tour guide.

  On our last trip to France we did the Loire valley by car (never having driven internationally before) and mont st michel. We stayed overnight on the mont which I recommend as its beautiful at night and completely empty when we were there. The tour busses all take off by 4-5pm so you get the place to yourself.

  In the Loire valley we spent 4 days and only saw 4-5 chalets in total, but we were not in a hurry. We did stay in an amazing b&b near chinon which I could not recommend enough http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Hotel_Review-g187124-d1456011-….

  I am one of those people who adore paris and we will be spending 3 days there in sept, when I travel with family who has never been before. 3 days would be my minimum time in Paris and we have spent a couple of weeks there in total, and we still find things to do.

  If your determined to see it all, it is possible, but you are going to need to be very active.

  My only other suggestion would be to duplicate this post on the trip advisor forums for France, if you haven't already.

  • 

    Givemethemoney on 10/06/2013 - 12:50

    We have never been to France before.

    We haven't decided whether it is better to hire a car or go by rail, we do have international drivers licences though, but I have never driven overseas (so would need to learn the rules on the plane trip over).

    Given we are going in peak season we plan on spending long hours each day seeing things (8am-10 or 11pm), but we don't know how bad lines are.

    As we don't have kids yet, we are not slowed down by them and probably won't waste much time in cafes or restaurants.

    • 

      MaxTravels on 10/06/2013 - 13:06

      Last trip we did was the only one we have ever driven overseas. It wasn't too bad but we did hire an auto (couldn't imagine changing gears with my right hand). We stayed in Paris for a week before we caught a train to Rouen. From here we hired a car (so I didn't have to drive in Paris) and went to Honfleur(1 night), mont st Michele (1 night), then onto the Loire valley. We dropped our hire car off in tours before catching the train back to Paris.

      There really isn't much to driving over there and the rules are the same (that I recall). We bought a map and used an app on our ipad to navigate. But all of that was too hard and we were glad we bought a GPS from home with french maps.

      One more thing, check the times that the chalets are open, I'm not sure you can visit late, but could be wrong.

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  donga100 on 10/06/2013 - 10:46

  +1

  I think it sounds like you are trying to visit too many places in the time you have. Visiting cities for only one day means that you spend a lot of time just getting to/from them. Even if you sleep on overnight trains you will often miss out on nightlife and eating out for dinner. If you travel during the day and stay at hotels you miss a good portion of sightseeing time travelling. Also, do the trains have showers?

  • 

    Givemethemoney on 10/06/2013 - 13:16

    We don't know whether trains have showers, as we are on a tight budget and time frame, can't imagine we would be interested in clubbing or post midnight nightlife.

    Having travelled through Europe before (we were able to do the Athens, Greek Isles, Crete, Rhodes, Mikonos, Paros, santorini, Ephesus, Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples, Pompey, Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Stuttgart, Neuschwanstein, Munich, Ravensburg, Zurich, Berne, Interlaken in one month)

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  neil on 10/06/2013 - 11:10

  Yep agreed with above. I would just focus on just France and remove Switzerland and Monaco off the list. Switzerland is beautiful but Geneva is certainly not the must see place. It takes a while to pack, to get on/off the train with luggage, find the hotel, check in, etc.

  I had a similar itinerary for Switzerland but the good people at Tripadvisor warned it was too rushed. Agree with Maxtravels, I'd post over there as you'll have local experts who can help out.

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  ajs900 on 10/06/2013 - 11:16

  +2

  +1 too many places in too short a time frame.

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  evol on 10/06/2013 - 12:21

  +1

  see everything we want to see and in good detail

  You're not going to have much time for "good detail" with an itinerary like that. Wayyyy too packed.

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  mskeggs on 10/06/2013 - 13:40

  +3

  I have holidayed in France 3 or 4 times, but not for 10 years.
  You will not be able to visit this number of attractions/sites.
  Definitely not if you are trying to use public transport, as MaxTravels says, many locations are some distance from a train, and these are in the countryside so buses come every hour or three.
  For details on trains, see the best train travel site, www.seat61.com
  I have rented cars in France, and driven a right hand drive from the UK. There isn't really anything too tricky if you are a competent day-to-day driver, but be aware nearly all cars are manual, so if you prefer an auto, you must request it. There is no need to get an international licence (which is just a piece of paper saying you have an AU license), you can drive legally on an AU licence.
  And I am horrified by the comment you will not spend much time in cafes or restaurants - these are absolutely one of the most important parts of a visit to France, infinitely more important than seeing yet another chateau!
  Remember too, that on your honeymoon you will likely want some relaxation time, not just a packed itinerary.
  If you are very committed to seeing the absolute most number of locations for brief periods, perhaps book an organised tour? That way somebody else takes care of all transport, timing and logistics. I hate them, because I like to spend four or five days in any town we visit (or better still, two weeks) but they have their place if you want to cover a lot of places in a fortnight.
  If this appeals, take a look at some of the UK operators - they will offer a broader range of tours than those catering to Aussies, due to the nearby location and bigger population.

  • 

    Givemethemoney on 10/06/2013 - 21:33

    We may do one or two cafes or restaurants in Paris but neither my wife or I wish to spend any more time that that for which we could do back here in metro Australia.

    With requesting autos where (whom did you find to be the best provider?) We are thinking of picking up something either in Tours, Amboise, Orleans or on the outskirts of Paris