France trip without a car?

We%26#39;re going to France for two weeks. Will be spending the first 4 - 5 days in Paris. Then would like to stay in Loire valley for a few days. Then head down south and spend a few days there. Planing on ending our trip in Nice. Is it possible to do this without a car? Car is costing more than plane tickets. Can we do this by train or buses? Any recommendations on best towns to visit on this trip would be helpful.

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Sure, France has an excellent train system.

Have a look at http://www.sncf.com

and http://www.tgv.com

You can check them out in English. You might also check http://raileurope.com but don%26#39;t buy your tickets there as they will be more expensive than the first 2 sites.

I know you were looking at an automatic car... may I ask which sites you were getting quotes from that were so expensive? Maybe others can suggest other options ...

Rob

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I checked with europecar, driveaway, eurolease, kemwel.

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We went to the Loire but had a car. The train does go there but you have to make 2 stops, so it is time consuming. Besides, castles are apart from each other, so you can not really walk from one to the other. Also, there were plenty of tour buses when we were there but I think we checked and they were costly.

check this out, very informative

http://www.loirevalleytourism.com/index.html

So, I think renting a car is way more convenient. We rented from Europcar, nice and cheap.We stopped at vinyards and just walked, very memorable, I am glad we did that.

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Outdoor_zee,

What were the dates and what size of car did you check on?

Rob

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Thanks for helping me out. Dates are: 20th May to 30th. We%26#39;re checking the smallest/cheapest car available but it has to be automatic.

Maripusha, How many days would you recommend in Loire Valley. I was planning 4-5 days in Paris, 4 in Loire and the rest in south.

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I have checked out Sixt, Avis and Hertz. Hertz have the cheapest automatic (Ford Focus) for U$670 for the period you are looking at. Pick up at Paris Porte Maillot, drop off at Nice Avenue Gustave V de Suede. Unlimited mileage, all taxes etc included, but you may need additional cdw depending on your insurance policy or credit card company insurance.

By avoiding airports, you will avoid the premium location surcharge.

I would think that if Hertz can do $U670, a broker should be able to better this.

It%26#39;s the requirement for automatic that gets the rate up.

You won%26#39;t need a car in Paris and you won%26#39;t need a car in Nice unless you wish to visit some of the inland villages, in which case do these villages first, then drop off the car.

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Thanks so much! I just checked the bookers and they are cheaper. Is autoeurope and Economycarrental.com reliable?

I%26#39;m so glad I asked you before paying $1100 somewhere else!

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I have no personal experience of either company but www.autoeurope.com was recommended by Sydneynick and parisamsterdam in one of your earlier posts.

I did a forum search for autoeurope and found positive results, but found no results for economycarrental.

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I have not used AutoEurope myself, but it is often mentioned on Trip Advisor in connection with rental in Europe, and there have been no negative comments.

It is not itself a car rental company. It is a consolidator that arranges bulk rentals with the major companies (Europcar, Hertz, etc.) and onsells cheaply.

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I have used both autoeurope.com and

economycarrentals.com in the past year. Happy experiences with both.

Both are brokers. The Economy rental was in Athens and the car provided by Avis. A plus with Economy is that all rentals include a zero CDW deductible. Keep that in mind when comparing prices.

On the http://www.economycarrentals.com site

I just punched in your travel dates, pick up at Porte Maillot Paris, 9 am May 20, return Nice, May 30 at 3 pm.

For a VW Passat/Peugeot 407 the price is USD $672. (A Citroen C3 or Opel Corsa was 439 US) All were automatics.

If I was in your shoes... I%26#39;d jump

on it! ;^) I had a Passat last summer in France and loved it. It made the older one I own here in Canada seem awfully dated.

Rob