Host Jazzbeau in France

How is the car rental process in Europe? We are going to travel to Les Baux on our own at the end of our Rhone cruise and I was thinking of renting a car at the Avignon train station. My travel agent said it can be hard to get a car with automatic transmission, and alas we do not know how to drive standard. Also, my husband is 6'5 and I worry about the small European cars.

 

Should I still look into car rental? There isn't an easy way to get to Les Baux using public transport. Thanks!

Well, if I still lived in Chapel Hill, I would drive my MINI over and give your husband a lesson. Rental cars in Europe are like America. Except, they tend smaller, and they tend towards manual transmissions. I think learning to drive a manual transmission is something that everyone needs to learn how to do. It takes about an hour to get reasonably good at it. I remember driving my buddies 71 VW, the worst thing for me was the lack of power steering, fortunately that is pretty much no longer an option on modern cars.

That said, if you need a bigger car, they cost a lot more, same for auto transmission. All are usually available. Recommend a credit card that includes insurance and doesn't charge a foreign exchange fee. Such as Capital One or Amex Platinum.

Renting a car is a good option, but on our trip, we will rent a car, until we go to Paris, at which point I ditch the rental. Cars in big cities are a pain.

jc

I had no trouble renting an automatic at CDG to drop off in Lyon (from Hertz), but could not get one in Arles to drop off in Marseille [luckily I can shift a manual and was able to reserve a Golf from Europcar]. I have had very good experiences with Avis in Ireland and Spain, but they didn't have locations where I needed them in France. To solve both the automatic and DH-height issues: when picking up our car at CDG I noticed the parking area for a company called Sixt [https://www.sixt.com/] -- Jaguars and other very nice, large cars that would surely suit [until you see the prices???] -- but their website seems to also offer cheap rentals and they claim to be the world's 5th largest auto renter [so they try harder, harder, harder, harder :D]

Had a lovely drive today along the Loire from Amboise to Tours [visiting my old stomping grounds from Stanford-in-France in 1967]. Can't see how anybody sails any boats of any kind in that river -- lots of islands, sand bars, and gravel patches.

I had no trouble renting an automatic at CDG to drop off in Lyon (from Hertz), but could not get one in Arles to drop off in Marseille [luckily I can shift a manual and was able to reserve a Golf from Europcar]. I have had very good experiences with Avis in Ireland and Spain, but they didn't have locations where I needed them in France. To solve both the automatic and DH-height issues: when picking up our car at CDG I noticed the parking area for a company called Sixt [https://www.sixt.com/] -- Jaguars and other very nice, large cars that would surely suit [until you see the prices???] -- but their website seems to also offer cheap rentals and they claim to be the world's 5th largest auto renter [so they try harder, harder, harder, harder :D]

We reserved a 7 person van from Sixt in Italy in 2011 for a family trip. They were very easy to deal with - even when we arrived a day late (we had notified them) because United lost all their computers for 6 hours on a Friday night :eek:). I would recommend them. I would not recommend anyone unfamiliar with Italian roads (and Italian signs/directions for that matter) to reserve a van though - it was a challenge and we had lived (and drove) in Italy for 5 years :D.

We reserved a 7 person van from Sixt in Italy in 2011 for a family trip. They were very easy to deal with - even when we arrived a day late (we had notified them) because United lost all their computers for 6 hours on a Friday night :eek:). I would recommend them. I would not recommend anyone unfamiliar with Italian roads (and Italian signs/directions for that matter) to reserve a van though - it was a challenge and we had lived (and drove) in Italy for 5 years :D.

We had a rental Megane in 2004 leaving Rome, heading for the Amalfi Coast, where we had a spectacular villa for a week. The left turn lane on the two land road, was the passing section for Italians in fast cars to pass the long line of cars driving south towards Napoli, and Amalfi.... the would pull up beside me in the turn lane and then rocket past me on down the road. I can't imagine driving a 7 person van in Amalfi.... I can only imagine the scene trying to get to Positano in a van... yikes... At one point in Minori a group of 3 tour buses passed us heading toward Maiori (towards the mainland). We pulled next to the cliff, pulled in our mirrors and the buses inched past us and the 30 cars behind us.

Yikes.

jc

I found the website for Slow Travel to be extremely helpful when I was researching driving in Italy. (Many other European countries are covered, too.)

There are many helpful topics at this link:

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/index.htm

The website has photos of traffic signs and a very good explanation of the dreaded ZTL zones. Zona Traffico Limitado = Limited Traffic Zones.

Be careful, there are traffic cameras and you will get a ticket. They can track you down through the car rental agency.

We reserved an automatic transmission through AutoEurope. It was a beautiful Mercedes with built-in GPS. "She" had a British accent, and would politely give me instructions. Very helpful for the roundabouts.

Safe travels!

Don't put your complete trust in a satnav there have been several instances in the UK where admittedly some of are roads are a tad narrow that the said electronic equipment has lead people up decidedly inappropriate routes. On the subject of the satnav voice a neighbour of ours is a retired army officer he bought his shiny new car and when showing it off to my other half who also had his new car, asked if his satnav had a male or female voice because he had to change his as he could not be told what to do by a woman. It was true as he demonstrated. Another friend decided to try their satnav on their boat on the canal at the first bridge it told them to turn left, which would have taken them back onto a road so at least the GPS realised that something wasn't right.

Happy cruising and driving CA

Well, if I still lived in Chapel Hill, I would drive my MINI over and give your husband a lesson. Rental cars in Europe are like America. Except, they tend smaller, and they tend towards manual transmissions. I think learning to drive a manual transmission is something that everyone needs to learn how to do. It takes about an hour to get reasonably good at it. I remember driving my buddies 71 VW, the worst thing for me was the lack of power steering, fortunately that is pretty much no longer an option on modern cars.

 

That said, if you need a bigger car, they cost a lot more, same for auto transmission. All are usually available. Recommend a credit card that includes insurance and doesn't charge a foreign exchange fee. Such as Capital One or Amex Platinum.

 

Renting a car is a good option, but on our trip, we will rent a car, until we go to Paris, at which point I ditch the rental. Cars in big cities are a pain.

 

jc

Haha! I would have taken you up on the offer! My mom actually drives standard and I may ask her to give me some lessons while I am visiting her this weekend for Labor Day :-)

We will just need the car to drive from the train station in Avignon to Les Baux and back again. We won't be driving any city roads, and will likely park and not drive at all once we arrive in Les Baux (we are staying in a hotel right by the chateau). I think my husband can be cramped for that short ride, as long as the car has a trunk to put our luggage in!

We always rent a car in advance before we leave the states and always specify an automatic through either Hertz or Avis. If done in advance you can usually get one. The only problem is that the automatic cars tend to be bigger. While this seems great, they are harder to park. If you do park before you get to Les Baux, be prepared for a steep uphill climb! But oh so worth the effort!

It's fairly easy and cheap to get by cab from the river boat dock to the train station, and easy to find the car rental places once at the train station. They are stand-alone buildings right outside the station itself. If the driver does not speak English, Hertz pretty much sounds like Hertz, but Avis sounds like "ah - veece" with the accent on the second syllable.

How is the car rental process in Europe? We are going to travel to Les Baux on our own at the end of our Rhone cruise and I was thinking of renting a car at the Avignon train station. My travel agent said it can be hard to get a car with automatic transmission, and alas we do not know how to drive standard. Also, my husband is 6'5 and I worry about the small European cars.

 

Should I still look into car rental? There isn't an easy way to get to Les Baux using public transport. Thanks!

When I did a quick search in Avignon I found a weekly rate of about $230 for a Peugeot 2008 with auto. We had this same car with a manual last month, and found it to be a good blend of small exterior size plus plenty of cargo space and good leg room (I have long legs).

BTW, when renting in France be prepared to drive a diesel - and most importantly, to fill the tank with diesel!

And to run into lots of gas stations in France that are unmanned and do not take American mag stripe cards nor cash. I don't think there are any toll booths between Avignon and Les Baux, but if there are, make sure you have euros, as American mag stripe cards don't work there either.

And to run into lots of gas stations in France that are unmanned and do not take American mag stripe cards nor cash. I don't think there are any toll booths between Avignon and Les Baux, but if there are, make sure you have euros, as American mag stripe cards don't work there either.

Hmmm...didn't know there were so many things to think about. Thanks for the advice! Sorry for crashing your thread Jazzbeau!

I have done everything I could to have the right credit card for Europe, and finally thought I had succeeded with Barclay Arrival Plus. It is Chip and PIN, although it defaults to Chip and Signature at most places. It does work as PIN sometimes, but French toll booths absolutely refuse to accept it. Thank God we've always had enough cash to pay!

I have done everything I could to have the right credit card for Europe, and finally thought I had succeeded with Barclay Arrival Plus. It is Chip and PIN, although it defaults to Chip and Signature at most places. It does work as PIN sometimes, but French toll booths absolutely refuse to accept it. Thank God we've always had enough cash to pay!

So, to do 2 days driving in France with toll roads, how many euros do you think a person needs?

jc

So, to do 2 days driving in France with toll roads, how many euros do you think a person needs?

 

jc

It is very hard to predict. Sometimes you drive a long ways a pay 3 Euro, one time we were shocked that the toll was 19 Euro. It's not like the US where toll roads are a different color on the map: the "Interstate" type roads have tolls in certain sections but not in others and we just dug out the wallet when we saw a sign "Gare a péage" ["toll plaza ahead"]. The other surprise is that although you need coins much more here than in the US, it is very hard to get: banks don't have money. ATMs dispense bills, and you can't go inside the bank to get coins. You have to depend on change from transactions, or a friendly hotel desk.

With all of these issues, it seems like taking a taxi from Avignon to Les Baux and then back again may be a better option! It looks like a one-way fare is about 60-80 Euros, so it may be cheaper than renting a car anyway (the cheapest automatic car big enough for our luggage seems to be almost 300 Euros for a one-night rental)!

It is very hard to predict. Sometimes you drive a long ways a pay 3 Euro, one time we were shocked that the toll was 19 Euro. It's not like the US where toll roads are a different color on the map: the "Interstate" type roads have tolls in certain sections but not in others and we just dug out the wallet when we saw a sign "Gare a péage" ["toll plaza ahead"]. The other surprise is that although you need coins much more here than in the US, it is very hard to get: banks don't have money. ATMs dispense bills, and you can't go inside the bank to get coins. You have to depend on change from transactions, or a friendly hotel desk.

We have only driven the coastal roads in Normandy and Brittany while on an ocean cruise and we never saw a toll road there. So, I need to gather coins while cruising through Germany before we head off thru France in our rental. So do any of the toll plazas have humans, that you can say hand a 100 euro and get a bunch of coins as change? I do that in Florida on the rare occassion I am driving my personal car there. I have given up paying tolls there in a rental. Just figure the extra $15 a day is the price I pay to take a flowrider cruise.:cool::D

jc

With all of these issues, it seems like taking a taxi from Avignon to Les Baux and then back again may be a better option! It looks like a one-way fare is about 60-80 Euros, so it may be cheaper than renting a car anyway (the cheapest automatic car big enough for our luggage seems to be almost 300 Euros for a one-night rental)!

Is it just you and hubby, or do you have an entourage? The DW and I have gotten to the minimalist packing schedule since 2004, when we flew into Venice late at night, and I had to schlepp luggage over several bridges to get to our hotel. One roller bag, usually 40 pounds and a back pack. That is our maximum luggage these days. Like I mentioned earlier, big car, automatic, big bill especially on a one way rental.

jc

It is just the two of us but DH is a big guy and his clothes are big so packing minimalist is hard for us! We will be in France 2 weeks but Uniworld offers free laundry services for guests so I am hoping we can pack light and do laundry once while on the ship. I am still guessing we will each have a decent size suitcase plus a carry-on bag though.

I am going to look into the costs for getting a driver or a taxi. If the cost is similar or cheaper, we will go with that. It will be more convenient and we won't have to worry about money for tolls or getting gas. We just need a way to get us from the Avignon TGV station to Les Baux and back. We don't plan on driving once we are in Les Baux. I will talk to our travel agent and see what we can do.

Thanks so much for the advice!!

Always have some euro coins handy - or even try to get some off friends or family before you set off - as a lot of small places do not "like" credit cards: from public toilets and toll-booths to bus drivers (sometimes) and the boulangerie round the corner, early in the morning especially. Sometimes a minimum purchase total of five euros applies.

Péage in France, having to pay for using the motorways or a bridge, etc., does not apply in all regions or on all motorways. You can look this up here: http://www.autoroutes.fr/index.htm?lang=en

I hardly ever use the tolls as the routes I travel on are almost entirely toll-free. So I cannot give you specific information about how to use cards with the booths.

notamermaid

And to run into lots of gas stations in France that are unmanned and do not take American mag stripe cards nor cash. I don't think there are any toll booths between Avignon and Les Baux, but if there are, make sure you have euros, as American mag stripe cards don't work there either.

Your experience is interesting. We did not find a single unmanned gas station last month, and we traveled plenty of roads that were not autoroute. We also had no problem paying using our chip-and-sign cards. I'd take two such cards, at least; when we tried to pay our autoroute toll using one card, it was rejected. Had to use AmEx and swallow the exorbitant FTF. However, the autoroute tolls can be paid using credit cards so long as they are equipped with chip - no signature is required.

We have reached Lyon now and turned in the car. There were three toll stations (each on different days) that charged us almost 20 Euro, and many others that charged 3-4 Euro. Total outlay over 8 days of driving was about 80 Euro. We never saw any staff at a toll station, and they refused our US Chip & PIN card outright. Luckily they take bills up to at least 20 Euro -- we were able to get change this way on the cheaper tolls, and to cover the more expensive ones.

We arrived in Lyon this afternoon and as the TomTom was leading us to our hotel (Globe et Cecil -- wonderful and centrally located) we saw our ship AmaDagio docked across the Rhone [with the APT banner affixed, as this week has been one of their cruises]. We had time this evening to stroll around Vieux Lyon and then arrived early for our reservation at restaurant Daniel et Denise [something about hotel/restaurant names here with "name et name" ;)] We both had the Quennelles [comme il faut] and enjoyed them, but I wouldn't make this a habit as I have done with Fois Gras [4 nights in a row! -- don't tell my doctor :D] Tomorrow we check out of the hotel and embark on AmaDagio for our cruise.

I hereby declare this thread an official "off-topic" zone. Continue to amuse yourselves in my absence! :D

Jazz..excited for you sailing tomorrow! Safe travels and enjoy the relaxation of river cruising. We were on her in 2007 and will once again sail her next Sept. Anxious for your review!

We arrived in Lyon this afternoon and as the TomTom was leading us to our hotel (Globe et Cecil -- wonderful and centrally located) we saw our ship AmaDagio docked across the Rhone [with the APT banner affixed, as this week has been one of their cruises]. We had time this evening to stroll around Vieux Lyon and then arrived early for our reservation at restaurant Daniel et Denise [something about hotel/restaurant names here with "name et name" ;)] We both had the Quennelles [comme il faut] and enjoyed them, but I wouldn't make this a habit as I have done with Fois Gras [4 nights in a row! -- don't tell my doctor :D] Tomorrow we check out of the hotel and embark on AmaDagio for our cruise.

Can't wait to hear all about your cruise! I've enjoyed reading your prior posts.