About Susan Mellups Expertise proprietress of Houses for Hire, a villa rental business
that specializes in France, with a special knowledge of touring and accomodation from the Italian border on the easter Cote dAzur to Spain on the west, and north into the Dordogne. Not native knowledge but well travelled and definately a Francophile. Especially knowledgeable about
planning the smoothe flow of a trip to make use of precious time. Has special lists of market days in Provence, Restaurants in the Rhone Valley Provence,
touring suggestions. Has self-driven a barge on the Canal du Midi. Expert category on car hire rates and terms as well as Eurail passes, French Rail Pass, point-to-point ticketing and Chunnel travel. Lived in Europe and spends several months a year there.
Experience After teaching school in Europe, I have spent the last fifteen years as (first) a travel agent and (now) owner of a vacation rental company that rents villas in Provence and Tuscany.
Question Hi Susan. We're heading to France, Italy and Switzerland this time next year (Jan 2005), so it will be winter. We're from Australia and will be in Scotland for 4 months and plan to spend up to 2 months in Europe. Want to rent a nice self-catering place around Cote D'Azur - don't mind where as long as there's transport to get there. Don't want to spend a fortune on it either as the less we spend the more time we have! There's two adults and a 2 and a half year old. Any good suggestions or websites? I've found some good websites but local knowledge is always so much better. If we wanted to spend a week in the Cote D'Azur area what would be the best area to stay, in regards to lifestyle, food, transport, etc? We want to stay for a week in each place we go to, so we can get a feel for the lifestyle there - so we don't mind heading off the beaten track. Also, re: eurail passes - we're interested in the drive/rail passes. I see the standard is 3 rail days plus 2 car hire days, but you can add rail or car days for an extra cost. Is there a limit to how many of each you can add? Can we make it up to 10 rail days plus 3 car hire days? I have so many questions I could ask! Thanks for your help.
Lisa
Answer Hi Lisa, I can see that you are in for a very memorable trip. My first reaction is to say that you will never regret staying in one place longer than a week: moving around every Sat. for that long (especially with a child) can be a drag. I also warn you to learn the symbols for washing machine so that you will have one in your rentals.
If you have the choice, start on the Cote d'Azur and end in Scotland: the closer you get to "the season"-May through Sept.-in the south of France, the more expensive the rental.
Obviously there is a major weather advantage to spending Jan. on the Mediterranean and April and May in Scotland!
HINT google with the words vacation rentals by owner France
I think hands down the least expensive places to rent are through the Gites-de-France organization that hires out places owned by French people. Usually they are rather basic but the ones rated 3 epis (ears of corn) are usually very nice and 2 epis acceptable. The trick with them is that by definition these are supposed to be rural so not likely to be in or near villages. When you get to the website for them, watch for the symbol that tells you how close to COMMERCES the rental is. There is a place called Provence West that hires out gites, but of course they add a commission so the prices will be higher than getting a place directly.
To explain one more thing--the gites organization allows the owners two options. 1 is to allow the gites organization to do the booking (for a small fee from the rent) or 2. publish the contact information and let the customer contact the owner. I think option number 1 is the best way to go unless you see something you can't resist. (I might add here that the owner taking option 2 might be a cheapskate and it possibly will show up in the size of the hot water tank, too!) Don't tell my French neighbors that I said that.
Two more excellent sources-maybe a bit more expensive but much more reliable, are the websites for French Connections http://frenchconnections.co.uk/ and also an organization called Chez Nous in the UK. http://www.cheznous.com/index.asp This company is very good and originated the by-owner-rental concept: they have had a catalog out for years. Their website though is a bit ..well, not as professional and navigatable as I would like. Still the places for rent are good.
Whew!
Okay next off: with three people travelling around Europe and wanting to see places, I think your most cost effective transport would be a lease-buy back car hire once you arrive on the continent. Eurail passes are very expensive.
I don't know who has the concession to sell Rail Passes in Australia, but you can get information about US prices at RailEurope.com. I have their catalog in front of me. The Saver Pass (Eurail) for three months is $1408 per person.
The Flexi-Pass Saver is 15 days in two months: $778 pp second class. If you did that two times per person it adds up. I think a Peugeot lease/purchase is the way to go. You can get rates on that (again US) on the Kemwell website I should think. Pay extra for a deisel: the fuel cost savings will be well worth it.
Whewy. (I love to give advice.)
I have a house in Provence and although I don't know yet when you will be in the south of France...if it is during the winter months then the warmest and most sheltered town is Menton. From there it is quick into Italy and also Monaco..but probably I would stay in Nice which is so exhuberant and pleasant...well, I must say here that although the wonderful little hill towns behind the Nice bay are darling etc, the infrastructure behind Nice is lacking and you can get traffic bound and slowed down in your efforts on the secondary roads that run through those hills. So stay close to the coast should you want to have a bit more activity and esp. convenience. However if you want to just "veg out" and experience village life then you might consider places like Biot, St. Paul de Vence (a bit chi-chi), Vence. Do not stay in Grasse or anywhere beyond it (road wise). I find the folks in Grasse not as welcoming and brusque. My personal experience, mind you.
I hope this is a start in your wonderful journey.
Bon Voyage,
Susan
