first solo tour in france

[Toemul]

Only done one tour, through france to northern spain Google panned a route worked out how far I could travel each day and used booking.com to find cheapest hotel in that area, booked well in advance best thing I've ever done

 

[mjr]

I suppose the answer is to go to hotels with a soul -

I still worry about whether more soulful hotels will welcome bikes. Do any of the large booking sites let you limit results by cycle-acceptance yet?

 

[snorri]

I've only ever turned away from one hotel over a lack of suitable cycle parking, that was when mine host at a hotel in Kent suggested it would be ok to park my bike in the ungated and uncovered compound which was used to to conceal rubbish bins from customers using their car park. No thank you I said and found accommodation nearby.

 

[Toemul]

On booking.com you can put a note on your booking and the hotel email you back I either took it to my room or had a safe place to leave it

 

[TheDoctor]

Any French hotel will have somewhere secure to store a bike, and TBH it's never been an issue for me anywhere else.

 

[jay clock]

I have done several tours the length and breadth of France and whilst generally camping I have never had a problem with safe bike storage in hotels.

Have a read of my various French blogs here www.jmhr.com

This site is excellent to find municipal sites, http://www.camping-municipal.org/index.htm although a little clunky to use. Double check opening dates if off season

 

[Redlight]

I'm not a great one for planning routes in any great detail - I prefer to make it up as I go along - so have never booked hotels in advance. In France, I've always taken the Logis hotel guide with me and have rarely had trouble finding somewhere decent to stay. I usually start thinking about it at about 4pm and look in the guide to see what might be within a couple hours' ride. If there's nothing then I'll simply head for a reasonably large town and ride around. Most French towns have helpful signposts telling you where the hotels are. I've only once had a problem, when I arrived in Amiens on the same day as a major convention and every single hotel was booked - but the next large-ish town was only 20 miles down the road. In large towns there are often tourist offices that will sort out a hotel for you for free - but watch the early closing hours!

I've never had a problem finding somewhere safe for the bike. Usually there will be a store room or garage that the owners will let you use. Some will even let you (or encourage you) to take the bike to the room with you!

 

[jay clock]

I'm not a great one for planning routes in any great detail - I prefer to make it up as I go along - so have never booked hotels in advance. In France, I've always taken the Logis hotel guide with me and have rarely had trouble finding somewhere decent to stay. I usually start thinking about it at about 4pm and look in the guide to see what might be within a couple hours' ride. If there's nothing then I'll simply head for a reasonably large town and ride around. Most French towns have helpful signposts telling you where the hotels are. I've only once had a problem, when I arrived in Amiens on the same day as a major convention and every single hotel was booked - but the next large-ish town was only 20 miles down the road. In large towns there are often tourist offices that will sort out a hotel for you for free - but watch the early closing hours!

I've never had a problem finding somewhere safe for the bike. Usually there will be a store room or garage that the owners will let you use. Some will even let you (or encourage you) to take the bike to the room with you!

all good, and with the addition of modern technology I would add booking.com as by far the best of the various apps and sites

 

[PaulSB]

You will have a wonderful time. France is fabulous. One or two comments.

Make sure you know where Le Tour is heading. After six days on tour blissfully unaware of anything happening in the world I rolled in to Bergerac to be greeted by huge banner welcoming Le Tour. Panic. Turned out OK as it was the day after but the hotel I stayed in was four times the price the next night and fully booked.

France is BIG and once you get rural and away from towns accommodation is not always easy to find. Check the possibilities enroute to your destination

Remember holidays are busy. I well recall arriving in Challon sur Loire and asking for suggestions on rooms to get the response "Friday? In July?"

Be aware of festivals in larger rural towns. These can result in all rooms being full.

The French are wonderful people who appreciate any effort to communicate in French. They will help. I still remember the fabulous landlady who I telephoned to explain in terrible French I couldn't find the house. She asked where I was and then told me to stay there. She appeared to greet me in about five minutes. - after 120km I was lost 200 metres from her house.

Chamber D'hote are great. Really very good.

 

[PaulSB]

As an example of the help and hospitality you will receive. Late one Sunday I pitched up at a quite rural hotel. The owner apologised for the kitchen being closed but he'd see what he could find. 20 minutes later he knocked on my door. I could have wept! Never forgotten that man. He didn't charge me for the food.

 

[Aravis]

The French are wonderful people who appreciate any effort to communicate in French. They will help. I still remember the fabulous landlady who I telephoned to explain in terrible French I couldn't find the house. She asked where I was and then told me to stay there. She appeared to greet me in about five minutes. - after 120km I was lost 200 metres from her house.

Very important this. As a solitary cyclist I always found that my very limited French improved out of all recognition once I started a tour. This is because when entering a town you are bombarded with information signs about all manner of things; you're travelling slowly enough to read them properly, and you can't help translating them. The context often helps with unfamiliar words. A very natural way of refreshing and expanding your knowledge, and one that I would imagine works best when you're on your own.

Another thing I'd find myself doing before I realised it was translating my thoughts, and again, it was remarkable how quickly I'd improve. What better way to occupy the mind as the kilometres slip by?

 

[robing]

I cycled Biarritz to Dieppe last year. The first half of the trip I camped and wild camped inthe forest. Interacted with a lot more folk (apart from wild camping when I had sangliers for company.) Then disaster struck and my battery pack was nicked, which made camping difficult. So second half I stayed in hotels - mostly F1, Premiere Class, Ibis which cost considerably more and was a lot less sociable. I always try and immerse myself in the language and my French really came on leaps and bounds.

 

[Brains]

Bottom line is plan for camping, but go with hotels/B&B's if and when you want.

Hotels can be full, but you can always find somewhere to camp, weather that be a proper camp site, a 'Camping Municipal', the pub garden, stealth camping at the local playing fields or park, or wild camping out of town

 

[bigjim]

Evidently, booking.com have been hauled into court in France over their commission costs and many French B&Bs are refusing to deal with them. Be a shame if we lose that facility. I've been ripped off in France by a B&B where I just turned up at the gate.

 

[Toemul]

Booking .com was perfect.