Day Tour Companies out of Paris

Going where from Paris?

You'll get a lot more bang for your buck if you arrange your own transport to your destination then a tour from there. For instance, for a tour of the Loire Valley leaving from Paris your hotel pickup is at or before 7:00am, and the buses start arriving at Chenonceau at about 10:00.

If you catch a train to the Loire Valley you leave Paris at 07:20 and arrive at Chenonceau at about 9:00. Arriving at Chenonceau before the tour buses do is important - even with timed entry it can be crowded.

It depends on what sort of your you go for, of course, but you could also be saving money as well as optimising your time at your destination.

There are loads and loads of day trips you can do from Paris on your own that don't require a tour company and where you won't need to buy advanced tickets for TGV train travel (like going to the Loire) to get cheap train ticket prices. Giverny, Versailles, Provins, Fontainebleau, Vaux-le-Vicomte, Chartres, Auvers-sur-Oise, Moret-sur-Loing, Compiègne, Laon, Rouen, Reims, Epernay, etc., etc. I could easily list over a dozen more day trips than what I mentioned. If you ever return to this thread and want more info I'll be happy to give more details.