Hello everyone
I’m planning my arrival to the Dordogne on September 1.
I would like to add a few more days (on the front end) or, traveling instead on August 27 however, I hear the warnings of people telling me not to travel in France “in August”!
Will there really be any difference for me if I move my travel date to August 27?
Merci beaucoup
I'll be in the area 29 AUG-2 SEP. Maybe it's not ideal, but it's what I can fit in. Are you planning to visit Lascaux?
Road traffic is always very busy in August due to vacation departures and returns with traffic jams sometimes for several hundred kilometers throughout France, but it's mainly during weekends and on the main roads (National Roads with a name starting with N) and autoroutes (highways).
As long as you do not use these roads you will not have any specific problem.
See the official traffic forecast schedule in the pdf file below:
https://www.bison-fute.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/Calendrier_2024_Bison_Fute_.pdf
For each day there are numbers corresponding to the geographical zones and colors corresponding to the expected traffic.
The southwest is zone number 5
Colors:
Black: Extremely difficult traffic
Red: Very difficult traffic
Orange: Difficult traffic
Green: Normal traffic
Even in periods classified green, from experience I advise avoiding the A20 motorways between Paris and Toulouse and the A62 between Toulouse and Bordeaux
The main difference apart from traffic may be the availability of accommodation.
It's possible to travel in August. The warnings are because European's typically do their traveling in August. It's hotter, more crowded, and in smaller towns, some cafe's are closed (but not nearly all).
The biggest reason not to travel is the crowds are up and so is the price of lodging. Traveling in August is better than not traveling at all, so don't worry too much about it.
For traveling to Dordogne. I prefer a car. I visited Dordogne at the end of a trip. After driving through Dordogne, I drove to Bordeaux, dropped the car, then took a train back into Paris. You could reverse that to start your trip.
If you go in late August you will probably be able to catch a night market -- which is really fun. There are pictures of one here. We found the last one the first week of September, but generally they are done at the end of August.
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2017/07/25/perfect-place-for-murder-commarque-chateau/
We stayed just outside Sarlat for 5 nights 8/21-8/27 2023. Our studio vrbo was withing walking distance to centre ville. We had a rental car which is why we chose to stay on the outskirts since parking was onsite. Traffic didn't bother us although it was heavy driving along the Dordogne River. Our furthest day trip was to Pech Merle and St. Cirque la Popie.
So no, moving your travel date will not make a lot of difference IMHO. The worst we encountered was returning our rental car to CDG on a Sunday, but compared to big city US driving it was minimally stressful.
The big concern is HOT weather. 106F when we were there and the water-cooled floor a/c led to puddles!
Merci Beaucoup, everyone, for this very useful information. I so appreciate all of your input! :of
Yes, this is my second trip to the region so I’ve seen many “ attractions “ already. This time I’m focusing on Lascaux IV, Pech Merle and Grotte de Cougnac.
Happy travels everyone!
