September in France- less expensive, less crowded than August?

Jake - Are you talking about next month or next year?

Next year specifically, but also August/September in France in general.

Jake, Go for it in September or October. Prices of hotels drop. Use the public transportation to travel around. Stay away from hotels near the railroad station. They tend to be dirty. Food tends to be at least decent anywhere you go. Also, think about staying in monasteries part of the time. They are very simple and clean. They run it somewhat like B&Bs. Some of my best meals in France were at the monasteries. Ask the religious, ie, brother, priest, or sister, what the nightly donation is. It's very, very, very cheap! If you can read French, I recommend Guide des monasteres for a complete listing. (My copy is 1983 ed. Horay Guides. I hope they still print it.) Many of these monasteries have some very interesting history. Some make their own cheese(Yummy!) and sing beautiful music though you have to attend the services to hear it. Maybe then you'll have enough money to spend 1 or 2 nights in a 4 or 5 star hotel as a treat. I hope this helps a little.

I agree -- go for it in September or early October. Flight costs are somewhat lower in September, but definitely go down for early October. (I was working on both of those times for our trip, which ends up being in mid-September). But the longer you wait, the more chance the lower fares will get taken.

There are lots of ways you can economize while there in order to fit your budget, and Rick does a good job of outlining these -- picnic, pick hotels that are 10-20 euros cheaper, compare the prices for point-to-point versus railpass, etc. Most of those aren't changes that will put a big damper on your trip.

It's the experience that will last you the lifetime, and much of that isn't related to how much money you spend.

Thanks for the help. My wife and I will definately look into staying at the monastaries...sounds great!

One of the reasons we are in an August/September cruch is that we both have jobs lined up that are supposed to begin early September, but want to do all we can to minimize costs and avoiding huge crowds. We figure this is our best chance to have an extended time to travel for quite some time. What we are thinking now is that we will take a 2 1/2 to three week trip starting mid-August, starting in Paris and working our way south. Hopefully, by the end of the trip, the August crowds at the beaches will be receding just as we are approaching.

Budget wise, will $5000 be enough to carry us for that length of a trip, including airfare? We don't plan on traveling extravagantly, but don't plan on slumming our way around Europe either. A hostel/B and B/cheap hotel mix would probably suit us best.

Thanks for all your advice!

Jake, Otober would definitely be cheaper. What
transportation are you going to use? Check out
www.logisdefrance.com. Some of them serve the
evening meal, too. They are all different.
I think $5,000 will be tight but may be workable
with good planning.
I think the Monastaries is a good idea, too.

Jake, stay away from the larger towns/cities. We spent 3 weeks in France sept/oct of 2006 and spent almost as much for 4 nights hotel in Paris as we did then rest of the trip. Food is also cheaper in the country side. $5,000 will be a little tight with airfare,but France is definitely cheaper after our Labor Day and less crowded. You should be able to find good deals on hotels at this time of year. I agree with the other posters, plan on picnics for dinner and restaurants for lunch, you get the great food and experience for less money than dinner. Do your research before you go to find the less expensive towns in an area you want to visit. Have fun!

Jake, keep in mind that August is high season
so hotels and airfare will probably be higher.
Paris may not be as expensive as usual because
Europeans take their vacations then. Be sure
to get a hotel w/airconditioning.

It will make a difference. August is more expensive because it's the French vacation month. The coasts can be very crowded and are the most popular destination. We have found September an easier travel time in the country, and the weather good. Hotels tend to be more reasonable after August. If traveling by car there are "chain" hotels (like we have in the US) upon nearing major cities, and these can be reasonable. We also enjoyed picnic lunches (mostly because it saved 2-3 hrs you could be out sightseeing). It's been a few years since I've traveled France, but if we came across a "routier," around lunch time we would stop. These are French "truck stops." They had good food and were reasonable. My friends and I have traveled on a tight budget before and in order not to worry about running out of money, we have charged hotels and restaurants on one credit card. When we got home, we divided the charges and paid off the credit card. France, lots to see, never enough time. Happy travels.

September is a big tourist month. If you can wait until late Sept or early Oct, tourism should be down and the weather mild.