Loire and the South of France tour

It might be, it might not. We did the tour 6 years ago in late May and in some regions the temps reached 95 and other days it was an average in the mid 70's. Anywhere you go in Europe you can't count on their being AC.

See if you can squeeze a small fan in your luggage for air movement and white noise.

We will be in Europe beginning September 1 and the places we are staying don’t have air conditioning. We will be taking a fan with us to keep the air moving at night and provide some white noise. It is lightweight and folds flat. I got one in blue because I wanted it to stand out. Apparently that color is no longer an option, but there are many others to choose from.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C7828H28?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

I would contact the tour office and ask if there are any hotels without AC on your tour. I thought I read or heard RS tours were moving away from non-AC hotels because of so many complaints.

Andrea, have you done a 'test run' on the fan to see how much air it actually moves? It sounds like such a great option.

Laurie Beth, I have tried it at home and if not placed too far away it works fine. I actually got a 2nd one for my husband so we can have one on each side of the bed. Of course it can be placed wherever one wants it. When I bought the first one my daughter was visiting from Washington State. They don’t have AC and I ended up giving it to her so she could place it on her desk. She works remotely from home and she loves it. I promptly ordered another one.

Thanks for that rousing endorsement. Sounds like something I should consider.

Update about using a portable fan:

It was 100 degrees here today and it got to be 80 in our house. Rather than turn on the AC we got out our fans and put one on either side of our sofa. They have 3 speeds. We have them on low and feel quite comfortable. I don’t know how long they hold a charge but they can be used while plugged in. The cord is USB C on one end and USB A on the other end.

Thank you to everyone who replied. I will look into the folding fan and give the RS company a call to see if they can provide any information on the AC and/or window screen situation of the selected hotels.

My advice would be to take the Off mosquito repellant packets. On our numerous trips to Europe (14 now) I cannot think of very many hotels that had window screens, lightweight curtain sheers but not screens…. I do remember a newer B&B in Tuscany and I remember it because it was so unusual to have them.

So funny! I also asked Rick Steves' staff about this tour for June 2026. They said that some hotels (but not all) on this itinerary have air-conditioning, and if we’re too sensitive to heat, it’s better to go from October to April. They mentioned some members bring portable fans, and some hotels also have fans for guests to borrow.

I liked their suggestion of going to bed with wet hair and socks. I’ll definitely try that out. Plus the fans.

Confuso....wet socks? to bed? OR just wet hair? I'm intrigued.

Yes, that's what they said! Wet hair and wet socks. I'll give it a try in case it happens :)

Just a couple of tips if the weather is warm and no AC. Keep all your curtains and shades drawn while you are out of your room during the day to keep out the sun. When in your room before retiring for the evening, open your hotel room door a bit with some windows open. This will help circulate air from other cooler parts of the hotel into your room. Don't expect screens on windows. I have never seen them and it is the most puzzling thing I encounter in Europe when in a hotel without AC.

No one can predict the temp, but the second week in June might not be too warm. Also, still puzzled why in 2025 any tour group stays in a hotel without AC. Its not like the daily rate of a tour is inexpensive. The time spent in a hotel room is really limited to sleeping when you really want a decent temp and a good nights sleep to be ready for the next day.

Just to say we returned last week. Yes it was a hot one! Most hotels had AC. In Europe they don’t run AC until June 1st. Thank god it was June 1 st, they were running 12 degrees above normal in Paris this year.
I found yes you have to have something, for sure. You are so darn tired at the end of the day, you just fall into bed!
Such a great Trip! Would recommend, and do to anyone !!!
Can’t say enough good about the tour. Great staff, shout out to Stephanie and Albert

I did this tour last year, last 2 weeks of May and I have to say for the first half of the tour the weather was cold and rainy, until we got to the southern part of France, then we actually had some warmth, which by then was welcome! I do not remember A/C or lack of it being a problem, I was actually using the heated towel rails in the bathrooms to keep warm more than trying to stay cool! Weather in the northern half of France can be quite unpredictable at that time of year and did impact the enjoyment of the trip....in my opinion!

I went on this tour end of September 2023 and it was hot!! The hotel in Chinon had no AC and even with a fan it just blew hot air. Overall this was the least favorite RS tour of the 8 I have taken. Besides the heat we did have bus problems and it was during the Rugby World Cup. Rick did send some $ afterwards to make up for it, so that was nice.