My Way France tours: questions

Well, I'll reply, although I did the My Way France in 2023. I have been to Europe 22 times and this was the first tour I have taken. I chose it because it was my first time traveling solo and because it would get me to some places not easily reached by public transportation, which is my preferred method of travel. I was happy with the idea of planning my own meals and sightseeing.

Hotels were Hotel Apollinaire in Paris, Allobroges Park Hotel in Annecy, Hotel Chaptal in Amboise (my notes say "room was extra tiny"), Mercure Lyon Centre Plaza Republique in Lyon, Hotel Bristol in Avignon and Hotel Aston La Scala Nice. As a solo traveler, my rooms were generally small but that didn't bother me. In one hotel, there was no hot water on our departure morning, but I hesitate to call them out because they were as upset as I was. Most hotel breakfasts were quite nice.

Our morning departures were all between 8:00 and 9:00, more were toward 8:00.

I am a fairly asocial person myself, so probably not the one to ask about mixing as I tend not do do so. I did join a couple for meals once or twice. I enjoyed most of the people on the tour but just "want to do what I want to do" about eating and sightseeing. I didn't feel there were cliques; most were doing their own thing.

The main reason I probably won't do another Rick Steves tour of either type is because of the short stays - we had two nights each in six towns. That's too speedy for me. I returned to Europe (Italy) later in 2023 and stayed 3 nights in two towns and 9 nights in another.

We were part of a My Way France tour this past May, so glad to pass along while everything's still fresh.

• 1. can you tell me, what hotels have the tours been staying at? did you like them? if not, why not?

The hotels on our itinerary were the same as those Janet referenced from her 2023 trip, with one exception. In Amboise we stayed at Hotel Bellevue, at the foot of Royal Castle and across the street from Loire River bridge and walk paths. Overall the hotels were fine, as were the day-starting breakfasts. The desk manager at one place wasn't too helpful, but he was the exception on an otherwise positive roster of hotel stays.

2. how early in the AM, did the bus have to leave typically, to get going on the road?

Most mornings we were on the bus at 8:00 or 8:30, depending on the distance and time required to get to that day's activity and/or destination.

3. Did you find on your tour, the travelers mixed as a group and did some activities together, or did mostly everyone disappear for the day and do their own thing? or did cliques form?

We had a GREAT group (28) of travel partners on this tour. Everybody got along and folks routinely had dinners together and buddied-up for activities; some had pre-planned (timed) reservations so they would do their thing but catch back up with the group afterwards. There was one couple who kept to themselves, but it was clear to everyone they were somewhat introverted, and everyone respected their space.

FWIW, this was our first My Way tour, after having been on two 'classic' RSE tours. It fit exactly what we wanted, the efficiency of group transportation with flexibility to see and do what we wanted. It also helped that this specific itinerary included places we especially wanted to see but weren't comfortable tackling the drives' on our own (Chenonceaux, Annecy, Pont du Gard, Arles).

thank you Matt and Janet for the prompt reply

Recently returned from this tour.
1. Hotels: Paris- Hotel Lenox Montparnasse; Amboise- Hotel Chaptal; Lyon- Hotel Mercure; Annecy- Allobroges Park Hotel; Avignon- Hotel Le Cloitre St. Louis Avignon; Nice- Hotel Aston La Scala

1A- Paris- Hotel was nice. Loved that the balcony doors could be opened for fresh air; good breakfast; location was great (laundromat, grocery, fruit store all within the same block; easy walk to metro and restaurants). Street could be noisy, but with doors closed it was nice and quiet. Small fridge in room, if I am remembering correctly.

Amboise- location was great- easy walk to everything. Our room looked out on the roof, but we weren't there to spend a lot of time in the hotel so we didn't care. I didn't like that the CO2 levels got above 3000 every time we closed the windows, so I had to keep airing out the room. Great breakfast.

Lyon- most problematic room. AC kept making weird noises, internet access was not available (hotel wi-fi not working); location not great. We were close to the expensive new shops but a longer walk from the old town where we wanted to explore. Also, windows didn't open (big negative for us). Small fridge in room.

Annecy- Nice large room- no fridge. Another room with high CO2 readings, but the windows opened, so that was okay. Weak shower pressure. Good location and good breakfast.

Avignon- this was the wildest hotel we stayed in. Looked like an old monastery or something. Kept getting lost in the hotel! Super large room (though ours had a spiral staircase to go downstairs to the bathroom which was a bit of a pain). AC couldn't keep up with the size of the room. Fridge in room. Pool on roof. Nice breakfast.

Nice- Best breakfast of all the hotels. Modern, lots of staff, typical elevators (large, compared to all the other ones). Windows opened, but again, we were facing a wall and the roof, so not a great view. No fridge. Only hotel where they made it clear you were NOT allowed to bring food back to your room from breakfast (but when they saw our masks they gave us a tray and let us take our meal to our room- super nice of them).

For me, I just reminded myself that we were in France and that what I was looking forward to had nothing to do with the hotel rooms. As long as we had a clean, safe place to sleep at night, that was the important thing. Even the smaller or funkier places had their own charms, and they all contributed to an interesting experience. I don't think I actually would have enjoyed it as much if we were staying in traditional American style hotels!

1. I think we left between 8:00 and 9:00 most traveling days.

2. In our particular group, we didn't notice people doing much together, other than the organized activities. For example, our guide arranged a picnic when we went to Pont du Gard and most people gathered by the river and ate together. There were a few other times he organized activities and I think about half the group attended, maybe. But other than that, I never noticed people really doing much together. Sometimes, if we ended up in the same general area, people would come join each other (for example, while touring a castle, some of us ended up in the garden having lunch at the same time, and we shared a table). But that was coincidental and not planned.

For the actual being on your own each day- I'm pretty positive everyone did their own thing (I could tell from how they talked about what they did when we all joined up on the bus or when we were making small talk at rest stops).

Hope some of this is helpful.

thank you robintz for the detailed notes!
I might ask you to PM me separately: what kind of CO2 monitor do you use/carry? I really like that you were checking the rooms' for circulation effectiveness.

thank you KD for the insight. (I'm not sure why, but your post was removed)
My question about the cliquey or inclusiveness of the My Way tour stems from some experiences on other (non MyWay) RS tours. A topic for a different thread, but not everyone has been lucky to have a wonderful experience with all the people in a tour group.

Hope my thoughts gave you another perspective. I accidentally deleted it when I went to edit on my phone not wearing appropriate glasses! Anyway, hope it’s a marvelous trip and that you don’t encounter any unfriendly types on any kind of future tour.

emphasized textFWIW, this was our first My Way tour, after having been on two 'classic' RSE tours. It fit exactly what we wanted, the efficiency of group transportation with flexibility to see and do what we wanted. It also helped that this specific itinerary included places we especially wanted to see but weren't comfortable tackling the drives' on our own (Chenonceaux, Annecy, Pont du Gard, Arles).”

I agree with Matt’s observations. My husband and I are experienced travelers, and usually plan our own trips. We chose the My Way Italy tour last fall because it got us to places that would have been more challenging on our own. We enjoyed the tour manager’s overviews and familiarity with each city, and did make reservations ahead of time for the things we really wanted to see. We loved having the freedom to move at our own pace each day. It was nice to get to know new friends in our group, and compare notes as we traveled together. It is a faster pace (2 nights per city) than we usually choose…but it was a wonderful experience for us for many of the reasons others posted above.

Looking back, it’s pretty amazing that we were able to see as much as we did, thanks to the tour. We added on some extra nights at the end, in Rome and then Orvieto. We were seeking a calm end to the busy pace of the tour. I’d recommend that approach to anyone taking a My Way Tour. Our tour manager was really helpful to our members in offering suggestions for those extra days after the tour. She had a lot of expertise to share…I imagine your tour manager will be able to do the same.

Now this fall, we are planning a much slower trip, with 7 days in one spot, and 9 in another, and that sounds great, too. :-)

I hope you have a great trip!

Laurie

Does anyone know why the hotel names are not posted prior to purchasing the trip? I've never prepaid for a trip not knowing where I'll be staying. I really appreciate the information in these posts, but I guess it's safe to say the hotels can change at any time. I hope they are at least 3star accommodations. Thanks!