We just signed up for this trip.
wondering who else is going.
We live in the Atlanta area.
chris and Jane
Hi!
I'm not on this departure but am going in October. I am so hoping we will be welcomed to France by then!
For my trip, I'm going to Paris for a couple of weeks ahead of time and then will take the…
For various reasons, I can't go on this trip but the area is really fascinating. I took the RS virtual tour program and learned a lot. You might consider taking that course before your trip so that…
For my trip, I'm going to Paris for a couple of weeks ahead of time and then will take the train from Paris to Bordeaux 2 days before the start of the program. I've got reservations at the tour hotel for 2 nights ahead. It looks like there is a lot in Bordeaux that we may not see on the program plus I like to get there ahead and get settled in!
Have you traveled to Europe before? I have done a number of Road Scholar programs as well as independent travel. I prefer to arrive at the program location at least the day ahead just to give me some flex time in case of travel hiccups!
~Pam
For various reasons, I can't go on this trip but the area is really fascinating. I took the RS virtual tour program and learned a lot. You might consider taking that course before your trip so that you can be better prepared. The instructors are fabulous and you will probably get to see more of the cave art than you would in person. If you enjoy mysteries, Martin Walker's detective stories are set in this area.
I just returned from this tour and it was terrific. I loved our guide, Laurent, and the itinerary was very good.
I do recommend you keep up with requirements for entering France. Right now they are issuing a "Pass Sanitaire" which verifies that you have had a complete vaccination series. This Pass has a QR code associated with it and it is scanned for every museum, restaurant and venue for entry. It is possible for a US resident to submit their vaccine card and other supporting information (passport and airline tickets) to a French website to obtain this. You can either use a printed out copy of your Pass OR have it on your smart phone (as the French do) or I actually managed to get it on my Apple watch, lol which was easy to use without having to fumble for my phone.
I found the Road Scholar information on this process very poor so I recommend you start keeping up with requirements either by reading the Rick Steves travel forum or the Trip Advisor Paris forum. I've seen some discussion that the Pass Sanitaire program may expire in November although some opinions from French residents are that it will be prolonged. It's too early to tell if this will be necessary for next summer but I recommend you start doing research about 6 months out to see what you will need. Do not wait until you get information from Road Scholar on this.
I do recommend you have smart phones for both of you and separate email addresses if you don't already. I also recommend you have at least basic smart phone skills so you can access email and work within the TousAntiCovid app on your phone. At this time a smart phone + email is also necessary for accessing the report for the Covid Test you currently need to return to the US. This, too, was a problem for some of the folks on my tour.
DO take Zen's advice and read some of the Bruno Chief of Police series before you travel. We stayed in some small towns reminiscent of where Bruno lives and drank a lot of Bergerac wine that he also drinks, lol. Very fun!
I think you will enjoy this tour very much!
I am signed up. Going as a solo traveler for the first time. It is exciting/scary. This is my congratulation you made it to retirement in March. I am so looking forward to it!