It's a new year, so time to plan a new trip to France!

This episode is the first in Season Six of the Loulabelle's FrancoFiles podcast with me (Lou) chatting to Alex Ganipeau from The French Hack. 

After having many Francophiles get in touch with me about their upcoming intended travel to France, we thought it a good opportunity to chat about our experiences of planning trips to France in recent years but also plans for each of us with our intended trips coming up in 2025.

With Alex being French, there is a different experience to me, as I travel as a tourist albeit a tourist with extensive experience traveling in France. For Alex I imagine all her friends and family want to see her! But apparently even for French ex-pats living elsewhere, they want to return to France and explore just as us foreign tourists. 
So the tips we touched on in this episode:

* who is coming on your trip? (just me/ me & girlfriends/ me & my husband/ me & family including kids)
* consider the ages and capacity of your attendees. This will impact your choices for the type of accommodation (eg: toddlers who many need a nap) or your mode of travel.
*what region is on the wish list? Are there particular things some attendees have on their not-to-be-missed list?
*what is the weather preference of the participants? I personally happen to dislike excessively hot weather, so I'll head to the south of France further away from the summer months. Weather preference is important when deciding on the region and time of year to visit.
*luggage tips for road-trips and safety


I usually work out 1. what region I am going to be in and simultaneously 2. ascertain what sort of transport will be required for 3. the amount of participants and their capacities. I don't lock in anything until these three things are clearly sorted! Each thing can impact the other.

After the transport and region is sorted I divide the planning into 3 separate sections:
1. accommodation
2. activities
3. the boring but essential stuff (including but not limited to - check your passport is valid and has at least 6 months left on it after your return from your trip/ check visa requirements/ insurance/ finance including currency cards or banking/ medical check ups before travel and plan medication requirements)

But mainly the most important thing is to plan ahead to allow time for the magic to happen. Without good prior planning the travel experience can be very stressful, but conversely with an itinerary that is too tightly planned with a rushed and full schedule, the possibility for magical moments will be severely diminished. Allow space in the itinerary for spontaneity. Immerse in SLOW TRAVEL!

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Louise Prichard is the host of the Loulabelle's FrancoFiles podcast.
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