DETAILS

French Road Trip

GETTING AROUND: For my road trip from Paris to the Loire Valley and back, I rented a Ford Focus through Auto Europe (888-223-5555, http://www.autoeurope.com/ ), a consolidator. The information on cost and location proved incorrect when I picked up the car at the Europcar counter at Charles de Gaulle International Airport, but the company finally gave me the online price -- $217 for four days. Note that many cars in Europe have stick shifts and that you may have no other option. Ask for specific instructions on how to pick up the car -- don't go to the wrong terminal. Allow extra time for dealing with what might be a long line at the rental counter.

I found that a little more than half a tank of gas cost about $40. For four days, I spent about $100 on gas. A two-hour drive on the A10 toll road cost nearly $20.

WHERE TO STAY: I had good luck finding hotels online through Booking.com ( http://booking.com/ ), which features helpful reviews by ordinary travelers. Single rooms can be found for less than $60 a night, even at the last minute. Check to see if breakfast is extra, and decide if the cost is worth it. In hindsight, I would have skipped the $10-per-person breakfast fee at our hotels and let the kids go hungry. -- Joel Achenbach