Frequently Asked Questions

Our travelers tend to be in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, though we welcome adults of all ages. Tours are designed for adults (21+), but we do welcome teens aged 15 and older when accompanied by a parent or guardian.

We design our tours for curious travelers who enjoy a comfortable pace, cultural immersion, and meaningful interactions with local guides—no age requirement, just a love of exploring France!

To join our tours, guests should be able to:
-Walk 15 minutes at a comfortable pace
-Go up one flight of stairs without assistance
-Stand for 15 minutes
-Walk on a few cobblestones

Canes and walking sticks are welcome and encouraged if you need them for balance.

Most days involve 1.5–3 miles of walking, usually spread throughout the day with breaks. Guests who prefer can skip some walking tours to reduce walking, as long as the minimum requirements above are met.

If you enjoy walking, there’s also plenty of opportunity to add extra steps during free time, exploring towns and sights at your own pace.

If you have any questions please send us an email at contact@tripusafrance.com

Unfortunately, walkers and wheelchairs are not permitted on our tours. Canes and walking sticks are welcome and encouraged for guests who use them for balance.

The new ETIAS travel authorization IS NOT operational yet.

It is expected that the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) will be operational from the end of 2026.

We will notify everyone that booked a tour by email once the ETIAS is starting to be enforced.
You can also check the official website: https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias/faqs-etias_en

During the checkout process an account has automatically been created.
This is the link to access your account: https://bookings.tripusafrance.com/login
In your account you will be able to see your booking and pay the remaining amount due.

A $500 deposit is due at booking per participant. This deposit becomes non-refundable 180 days before the tour start date.

If you are booking a tour that is starting within 180 days, the full payment will be due at booking. You can still get a full refund if cancelling within 48hrs as long as the reservation was not made less than 60 days before the tour start date. After that time, cancellation fees will apply as described in our terms and conditions policy.

Here is our terms and conditions: https://tripusafrance.com/terms-and-conditions/

The remaining payment is due 180 days before your tour starts.

You will receive a notification 2 weeks before the payment is due with a payment link. This notification with the payment link will be resent 1 week before and 3 days before the payment due date.

Or you can pay for your balance before receiving the notification here: https://bookings.tripusafrance.com/login

Tours booked more than 180 days before the tour starting date: Full refunds will occur if cancellation notice is received more than 180 days from the start date of the tour that was booked. Within 180 days from the tour start date, your payment is immediately subject to the cancellation fees that are outlined in our terms and conditions.

Tours booked within 180 days: Can be cancelled at no charge within 48 hours of booking, after that your payment is immediately subject to the cancellation fees that are outlined in our terms and conditions.
Here is our terms and conditions: https://tripusafrance.com/privacy-policy/

Yes, there will always be at least one vegetarian option on the menu. And if not, we will always be able to work something out with the chef! We have very good relationships with our partner restaurants and they are always happy to accommodate our guests with special diets.

If you are traveling from overseas, arriving a day before the tour is a great idea. You will be able to recover from the overnight flight and in the event of your flight being late/canceled this should allow you to arrive on time for the beginning of the tour.

You can add an extra night before the tour directly at booking on all our tours.

You can also add extra nights after the tour for our 8 day South of France tour and also 8 day South of France tour – Special Lavender directly at booking.

Normandy Tour:
– Starting point: Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile hotel in Paris (transfer to hotel not included)
– Ending point: Hotel in CDG. Hotel Shuttle available for CDG airport.

South of France Tour:
– Starting & Ending point: Montpellier’s airport (MPL) or Train Station St Roch or Train Station Sud de France. (Pick up and Drop off to these locations included)

Bordeaux & Dordogne Tour:
– Starting Point: BOD airport or Mercure Airport Hotel or St Jean train station. Please note that pick up is ONLY included on the 1st day of the tour. If you decide to arrive before the tour starts transfer to Hotel Vatel is not included.
– Ending Point: Mercure Airport Hotel. Drop off to train station St Jean or Hotel Shuttle for the airport is included.

These airport recommendations are for people flying directly to the tour starting point. If you have some pre-tour activities you may want to look into taking the train.

Normandy Tour: the main international airport in Paris is Charles-de-Gaulle (CDG). There is also an other airport in Paris called Orly (ORY) with fewer routes available.

South of France Tour: You should fly to Montpellier (MPL) airport. Be careful don’t book a flight to Marseille (MRS) airport which is located about 2hrs from Montpellier.
Tip: You could fly to Barcelona and take a train from Barcelona to Montpellier if you wish to extend your trip to Spain. (3.5h train ride)

Bordeaux & Dordogne Tour: You should fly to Bordeaux (BOD) airport.

Unfortunately we cannot book your flight for you. But if you are having trouble finding a flight, you can contact us at contact@tripusafrance.com and we can help you finding a good flight.

Train tickets go on sale 3 months in advance (4 months early for trains coming from the rest of Europe, 6 months early for Eurostar coming from England) but you can already check the train schedule here: https://en.oui.sncf/en/ Enter your criteria, click search, and scroll down past the “it’s too early to book” message. You can even sign up to receive an alert when the train tickets will go on sale.

To book your train ticket you should do so at https://www.raileurope.com/ because the “Oui SNCF” website often won’t accept foreign credit cards.

Travel insurance is highly recommended. We recommend comparing travel insurance options here

Our travelers tend to be in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, though we welcome adults of all ages. Tours are designed for adults (21+), but we do welcome teens aged 15 and older when accompanied by a parent or guardian.

We design our tours for curious travelers who enjoy a comfortable pace, cultural immersion, and meaningful interactions with local guides—no age requirement, just a love of exploring France!

To join our tours, guests should be able to:
-Walk 15 minutes at a comfortable pace
-Go up one flight of stairs without assistance
-Stand for 15 minutes
-Walk on a few cobblestones

Canes and walking sticks are welcome and encouraged if you need them for balance.

Most days involve 1.5–3 miles of walking, usually spread throughout the day with breaks. Guests who prefer can skip some walking tours to reduce walking, as long as the minimum requirements above are met.

If you enjoy walking, there’s also plenty of opportunity to add extra steps during free time, exploring towns and sights at your own pace.

If you have any questions please send us an email at contact@tripusafrance.com