Sightseeing in France: American ex-pat driver for private minivan excursions in English

Hi! My name is Christian : Private driver-guide providing sightseeing tours in France.
***Bordeaux: Dordogne, Lascaux, Sarlat-le-Caneda, Rocamadour, St Emilion, Medoc, Arcachon
***Basque Country: Biarritz, St Jean de Luz, Guethary, Espellette
***Toulouse: Carcassonne, Cathar country, Albi, St Cirq, Lourdes
***Loire Valley: Renaissance castles - Chenonceau, Chambord
***Normandy, Brittany, Burgundy, Champagne, Provence, Monaco. . .

  • American Driver/Guide : Expatriate in France since 1992.
    Quality, custom service: authentic excursions into the heart of France and French Culture.

  • With over years’ experience driving in France, I provide safe transport and historical commentary with personal anecdotes about life in France as an American expatriate.

  • My objective is to help you to maximize your time spent here in France - so that you will most comfortably enjoy all the beauty and history - that you return home filled with spectacular memories of a marvelous adventure.

  • Having a unique point of view due to my international education and experiences, and a profound understanding of both French and American cultures, I know what English-speaking tourists are looking for in France - and can share this with you!. . . .
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i get groups of people staying here who may be interested,
we are Gensac 33890
Would be interested to discuss daily tours to Sarlat…on to Bergerac and return.

Hi Barbara -

Sure - I’d love to discuss tours to Sarlat; what works best for you;
I can phone you if you like,
or email me at : info@sightseeinginfrance.com

kindly,
Christian

I contacted you Christian but you have not yet got back to me.

Hi Barbara - I haven’t received your message.
Can I phone you today? 0609905297

  • Christian

There could be a group of 13 clients staying in 2 properites close to each other,
Would your transport be adequate for this group?
This would be for mid July/

Sorry Barbara - I can only take up to 8 passengers with my license.
…and I’d need to rent a vehicle. My vehicle can accommodate up to 6 passengers.

Interesting.
Let me know if you or your colleagues can service central Aveyron.

Could you share your business name, Christian? I see you mention Normandy and I think a tour of the landings beaches from an American point of view could have great appeal round here. But couldn’t find a registration for you under your own name and would obviously need to check siret etc before recommending.

Hi Anna,

The business name is: Sightseeing in France: www.sightseeinginfrance.com
I do offer tours in Normandy - its a popular destination for American visitors - not only the D-day beaches & American cemetery; but also Mont Saint Michel… Saint Malo etc.

The one thing I must point out, however - is that I live South of Bordeaux; so my expenses for offering tours in Normandy are significantly higher than for tours in the Southwest of France: Bordeaux, Dordogne, Toulouse, Carcassonne, Bayonne & Basque country.

Also - its not listed on the website, but I do have a Siret, I’d be happy to send that information.

  • Christian

Hello Roland,

I provide these private tours throughout France - and Western Europe!

However - I have not yet had the opportunity to really explore l’Aveyron on my own.

I have driven through this colorful region a few times - usually while driving from Albi to Avignon via Millau, but that’s the extent of my local knowledge for l’Aveyron.

  • I’m really a chauffeur-accompagnateur; not a “licensed guide” (guide confĂ©rencier).

I operate under the VTC license (VĂ©hicule de Tourisme avec chauffeur) - which has gotten some bad rap because of the UBER car drivers using this license via a loophole in the laws - but I believe this license was originally conceived for people offering services like me.

I mention all of this in order to be as transparent as possible.

I’d be happy to provide this service in the Aveyron.

Please feel free to contact me with any additional questions.

  • Christian

Thanks for the reply Christian. What I was thinking of probably wouldn’t be of interest to you in that case. I work with a company that runs multi-activity holidays for groups of UK school kids in Normandy and they’re always looking to extend the range of excursions they offer. But they would be looking for a regular once or twice a week commitment through summer, and unfortunately it’s a low-budget organisation because they focus on giving the kids value for money, so I suspect not a good fit from your point of view.
In any case you may not much fancy groups of 5 excited kids plus party leader :wink:

I wouldn’t mind the “groups of 5 excited kids plus party leader”, its not an issue for me.
My vehicle could comfortably accommodate a group this size.

…Once or twice a week throughout the summer - I’d say its not impossible.
If it was possible to organize the excursions over 2 consecutive days - with a 6-10 day break followed by another 2 consecutive days; then I could more realistically justify the commute.

If they were to group all of these excursions closer together - rather than spread out throughout the summer - then I could negotiate a better deal, too.

What sort of budget are we looking at?

Unfortunately would have to be week by week, simply because each group of kids stays for one week. It’s not the same group of kids that stays all summer. To keep the planning simple they like to keep the timetable the same every week - theme park on Monday, seaside on Tuesday, market on Wednesday etc - but obviously it can change if it has to. Anyway I will suggest it to the owner of the business and pass on the link to your website. I probably won’t be in touch with him until January but realistically it couldn’t start until 2018 in any case because the 2017 brochure is already out and excursions for next summer have been booked, so plenty of time to think about it. Would be nice if it worked.

Hi Christian,

Thanks you so much for your response.

Where do you begin your drives (do you live in Albi)?

I am in charge of staffing for a new chambre d’hote near Rodez. We are not quite ready to begin operations but I would love to learn more about how we might be able to work together. Our chambre d’hote is in a remote location (as is everything in Aveyron) so we will need help shuttling people here and there.

I am writing to you from California now but we can continue the conversation via email for the time being.

Thanks again.

Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.
Mark Twainhttp://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1244.Mark_Twain

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Hi Roland,

I’m afraid I live much further away than Albi. 3.5 hours West of Albi… between Bayonne & Pau.

But I don’t mind long commutes - I still work out of Paris, and even take people from Le Havre into Normandy, occasionally.
I just have to be able to justify the additional overhead.

I’ll be headed to the US this week, will be there until March - so yes, we’ll keep communicating via email.
Please contact me directly: info@sightseeinginfrance.com - I think it will be easier & more efficient.

  • Christian

Hello
Very good idea
I write a website too :" how to organised leisure near french riviera"
This website is write in english and in french too
Good luck
Best regards
vouill

Okay, I’m getting the picture.

If you find yourself in San Francisco, please drop me a line.

Ciao.

Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.
Mark Twainhttp://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1244.Mark_Twain