adamc

Hi, I could sure use some advice on getting to the Dordogne.

Our flight (not booked yet) from California gets into CDG in November just after 6pm on a Thursday. However, we connect through Heathrow, landing there around 12:30pm before later continuing on to CDG.

It seems a shame to waste all that time connecting to Paris, and if there's a way to get to Sarlat from London that'd be great. Or even a way to get partway to Sarlat from either place, to break up so much travel on one day.

The two main options that came to mind are:
1. Arrive CDG, spend Thursday night near the airport, then take the train to Sarlat. Arrive in Sarlat late Friday afternoon.

2. Arrive LHR, take bus to Stansted, fly to Sarlat. Arrive in Sarlat very very late Thursday night.

We have to factor in this is the first day of our trip, so we're likely to be a bit loopy. Maybe doing a bus connection and then late flight is crazy?

Thanks so much for the suggestions.

ira

Hi adam,

We flew to Bordeaux via CDG, stayed near St. Emilion (abt 1 hr by car from the airport), from which you could drive to Sarlat in a few hrs.

From whence are you departing?

adamc

Hi Ira, we're flying from San Francisco. Connecting to BOD from CDG sounds like a good option, perhaps there are cheap flights from LHR too.

CotswoldScouser

There is no airport at Sarlat. The following notes apply to summer timetables: there are fewer flights to the area in winter, when you'll be travelling.

You'll probably just about have time to catch the 1900-ish Ryanair to Bergerac from STN. With the hour's time change, you may not want to do that last drive on from Bergerac.

The only flight from LHR to anywhere in SW France is the 1235 to Bordeaux that takes off just as you're landing. You can search the STN, LGW, Southampton, LTN and Birmingham websites for other flights to Limoges, Bergerac or Bordeaux. But, although all these airports have direct links to Heathrow, you really need to allow 4-5 hours between landing and taking off at the distant airport. Which makes that Ryanair to Bergerac look like the only alternative to going on to CDG.

If it's going in November.

StCirq

You definitely don't want to take a train to Sarlat for starters. Your destination, if by train, should be Périgueux, Brive, or Bordeaux. You'll need to allow for 5 hours of train travel minimum, so flying into CDG and taking a train to get to the Sarlat area on the same day doesn't look feasible. And there's no way to get to Sarlat from CDG anyway - you'd need to go into Paris.

I'd look into flights to Bergerac or Bordeaux from London. Or spend a night in Paris and then take the train to Périgueux, Brive, or Bordeaux, with Périgueux being the closest option to Sarlat.

adamc

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions so far.

I see there's CDG - BOD flight departing at 9pm, so presumably that's enough time to make the connection after landing at 6:15 from LHR on British Midlands. Then, spend the night in Bordeaux, and either take the train or rent a car the next day.

Or, if the connection is too tight, spend the night near CDG then catch a flight to BOD the next day and continue on from there.

While flying from a London airport is an option, doing the connection out of LHR seems like it might be a bit of a hassle.

Thank you again for all the good advice.

Mimar

How about flying nonstop into CDG, then flying south? Delta and Air France fly nonstop from SFO arriving mid day. Should be enough time to connect with a flight south.

adamc

Hi Mimar, if I wasn't constrained by using United (frequent flyer miles) then that'd be a great option. Thanks for the suggestion.

ira

Hi adam,

I wouldn't suggest flying into LHR and then trying to to get to LTN, STN or LGW for a flight to France.

United does have flights to BOD.

Carlux

If you are coming into CDG and heading for Sarlat, by far the easiest approach is to take the train to Brive and pick up a car there. As mentioned earlier, there is no train to Sarlat - it's a very nice bicycle path now. If you will be stopping in London, a flight to Bergerac isnt a bad idea, as long as you will be in the correct terminal - international flights usually arrive in Heathrow, Bergerac flights leave from Stansted. We always have our guests come straight down from Paris to Brive - not a TGV but by far the most direct.

You CAN NOT fly to Sarlat.

adamc

Thanks again for all the good advice. We decided we'll spend the night at CDG (can get a free room at the Hilton), and then fly to BOD first thing the next morning.

Afterwards we'll either pick up a rental car at BOD and drive from there, or else take the train to Brive and get a car there.

Any suggestions on which city for picking up a car?

StCirq

If your destination is Sarlat, it wouldn't make sense to take a train from Bordeaux to Brive, when you can take the Corail to Périgueux and be only 40 minutes from Sarlat.

The drive from Bordeaux is ok - will take you about 2.5 hours, and you could stop at St-Emilion and maybe even take a little dip south to Monbazillac. You'll pass through Castillon-la-Battaile, where the final battle of the Hundred Years War was staged, thereby returning Aquitaine to France forever. And there are vineyards for miles in every direction.

But if you want to get there quickly, take the train to Périgueux - it takes an hour - and pick up your car there. The rental agencies, with one exception, are right there at the train station.

ira

Hi A,

If you are staying overnight at CDG, I suggest that you take the TGV from Roissy CDG 2 to Libourne (57E PREMS fare) and pick up a car there.

Europcar has an office across the street from the train station. See www.autoeurope.com

It is easier than navigating out of Bordeaux.

michaelmarcia

You can fly from Orly to Brive on AIR LINAIR which can be booked through Air France. The flight takes about 70 minutes and there is a Hertz rent a car at the Brive airport. We did this 2 years ago and it was a very easy trip.

adamc

My wife and I really appreciate all the suggestions, it's such a tremendous help!

I looked at the train connections out of Bordeaux to Périgueux -- we'd be landing around 8:30 on Friday, and the next train is around 10:30 (arriving Périgueux just before noon).

It seems like even accounting for retrieving bags and the car, we'd be getting into Périgueux by train at about the time we'd arrive in Sarlat after driving.

Given whatever hassle there is driving out of Bordeaux, or of making our way from the airport to the train station, any recommendations on which approach to take?

klondike

If you are not interested in Bordeaux itself, then training to Libourne from CDG makes a lot of sense, as someone already mentioned. It basically bypasses Bordeaux and there is a car rental right in front of the train station.

We love driving any party of this area. The main road Bordeaux to Bergerac is probably the least interesting for me (though still acceptable), but from then on it's gorgeous following along La Dordogne. A lunch stop in St. Emilion would be fun.

Have a wonderful trip no matter what

Carlux

I think you need t take a look at a map before going any further. The reason we have people come to Brive is that it is directly south of Paris. The train leaves from Gare d'Austerlitz (RER train or taxi from CDG) and goes directly south towards Toulouse, stopping at Brive, where there are car rental agencies. From there it's about 40 minutes drive to Sarlat.

Driving from Paris is not too difficult either - again you are coming directly south, mostly on the A20 autoroute.

Going to Libourne/Bordeaux you are taking a much longer route - two sides of a triangle versus one straight line, in order to get back to Sarlat.

It's also possible to fly south to Toulouse from CDG and then drive back up, about 2 hours. We've never done the Paris/Brive flight.

adamc

Just to close out this thread, thank you all again so much for all the help and advice.

You've all been fantastically helpful!

Adam & Erica