Drive vs train
 

Am I crazy for wanting to drive roundtrip Paris-Avigon? Will have 4 people. I figure the cost savings would outweigh, or equal, the added hassle. The main fear I have is just negotiating out/into Paris. Thought about taking the Metro as far as I could south, and rent a car from there. Any thoughts?

I hired a car and drove out of and back into Paris (Gare de L'est and then CDG airport).

I also had to deal with the fact that the driving is done on the opposite side of the road to what I'm used to.

We had GPS and had no major problems at all. We actually did very well. But I went to mappy.com beforehand and printed out where I was going to and thorouhly read those directions and gave myself a reasonable idea of which way I was heading out of Paris, my travel buddies also did the same thing so there were four of us in the car with a bit of an idea of which way we were going. The GPS just made it that much easier.

We were on the road for about 6 days and I had the mappy.com directions for all our major trips printed beforehand - it does help a lot I found.

Driving in a foreign country just adds to the adventure, I think. The only 'event' we really had was when we were waiting at a set of lights and we were at the front and had to make a left turn,and well, I just turned left into the left lane instead of the right. We all realised the error early on everyone around us was laughing and made room for us to get to where we needed to be. (Four women in a car loaded with suitcases and all reading maps kind of gives it away I suppose).

Trains are nice, but with 4 people its definately worth the cost to drive especially if you want to take some side trips on the way. Paris isnt that hard to drive in, so just get a car near your hotel.(imo)

If worried about driving in Paris

a weekend departure - esp Sunday morning is much more calm on the roads

or hop the RER to Marne-la-Vallee-euro Disney, rent a car there and you are already well out of the Paris connurbation

I've driven every stretch of the freeway between Paris & Avignon several times. I would never think of doing it all at once - unless I took at least 3 days/2 night to do so each way.

From Paris to Avignon, the sun will be in the driver's face most of the time. This makes me quite tired & drowsy.

Most of the road is 2 lanes in each direction. The right lane is for driving, and the left for passing. Trucks must keep in the right lane, so you will constantly be passing slower moving trucks. As you pass the truck, you will need to keep an eye in the rear view mirror to see if anyone is passing you while you are passing the truck. There will be 3-6 "deviations" along the way where everyone is channeled into 1 lane while work is being performed on the other lane. When this happens, you will drive at the pace of the slowest truck - maybe 45mph.

The drive is about 80% non scenic - especially in the Rhone valley where there is lots of ugly commerce & nuclear power plants. You may hit some horrendous commute traffic around Lyon. Driving into Paris is extremely difficult & stressful.

I did not do the math, but I suspect 4 PREM fares will be less expensive than:

- Freeway tolls (see www.viamichelin.com)
- 1 or 2 extra days of car rental
- gas
- meals
- 1/2 to 1 day of lost vacation while driving.

Stu Dudley

Not crazy for wanting to do it, but possibly crazy for actually doing it.

You couldn't pay me enough....

NOT scenic, NOT relaxing, NOT that much of a savings over taking the train, assuming you can get PREMs fares.

Getting out of Paris is by far the easy part.

I agree with StuDudley's cost analysis. PREM tickets (purchased 60 days in advance and non-refundable) would probably be less than the total cost of the car, tolls, and fuel (picking the car outside Paris would probably mean Orly which would add 60 euro for the RER ride and a probable airport pickup fee equal to a day's rental, + the added hassle of hauling the luggage to Orly).

I think Stu Dudley makes a good point. In my opinion, you need to decide whether to enjoy the drive to Avignon or to get there ASAP by train. One day is indeed very difficult, so consider a more scenic route and make 2 days out of it, enjoying other sights along the way.

For instance, take the autoroute through Clermont-Ferrand and then veer southeast toward Puy-en-Velay to see some interesting scenery and some charming villages on the way to Avignon. It's your decision as to whether you want to make it a more leisurely trip or a quick one. Good luck.

Hi pt,

RT will be about 45E pp.

www.viamichelin.com says you can expect to pay about 110E each way in tolls and petrol.

Plus the cost of the car.

((I))

Just to agree, unless you want to make stops on the way, driving is not worth it.

The TGV to Avignon is a very pleasant four-hour journey. And, if you want to spend a day or two actually in Avignon, don't pick up the rental until you are ready to leave.

Cost

Drive
- tolls & gas - round trip 220E
- Car rental - 1 extra day 40E, 2 extra days 80E (w/o CDW)
- meals - 60-80E

total - 210 to 270E
lost/wasted vacation time ?????

TGV
Current PREM fares 35E each X 4 = 140E

Stu Dudley

Oops - I forgot that you must return to Paris on the train

Total train cost is 280E

Stu Dudley

Some posters are missing the extra value of renting a car: ie They let you keep it for the WHOLE rental period. There are quite a few side trips you can do from Avignon or on the way to Avignon.

I believe all of us who posted are assuming the ptphil will pick up a car as soon as he arrives in Avignon.

The question as I read it has to do with how to GET there.

StC
I think he initially wanted to take the Metro to the south of Paris then get a car.

my math is horrible

Total car cost 320 to 380E

Total train cost 280E

Of course I assumed he/she would rent a car in Avignon. The car cost estimate is for a compact - which might be small for 4 people with luggage. I would perhaps add 30E more to the car cost.

Stu Dudley

ira's TGV cost may be for an iDTGV (or something like that), which is even better, making the train cost 180E vs 350-400E for a car.

Stu Dudley

phil,

It doesn't seem to be much of a savings, if that's the main reason for doing it, but I certainly don't think it's a crazy idea. According to viamichelin it's about 420 miles; we often drive further than that in a day when we're on a trip. Traffic, sun etc. will depend in part on when you leave. If you would like to make some scenic detours along the way, the flexibility of the car will be nice to have. The suggestion of heading towards Clermont-Ferrand is a good one; we did that years ago and there was some lovely scenery along the way. If just getting to Avignon is the priority, though, you will probably be happier with the train.

The TGV is 2 hrs 40 mins - not 4 hrs. I would try to get the 7:45 am train from Paris which arrives in Avignon at 10:25.

From Paris to Avignon, if you leave by car in the morning you are initially heading south-southeast. About half way, you head more directly south. - so the sun will be in your face for almost all the trip - unless you are traveling at night.

The scenery is actually better from the train than from the car - and 4 people will get good views on the train - possibly only 2 in the car.

Ther TGV is about equivalent to a business class airplane seat as far as comfort is concerned. Some seats are 4 facing each other with a table in between. If 2 of the 4 are children, "games" using the table are possible.

Stu Dudley

From a car/road/driving enthusiast...

Train (PREM) on your travel TO Avignon. Drive back, stopping along the way all the places you'd like to visit.

Here are two suggestions to add to your (probably already long) list: http://www.chateauxandcountry.com/chateaux/longsard and http://www.beursaudiere.com

Best wishes,

Rex