Return rental in Sarlat or...? Other questions.
 

I am about to reserve my car and have some last minute questions. It seems I can no longer make decisions without consulting strangers on Fodor's.

Does this make sense or can improvements be made?

March 29. Arrive Paris afternoon. Spend night.
March 30 train to Limoges a.m., arriving early afternoon. Pick up car and go to Oradour sur Glane. Spend night nearby.

March 31-drive south to Sarlat area. Spend next 5 days in that area.

Morning of 6th return car in Sarlat and take train from there back to Paris.

Long weekend in Paris and return home after Easter.

My questions:
Nova car has a VW Polo for 221E--is this a good deal?

Should we return the car from someplace other than Sarlat? My reasoning was that by the time we drive to x y or z city, any time we save on the train journey itself would be a wash.

Oh, we have been to Paris numerous times, that's why the short visit there. And this is the 1st time I've rented a car/driven overseas.

Thanks for any help offered.

Can you actually return a car to Sarlat? I would think that Brive or Souillac as suggested by Carlux on this forum are better choices as they are convenient to the train.

I'm not sure...but I dont know if you can take the train directly from Sarlat to Paris (although I may be wrong!). We dropped our car off in Toulouse and took the train from there to Paris...think it took 6 hours.

Good luck!
Jamie

Dropping off and picking up a car at the Brive train station is very easy. It's also a fast train to/from Paris.

Leely - check prices with autoeurope.
Also be aware that some companies have added a surcharge for dropping off (or picking up) a car from a train station. This used to be only airports. Ask the broker about this as they might steer you to a company that does not add this surcharge. We found it added on after our trip last spring (it's in the fine print).

Hi L,

Drop your car at Brive, perigueux, or Libourne.

There is a TGV direct from Libourne to Paris. PREMS fare 25E.

Also check prices with www.autoeurope.com and www.gemut.com

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

You can drop the car in Sarlat but your c choice of trains will be quite limited. There are many more choices from Périgueux and Brive.

Leely,
That does sound like a good deal on the car but do recognize that a VW Polo is SMALLER than a VW Golf. It is the smallest car VW makes. Nice for parking on tight European streets but maybe lacking the get-up-and-go and space that you are used to.

OK - you can probably leave your car in Sarlat IF you rent from Europcar, which is about the only rental agency in Sarlat. There is/was a Hertz, but it was so awful we never recommend it to anyone, and so even if it is still there, don't use it.

Getting by train from Sarlat to Paris:
There is no longer a train east from Sarlat to Souillac/Brive,and then north to Paris - there's a great bicycle path now. But there is a coach (bus) that goes from Sarlat to Souillac, timed to meet the north/south train.

The train still goes west from Sarlat to Bordeaux, but not that often, and then you have to connect with a train from Bordeaux (or Libourne) to Paris.

This is why we usually suggest to people that they pick up and/or leave their car in Brive la Gaillarde. It's a 4 hour train trip from Paris, the rental agencies are near the station, and it's about a 40 minute drive from Sarlat.

And, by the way, you haven't allowed anywhere near enough time in the Dordogne!

Carlux:

Before I posted my reply today I checked www.sncf.fr and there was a nontime train today from Sarlat to Paris through Souillac.

Frankly, I had been under the impression that service between Sarlat and Paris was pretty much obsolete, but though there are fewer trains than from other stations, there appear to be 2-3 a day.

And a lot of people on this board rent from AutoEurope, which works with the Sarlat EuropCar affiliate, so it wouldn't be that hard to pick up or drop off a car in Sarlat.

That said, I still wouldn't choose to leave from Sarlat.

Thanks for the replies.

"That said, I still wouldn't choose to leave from Sarlat."

Just curious, why not?

We'll probably go from Brive la Gaillarde as it looks to be a quite bit less expensive and doesn't sound too far. Can get a prem fare for 20 Euro. From Sarlat via Libourne is 59 (!). I had been thinking it would be a hassle to drive to another town in the morning if we were to stay <b>in</b> Sarlat itself, but it doesn't sounds as if that's the case.

Carlux, re: not enough time in Dordogne. You're probably right, but for a first trip I'd rather leave wanting more; that way I'll definitely return.

hausfrau, good info on VW size. The Golf is only a few Euros more.

Thank you all again. I can't wait to get past this difficult planning and get to the fun, sights-hotels-food part.

Because it's hardly a direct route no matter what the intermediary stop is and will take longer than, say, driving the half-hour to P&eacute;rigueux and hopping on a greater choice of trains.

St. Cirque--aha, I see at last. I have a difficult time gauging what's near and what's &quot;far,&quot; even as stare away at viamichelin, mappy.com et al. Just want to get there!

Just a clarification - SNCF may quote a schedule from Paris to Sarlat, but there is NO TRAIN between Souillac and Sarlat because there are NO TRACKS. What they quote is the train/bus combination, and generally the bus meets every train that stops in Souillac.

I too, however, wouldn't bother leaving the car in Sarlat, when it's so much easier and faster to drive up to Brive.

Carlux, thanks for your reply.

We are picking up the rental in Limoges and dropping off in Brive a week later.

I have another question, although I suspect the answer is largely a matter of preference. We will have six nights in the Dordogne. Should we stay in Sarlat the entire time and take day trips, or would it make sense to split up our stay at two destinations? If so, does anyone have a recommendation for our second spot?

I think the common opinion is that everything is within about a 20 km area from Sarlat so there is little reason to move. Sarlat is not the easiest place to get in and out of or park in but it can be done. There are many little villages right around that area. Are you thinking of a house? If so check out.
www.yourfriendsinfrance.org

Stay in the Sarlat area. There's more than enough to keep you occupied in the area for 6 days. No need to spplit it up to two locations.

good advice.

I am sorry to pose another question on this flogged topic but where does the train go to in Paris from Brive? We are catching a plane out of CDG in the afternoon and want to be sure we can get there in time if we take the train from Brive.

thanks

Pat

Pat - according to the SNCF website the trains from Brive arrive at the Gare d'Austerlitz. What time is your afternoon flight? If it's before 3 PM, I would sleep in Paris the night before. Not to sound alarmist, but a train delay or a train strike could make you miss your flight.

Quite honestly, I would never leave the Dordogne on any mode of transportation and expect to catch an afternoon flight out of CDG. I always give my self 3 hours (2.5 at bare minimum) to check in at that airport and get to my gate, and unless you leave the Dordogne crack of dawn, it'll be pant pant all the way. I once took a TGV from Lyon right to CDG the morning that I had a flight and even that was nerve-wracking!

Spend the night before in Paris or at the airport, IMO.

Good advice from St. C.

((I))

I got a very good rate with Kemwell.com
They are the sister company to Autoeurope. You may want to compare as I found the rates for Nova were higher for my rental in May.

thanks for your replies. Our plane is at 3:00 and we have to drop the car off first. Other options I am considering:

a. changing flight time.

b. driving up and dropping at Bastille and cabbing to airport ( would that work?)

c. any other suggestions? I know staying Paris the night before makes sense but I hate losing a night in Sarlat and hate having to find a hotel in Paris.

thanks

Pat

Sorry, I've never found an easy way to get a Paris flight without staying the night before.

I took the night train from Brive once, although I got a ride there, and didn't have to worry about leaving a rental car. didn't enjoy the experience a lot, and ended up in Paris wanting a shower and a proper rest before heading out to the airport.

You could try returning the car in Toulouse and catching a flight from there to Paris. It's about 2 1/2 hours to Toulouse on the A20. Roundabout way of getting there, but we do know people who do it. In fact some people here have flown from Brive, but the only time i looked at that option it was not cheap.

(By the way,there is a new airport opening just outside Brive next year, which might make getting here a little easier.)

I'm sure more experienced posters will jump in on this one, as I am currently planning on going to the Dorsogne for the first time (but just went through all the logistics of figuring out the best way to get there). But here is my opinion: I would not drive into Paris to return a car, if it wasn't necessary. Driving time from Sarlat to CDG without stops is about 6 hours, so if you need to be at CDG at noonish, you would have to leave Sarlat at 6 AM. But, I would be afraid to run into a problem on the way and missing my flight, and after 6 straight hours of driving, I would be pretty pooped.

If you have a choice to take a later flight, that would work. Which train were your planning on taking from Brive originally? I think if you can change your flight, you can take the 7:40 AM train that arrives into Austerlitz at 11:44. You would need 1 hour to get to the airport, plus 2-3 hours at the airport for checking-in and security + I would allow an extra hour, in case something happens. So a flight after 4:30 might work. The only problem would be that you would have to return your car in Brive without seeing the employee and leave the keys in the drop box. I would be afraid that they would charge me for something that I didn't do. If you don't change your flight, then you're looking at taking the 5:37 AM train out of Brive, so you would have to leave Sarlat at 4:30 AM. That's an early wake-up call!

Anyways, good luck on whatever you decide to do! When are you going?

Pat, if you're the freewheeling (and deep-pocketed) type who won't freak out if she misses her flight, you might just get up very early and drive, dropping your car at CDG. I don't know how you'd drop off your car in Brive for a really early train. Are the rental offices open before 8-8:30?

If it were me, I'd spend the night in Paris but I'm a nervous Nelly.

Good luck. What does the rest of your itinerary look like?

<i>I don't know how you'd drop off your car in Brive for a really early train. Are the rental offices open before 8-8:30? </i>

Technically, you can return a car before the office opens, You just need to let them know that you're doing this, and drop your keys in the Key Box outside. But frankly, I would not do this because I would be afraid they would charge me for something I was not responsible for.

Leely, I'm also a nervous nelly, and now I sleep in the town I depart from. Of course, I had not always been a nervous nelly, but after an unfortunate and expensive incident in Italy a number of years ago that involved a train strike, I'm now much more cautious.