San Sebastian to the Dordogne? Best way?
 

I will be renting a house in Domme with friends next October. Prior to the week in Domme, two of us would like to spend a few days in San Sebastian/Fuenterabbia. My questions are: What is the best way to travel from the Basque coast of Spain to the Dordogne? We will rent a car at some point but would like to make much of the trip by public transport (train, I hope). At the train station most convenient to Domme, we can pick up the rental car, so this destination must have rental car options fairly close to the train station. You all have been very helpful with directions from Paris to the Dordogne by train; now I need the info from another perspective.

Second question: I will probably fly JFK-Paris, then change planes to access the Basque area. (JFK-Paris-Biarritz??) If so, how can I proceed from the French airport closest to San Sebastian (Biarritz?) to the city itself by public transport? To summarize: Here is the plan for a 2-3 week trip: Fly USA to Spanish Basque coast. Travel overland to destination close to Domme. Pick up rental car and spend one week in Domme area. Return rental car and travel by train to Paris. Five-six days Paris. Thanks so much for any and all help with logistics!

Train: San Sebastian to French border, change trains - train north to Bordeaux where you change for the sideline to Dordogne - ends at Sarlat, just a few miles from Domme. Takes about 5-6 hours with changes.

Thanks. That sounds very easy. Am I correct in thinking that we should fly to Biarritz? Can I get a train easily from there or Bayonne to San Sebastian? would those cities be on the same line as Bordeaux?

Yes - same line.
Tip- tracks in Spain are wider than those in France - thus no trains can go thru the border (except nighttime Talgo Paris-Madrid because it has moveable wheel bases - can adjust wheels at border)
thus you have to change at the border and there are not all that many trains that go onto San Sebastian - large gaps in service. So at Hendaye - last French station (trains usually go on the few miles to Irun in Spain, where you change trains) keep in mind that there is an inter-urban commuter train that runs from the Hendaye train station to San Sebastian - takes longer than mainline trains but since they run about twice hourly often get you to San Sebastian-Donestia (called Donestia (sp?) in Basque and on some schedules much quicker. Plus this commuter train runs thru several Basque villages en route - quite an interesting way to go and goes to a station closer to the center of San Sebastian that the mainline station.
Same if heading north - if mainline trains don't fit your timing take the Tren Eskro (sp ?) as i believe it's called from San Sebastian to Hendaye where there are frequent trains to Bordeaux, Biarritz or Bayonne. The Biarritz station is actually a few miles out of Biarritz - bus connection from town center.

The alternative is to pick up a car on the French side of the border and to tour some of the French Basque country and the Gascogne on the way to the Dordogne. It can be done in two days of fairly leisurely drive off the super highways.

Thanks very much! After flying to Biarritz, I did drive around the French Basque region (wonderful area and very easy to drive around) and north to Sarlat two years ago but was hoping to do the trip to the Dordogne by train this time. It sounds quite easy if I use the commuter type trains. It sounds like we do not need advance train reservations at all..just buy them when we arrive at the stations?

You won't need reservations on the Eskro train - not even possible i think or on the Bordeaux-sarlat train but will need on most Hendaye/Irun to Bordeaux trains - not just the TGVs which have always mandated reservations but now for many other trains such as those called Corail Teoz - these may well run between Hendaye and Bordeaux as well as TGVs that go to Paris via Bordeaux. You shouldn't have any problems getting reservations on the spot on Corail Teoz trains it seems but Hendaye-Paris TGVs could well be full. there also may be some non-TGV non-Corail Teoz trains running between Hendaye and Bordeaux and these you could just board - probably takes a bit longer though. Check www.sncf.com/voyages for schedules and details on reservations... and to buy tickets and reserve online.

Having got yourself to Sarlat, you now need to think about car rentals, which are not that easy. I doubt that there is anything in Domme, and in Sarlat there is a Europcar office, and a Hertz in a SHell gas station - probably the most unfriendly agency you are likely to find. So that part of your plan needs more work. I'm not familiar with car rental agencies in the towns the train goes through from Bordeaux to Sarlat - you should investigate those.

Carlux, thank you. The trip is still far away but I do need to think about the car rental. We will need an automatic (actually two since there are six of us but four will be coming from another direction); I was planning to call Autoeurope about Sarlat. If they cannot accommodate me, I will try Europcar. I remember hearing this comment about the nasty folks at Hertz Sarlat before so I will give them a wide berth. Please let me know if you, or anyone else, has any further tips on the car rental, or other aspects of this trip. And I will check out the stops on the train line Bordeaux-Sarlat to see if there are other possible rental car places. But if there is a Europcar in Sarlat, perhaps I should use them if they can give me an automatic, no??

You'll probably find it a lot easier to take a train from Bordeaux to Périgueux than to Sarlat, and it will be faster. AutoEurope is affiliated with the EuropCar outfit right outside the train station there. Then you'd have about a 45-minute drive to Sarlat.

But I'm sure AutoEurope has an affiliate in Sarlat, too.

According to Mappy, it takes 2 hrs 22 min. to go from Bordeaux to Sarlat. I suspect that this may be faster and cheaper than transferring to a train for Périgueux and then picking up a car in that town.

Thanks so much for all the help. I did the drive from Sarlat to Bordeaux about three years ago and remember much of it as a long slog on a road with a good amount of traffic so I was hoping not to have to do it again. (I also remember the many black silhouetttes marking the accident scenes) I will call the rental agency and see what turns up; Perigeaux or Sarlat sound fine for car pickup. Hopefully the automatic issue will not make things too dicey.

You can now take the autoroute from Bordeaux to Périgueux.

For Paris to San Sebastian last month I took the overnight Corail train from Paris to Hendaye. Nice train and cabin in first class. Then I hopped the local Eusko Tren to San Sebastian.

I believe it is wiser to take the train from Bordeaux to Sarlat than to Perigueux. Sarlat is only about a 10 minute drive from Domme. AutoEurope works through the EuropCar office in Sarlat. Are you renting Les Rosiers in Domme?

Hi EK,

StCirq lives near Sarlat. You might want to give her opinion more weight than others.

You will save about 2:30 hr taking the train to Perigueux, usually with fewer changes.

You can also pick up a car in Libourne (much easier than in Bordeaux) and drive to Domme via Bergerac. It is not a very scenic route, but is not without some charm and is an easy drive.

This will take about the same amount of time as picking up the car in P.

For your route to Paris, you can either drive to Libourne and drop the car there (across the street from the train station), or drop the car in P and train to Libourne.

Either way, there is a TGV from Libourne to Paris. It is easier than getting to the train station in Bordeaux. 25E one-way PREMS fare.

Have a nice visit.

((I))

From San Sebastian, there are two lines to the French border from separate stations. Eusko Tren (www.euskotren.es) runs every half hour via Irun to Hendaye, giving easy connections with French trains. RENFE (www.renfe.es) also runs local ("cercanias") trains every half hour to Irun.
From Fuenterabbia, there are frequent local buses to Irun. It would also be a short, cheap taxi journey to Hendaye: there are no controls at the border so Spanish taxis can go across the border to the French station at Hendaye.

LaTour..I just noticed that I had not responded to your question. Yes, we are renting Les Rosiers in Domme! I would love to hear your experiences there if you happen to see this post. We are a group of six friends and will be there for a week in mid-October.

ekskrunchy -- I haven't stayed at Les Rosiers because I live nearby, but I know that the owners are delightful people and it's a great house. Domme will be beautiful in October, and you'll be well-situated to see lots of caves and castles. There are a couple of great places to eat in Domme as well, which you'll be able to walk to (and stagger home from!) Have fun!

LaTour, thanks for letting me know. Louise has been lovely to deal with and we are very much looking forward to our week at her house! If you can recommend any resaurants, I would be grateful.

I am just marking this for myself and to see if there is anything else I should be aware of. The trip seems to be shaping up well. One friend and I will fly JFK-CDG- Biarritz/Bayonne and spend a few days between those cities and San Sebastian. We will probably then train to Bordeaux and (change trains/same station?) and onward to Perigeaux or possibly Sarlat with the first seeming the more likely option and the one proposed by St. Cirq. There we will pick up one of our two cars and proceed to Domme where the other members of the group may or may not be waiting.

Two members of our group will arrive in Bordeaux and spend a few nights, perhaps at either the Ste. Catherine, the Etche-Ona, or any other hotel that any of you recommend in a good and convenient area of the city. This part of our group, plus two newer arrivals, (4 ppx in all) will then rent a car in Bordeaux and drive to Domme where they will meet up with my San Sebastian partner and myself. I have appointed myself the information-gatherer and general travel assistant.

So...any further transport advice? Hotel recommendations in central Bordeaux, in a pleasant area with easy walking to shops and restaurants (and the port, if possible) in the 150-180 Euro range? I should add that I have been to Bordeaux but spent the days there lodged at a winery SE of the city near Bouillac, so am not familiar with the hotel scene. Two members of our group also would like to know where they can rent bikes and a bike rack for their rental car if such a thing is possible. They would like to bike around the Bordeaux environs for a couple of days before the Dordogne portion of the trip. Thanks to all for all of the hlep so far..