How to get a party of 7 from Amboise to Annecy (well, actually Talloires, but they'll pick up a van in Annecy) the most expeditious way without hiring a private jet?

www.whichbudget.com came up with nothing. Train connections don't look good - best I can find is go back to Paris and take the TGV to Annecy - about 8+ hours in transit. Anybody have any brilliant suggestions?

you'll need patience plus www.sncf.fr website plus a book of French maps to know which bigger cities are closer to the ones you re heading from or going to:I found a 7:27 trip directly from Amboise to switch in Paris (swith stations , that means 2 cabs for 7 people)then a second station , or take 2 cabs or a shuttle from Amboise to TOURS (about 20-30mns), then a TGV direct to Paris Montparnasse , then either the metro(www.ratp.fr), to Gare de Lyon , then another TGV to ANNECY , from TOURS to ANNECY it'll take 5h56minutes.
Check also the AMBOISE -SAINT PIERRE DES CORPS line , then a schedule from SAINT PIERRE DES CORPS to ANNECY.
(you'll have to ask for it one by one).It should give you a connexion via LYON, and the good thing about it is that you don't change stations.
Or take a train from Amboise to Paris and then a flight from Paris to Annecy , but this should be very expensive.
Good luck!
ps:I'd rather rent a van and drive , the countryside is gorgeous!

StCirq:

Aside from driving, which I assume you want to avoid, the train seems to be your best option.

You can avoid changing stations in Paris by taking a TGV from St. Pierre-des-Corps. There are connections via Massy/Lyon that take less than 6 hours.

Schedules are much easier to search at:
www.rail.ch
than on the SNCF.com - just go to the latter when you're ready to book.

Hope this helps,
Andre

Just saw that I gave somewhat redundant info - désolé Sophie!

Anyway, the Swiss railway site should also prove helpful.

Andre

Thanks for that Sopie and André. I had spent two hours on the SNCF site today trying to find an easier way. I finally decided they needed to drive to Bourges, spend the night, and take the train to Annecy from there.

But now maybe I have other options. Thank you!

Well, André, I just tried the Swiss rail website and it tells me "unfortunately there was no route found." I tried using both Tours and St Pierr-des-Corps as the point of origin and got the same message both times. Any more suggestions?

??? What date are you entering?

Hi, André: On the Swiss site I was using the actual date of travel - July 20, 2005.

SNCF of course wouldn't let me schedule that far out, so I was just using random dates on the SNCF site.

I know you can take the train from Saint-Pierre-des-Corps to Vierzon and from Vierzon to Lyon. Maybe that would be a route to explore, to avoid Paris.

I searched on March 15 and found a train from St-Pierre-des-Corps to Annecy that leaves at 14:40 or so and takes 6 hours to get there, connecting through Lyon. The fare is 70€.

Thanks, Ken: That's a bit of a later arrival (and who knows if that train will be running July 20), but it does give me hope!

I guess I'll just keep trying both sites.

StCirq,

After doing a few checks, I am certain that the reason why you are not getting any response for July is that schedules for domestic travel in France aren't loaded on the Swiss Rail website yet - similar connections to those currently available will continue to be offered this summer IMO, no absolute guarantees however.

Hope this helps,
Andre

Hey StCirq,

The Tours airport website says that flights to Lyon are "predicted." Maybe you'll get lucky and one will start for the summer.

www.tours-aeroport.com/volsnat.html

I saw that in my endless roamings on the internet yesterday, Indy. I would guess if they're going to initiate service a good time to do it would be for summer, so yes, that may be another option.

Ugh... my post should have read:

After doing a few checks, I am certain that the reason why you are not getting any response for July is that schedules for domestic travel in France <b> during the summer months </b> aren't loaded on the Swiss Rail website yet.

It's clearly past my bedtime... &agrave; demain!

Andre