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About Terry Casey
Expertise
Most experienced for Paris, Loire Valley, Provence, Dordogne, Alsace, Burgundy, Normandy and Reims/Champagne Country. Terry likes helping travelers get trip "flow and pacing" right so your adventure is neither . . . a bore, NOR a blur! Make sure your timing works, fitting your interests, tastes, personal experiences and needs. Terry has planned and done great trips to the Baltics, Russia, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Ireland, England, Austria, Italy, Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece, Turkey and Switzerland, plus South America and Cuba. Did wonderful April, 2007, week in Paris, summer 2008 southern England trip, etc. Has visited twenty different countries in Europe.

Experience
There is much post 9-11-2001 worry about travel to Europe, but all reports and experiences say things are fine, with proper care and planning. From wide travels in many parts of Europe in 2005- 2008, my personal experiences are that things are good there and reasonably behaving Americans are treated well. See, enjoy the world and experience its great diversity! I have visited 20 countries in Europe and know that there's lots there to see and do. PROVIDE KEY BACKGROUND INFORMATION with QUESTION: To help me answer your questions better, please provide some info on your past France/Europe travel experiences, ages, general budget range, personal travel style/interests, number in your party, what you most want to enjoy and see, etc.

Education/Credentials
Ohio State Univeristy grad

You are here: Experts > Cultures > France for Visitors > France > Without a car in Dordogne

France - Without a car in Dordogne

Expert: Terry Casey - 10/25/2009

Question
Hi Terry, Many thanks for offering to help. As a retired couple, we enjoyed getting to Josselin and exploring the surrounding area for a couple of weeks last year...on foot and by public transport. We plan to do the same sort of thing in June/July 2010. We fly into Toulouse and will probably base ourselves for about a week in Sarlac and another week or so in the Les Eyzies area. Accommodation in Gite or B&B. But the problem is getting from Toulouse to Sarlac. Have you any recommendations on any of these counts?
Again
many thanks
Herbie

Answer
Hi . . . Herbie from New Zealand!

Thanks for your questions on traveling in SW France. From your question, I am not total clear on whether you are aiming to stay some in Sarlac or Sarlat. Are you planning to stay in or near Sarlat-la-Caneda? Sarlat is a super wonderful town with a great market and much to love in its charming history and architecture. Can't find a French town with the exact spelling of Sarlac.

On trying to do much in this area on foot and by public transport, my bias and viewpoint is that this is possible, but not very time efficient. I think you can see and do so much more in using a rental car. Why?

RAIL vs. BUS vs. AUTO REALITIES: In France, overall, the trains are great, especially along certain key routes with the fast and comfortable TGV Express train service. Between Paris and Avignon, it is only a two hour and 35-40 minute trip that zooms this route by traveling up to 199 mph. On other TGV routes, the top speed is around 186 mph. These super nice and fine TGV trains are not, however, on all routes, nor to all cities. For other routes, mostly between larger cities, the service can be good to very good. BUT, in many rural areas and to connect among various smaller village and country areas, rail service is not available and/or fairly slow or limited. There might be several train changes needed to cover some routings. There is "some" bus service in France, but it is done by many different private companies and it does not have a centralize website, nor fast, frequent service. Because elements of the rail service are so good, it has made it harder to have equally good and frequent bus service in most parts of France.

To be more efficient with your limited time, some combination of rail and car can be better to cover and reach many of the villages, country and rural areas in Southwest France.

To avoid driving in the large city such as Paris is very wise and smart. BUT, out in the country areas, driving is easy and allows more flexibility to explore and discover what makes these areas so super nice. Can you tell me more on WHY you are trying to avoid driving there?

Reactions?

Tell me more on your budget, personal interests, travel style, etc.

We'd love to visit New Zealand. Have not been that part of the world. It's a long way to go, but it's very high on our future "WANT TO DO" list.

Does this start to help a little? What are your reactions and needs for added information? Be happy to provide additional info and answer other questions after learning more from you. Be sure to complete the evaluation section so that our "bosses" on this volunteer service know we are working hard to make inquiring minds as happy as possible. ENJOY! Merci Beaucoup!

Thanks. Terry Casey in Columbus, Ohio

CAR RENTALS OPTIONS:
We have had excellent success with
www.autoeurope.com
Their phone toll-free is 1-888-223-5555 (North America only).
There are also rail-auto plan options through raileurope.com
Avis has lots and lots of location around France and Europe.
Don’t assume one price will be the THE PRICE, best price. Make an advanced booking at a good price, but keep check back as different specials will come up, especially in these fast-changing economic times.

WEB-MAPPING FOR FRANCE:
Use this website to get any detailed maps you need. Scroll to the bottom of the page and follow the directions with your details on where are coming from and going to. It will give both graphic maps and written point-by-point instructions.
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/main.adp?country=FR
or
http://www.mapquest.com/directions/europe.adp?do=nw

RAIL SCHEDULES: You can go to this website
http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/point_to_point/triprequest.htm
or
www.raileurope.com
and check all of the various train options, timings and costs on rail travel within Europe through the "schedules" option on their web page. For some routings, such as Avignon to Barcelona or Nice to Rome, it will not yield results. You will be need to break it out into separate routings such as Nice to Genoa, then Genoa to Rome. Great, very useful site!

SOUTHWEST FRANCE HIGHLIGHTS/OPTIONS:
While there, we stayed overnight at the nearby Hotel Bônnet in Beynac overlooking the Dordogne River (hotel phone: 011-33-5-53-29-5001). The Sarlat Market on Saturday is really great with its very attractive medieval quarter! Hopefully Saturday will be one of your days there.

Among the other key options in the area are:

1. ROCAMADOUR- Perched on the side of a cliff with one of the most extraordinary sites in France, this village was one of the great pilgrimages in the Middle Ages. This site is also a must-see at night.

2. BEYNAC - Large castle overlooking the Dordogne, it was the site of many battles during the Hundred Years War.

3. LES EYZIES - Known as the Capital of Prehistory, it has a famous national museum.

4. DOMME - Walled-town with spectacular overview of the Dordogne.

5. ST-CIRQ-LAPOPIE - Village with a remarkable site perched on a rocky escarpment overlooking the Lot River valley.

There is also Cahors on River Lot, Cordes and a little farther away is the famed castle/fortress of Carcassonne;

There are other smaller castles, small town markets, wineries, etc. It depends upon what you like to do and enjoy. Just hanging out in and around Sarlat and doing nothing is fun and enjoyable.

For Sarlat, their tourism office is:
www.sarlat-tourisme.com/en
Contact them and let them know your specific interests and needs.

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