Best way to travel to south france

DCFC79

We got the ferry early morning from portsmouth to caen then drove down to limoges area with i think 2 stops in hotels on the way down and 2 coming home, i think we could have done it with just 1 stop. Id take into consideration the amount of petrol you would have to buy plus spending money on a hotel room and compare it to the eurostar/tgv and hiring a car and against flying against hiring a car

i see you replied already dmc, if you going to drive down id get the ferry or go by tunnel so you get to france early morning and try and get a headstart on everyone else, could teh other adult not drive some of the way

DMC75_2

Ryanair do some cheap flights to nimes which is quite close , my wife isnt a confident driver so not really keen to drive.

If we ferry from calais , then we have 4 hotel stops (2 in dover and 2 in clermont ferrand) and also tolls , petrol , food costs etc so becomes quite costly.

If I could just get the car hire costs down !!

dangers

For the four of us in May, we have paid just over £300 for the flights (incl baggage). We are then looking to spend around £400 for the car hire and that is for two weeks. OH would prefer to do this than drive to Dover (we are in Bristol so a long drive) and then drive down. For us, the western France crossing would be so much better, but the cost is so much more. I think it is a very long way to go with 2 very young children in the car if you drive all the way.

What you also have to bear in mind with going in August is that all the French are on their holidays as well and the motorways can become very busy and with the heat as well.....

DMC75_2

We live in gloucestershire , so in same position really and kids are 6 & 3 so will really look into flying . Wheres best for car hire ?

nellycat

We live near Beziers and I would recommend flying over driving - it nearly always comes out cheaper by the time you've added up your overnight stops, fuel and tolls which can be about €90 each way. And it really is a long drive!
Beziers airport is great as very small with only a few flights and whenever we've collected people from the airport the flights have been mostly early or at worse on time.
Other airports to consider are Montpellier, Perpignan, and slightly further, about an hour and 15 mins away Nimes. All an easy drive to Serignan on the A9 motorway

I have lots of local info on my webiste and blog http://www.franceandbeyond.co.uk

dangers

We generally use Avis as my OH gets the BA miles with them. Other than that, I think Easyjet recommend Europcar. At least these are reputable companies. I think it would depend on where you fly to.

One thing if you look at Beziers airport, for the life of me, I couldn't find when the car hire places were open. At least with there, you are only down a couple of 'A' roads to Serignan (have a look on Google Earth!!) and a 10-20 min drive without having to touch the motorway. There is so much to see in that area- hence why we are returning for the 2nd time. We don't normally revisit places as there is so much of France to see.

dangers

jackomdj - which site were you looking at in Languedoc? We only booked our Keycamp holiday in January and have the decking (definitely) and the air con (I think).

ggmf

DMC75 – We’ve done the same trip over the last couple of years as we have family in a village 20 minutes from Beziers. We normally drive from Calais to Bourges for a overnight stop on the way down, and a stopover at Orleans on the way back up again, there are plenty of cheap B&B accommodation just off the motorways but probably best to book rather than just turn up. We spent just under £36 for the tolls on the way down and just under £38 on tolls on the way back, really depends on the exchange rate, all tolls were paid with a credit card. I personally love the drive and love the area, oh to win the lottery…
By the time I had worked out flight costs, car hire etc. for when we got down there, it was far cheaper to get the ferry and drive with the overnight stops, plus you get to see some other areas of France that you may want to go back too one day.

DMC75_2

Thanks , to everyone still not sure need to really price it up . Trying to get best car quotes at moment

sunshinetours

Unless you get very cheap flights be surprised if flying/hire car works out cheaper. We priced up last year for La Rochelle area and it was much cheaper to drive and Eurotunnel (with clubcard vouchers). plenty of £19 travel lodge rooms around for UK stops

The www.viamichelin.com website is very useful for journey planning in France as gives idea of tolls as well as fuel etc. Use the "more options" tag on the "calculate route"