Whats the best and/or cheapest way to get from Oxfordshire to Sarlat (France)?

taliwillow

We are looking at going to Sarlat next August for 10-14 days. Our accommodation is free so we can choose how long we want to stay up to 14 days and as I have never been away from home for more than a week I think 14 days may be too much, plus we have not travelled abroad before so the prospect of it is quite daunting. To add to our challenges our daughters will be 3 and 4 when we go so obviously they may struggle with being in the car for too long at a time (although they managed 8 hours back from Cornwall this August without too much hassle - this was due to traffic as the journey should have been about 4 hours or so so we really weren't prepared for the 8 hour trip and the children were amazing).
We will consider flying but flights to Bergerac seem way to expensive. If we fly then we won't have to worry about costs for a car when we get there as that will also be paid for us by the people we will be meeting there as they will be hiring a car anyway so they said they are happy to get a bigger car to let us share with them and they would also collect us from the airport.

So after reading up a little on France it seems there are a few bits I need to buy to make our car legal if we decide to drive and I believe there are also Toll road costs to consider. The ferry seems like a nicer idea than the eurotunnel as it would give the children a bit of time out of the car but it does cost a bit more than the eurotunnel and when we have calculated that we are looking at driving around 600 miles each way we have been put off a little.

So I just wondered if any of you lovely people are experienced travellers especially in France who could give us any tips of ways to get there, good places to stop for the night that are inexpensive but I don't have to panic too much about the language barrier (I am rubbish at languages!!) just in case that seems like the best option to drive but break the journey up a bit, and how far in advance it is best to book things to get the best deals.

I will admit I'm not particularly keen on the trip as I'd much rather just go to Cornwall where I don't need to buy 4 passports to go to, I can take money in the currency I am familiar with and should we need any help we can ask for it without trouble, but this trip would allow me to have some time to try to get to know my Dad who I have not seen for years and if I wanted to visit him at home I would have to travel to Dubai which could only be described as being in my list of worst nightmares what with me not being a traveller so we decided visiting him in his French home when he is there would be an easier option although now I'm looking into it, it doesn't seem that easy after all!!!

claire16c

How does the price of the plane compare to driving?

Personally I hate driving long distances so I would always take the flying option. And it doesnt help Im a nightmare with directions :rotfl: But also as you have family picking you up that would get rid of that hassle too.

Maybe after this trip you will have the confidence to go to Dubai, Id really like to go there one day. Im not sure what you are worrying about, holidays are fun! And they are great for children to learn about new cultures, currency, language etc. My parents took us all over the world when we were younger and I remember every single holiday! Im sure you will all have a great time.

I would check out the Tripadvisor website and go on the forum for the area you are visiting for more info too.

Oh and dont worry about the language barrier. Yes the French can be one of the worst countries for not wanting to speak English or help in this but you will be fine. Ive been to tons of countries where people dont speak much english and you always work it out in the end!

taliwillow

So far the flights that I have found will cost around £1000 to Bergerac leaving around a 1 hour drive after landing, or around £650 to Nimes leaving a 5 hour drive after landing. As we also need to buy passports which we believe are going to cost us £253 then flying to Bergerac is going to cost us £1253 whereas we estimate driving and going by ferry is going to cost us £666 and driving going by tunnel will be around £607. So as we are looking at such a reduced amount by road then it almost seems the best option but if I can get an idea of costs for tolls and maybe any stops that may seem essential due to the long drive then I can work out which is the best option. I tried to do a search to find out what other airports there are in that region of France but wasn't very successful at finding any so not sure if they don't exist or whether I just couldn't find them.

richardw

Which flight routes and airlines have you looked at?

Can you fly from Birmingham, Bristol and Luton Airports?

Voyager2002

Why has no-one suggested the train?

While small children (such as yours) cost almost as much as adults on 'budget' airlines, train tickets for them would be a good deal less than adult fares. So train is almost certain to be the most cost-effective option. And train journeys are a lot more pleasant for small children than car or 'plane, since they have more space to get up, move around, play...

taliwillow

I don't remember which airlines I have tried (I think Ryanair was one) but we would be willing to travel from any airport thats within a reasonable distance so probably Birmmingham, any London airport or Bristol (I hadn't actually realised there was an airport in Bristol until your post richardw).

Thats a good point re the trains! We had looked into it previously but my husband didn't like the idea of changing trains in Paris (he is nervous about the idea of being somewhere strange too) but in comparison to the idea of flying, changing trains in paris sounds like a much nicer option. I will see what I can find! Would I be right in thinking we would need to get a train from St Pancras? Any ideas how close by you can park and what the costs are?

I'm sorry for sounding so stupid. I'm not like this about most things but due to anxiety issues (fear of death through a plane falling thousands of feet to the ground, fear of being arrested in another country due to the prescription drugs my husband and I are on possibly being illegal in that country, fear of my children getting ill and can't get them help as I don't speak the language - and the list goes on) I've not travelled out of the country before. I still have those anxiety issues but I can't let them hold my children back like they have held me back. I want my girls to have an interesting and exciting life!

richardw

The train journey would include some painful transfers with toddlers

London Paddington to St Pancras
Paris Gare du Nord to Paris Austerlitz

BTW there is a lot of English spoken in France and particularly in the Dordogne area.

Ryanair fly from Bristol to Bergerac and Limoges
easyJet fly from Luton to Bordeaux.

agrinnall

Would it not be possible to invite your dad to share a holiday in Cornwall with you? He could get a ferry from Roscoff to Plymouth.

sunshinetours

Depends on how bad the anxiety is about actually flying. Flying will be easiest although not necessarily cheapest.

If you have Tesco rewards Eurotunnel can be great and is very quick and easy although you do have a bit of a trek from Oxfordshire

Driving in France itself is very easy and very pleasant compared to much of UK driving. Much of the autoroute system you can easily cruise at 81mph (130kph) so distances can be covered quite well even with young children. I would also consider travelling down to Folksetone and then getting tunnel obver and then maybe stopping for night a couple of hours down maybe around Amiens or going a bit further to Rouen if going that way

One very good resource is the viamichelin site whoch has a good route planner and also shows toll costs and est fuel costs. Tolls can be expensive overall but easy to pay with a credit card through the auto tolls. just make sure you have a decent mao book with you and if possible get a European sat nav as it will help confidence through towns etc
Diesel is genereally cheaper in France and unleaded can be similar or slightly more expensive so depending on what you have can change your overall costings.

Try and learn some basic Frenach as well and have a go. Out of Paris and Calais etc the french I have always found are in general a fairly laid back nationality and will try and help where they can. Expecting them to speak English is simply rude in any foreign country

Voyager2002

To give you some idea of costs by train, I did a dummy booking on the French rail site for a return journey to SOUILLAC (half an hour by bus from Sarlat). No fares are available for next August, so I chose random dates in December. The grand total for the four of you was 407 Euro, so less than 400 pounds! If you compare that with the air fares you quoted, there would be plenty of spare change for taxis to get between the stations, and that allows two hours to get across Paris.

taliwillow

agrinnall wrote: »

Would it not be possible to invite your dad to share a holiday in Cornwall with you? He could get a ferry from Roscoff to Plymouth.

We have suggested this option but my Dad never has the time as apparently they don't get much holiday in Dubai (or at least from his job) so he would only say he may be able to manage 3 days as he needs to do stuff in his house in France.

It's due to all of his 'work commitments' that I have probably only spent about 10 hours with him in the last 10 years, 4 of which were during My Grandads (his Dads) funeral last year which was obviously not pleasant time for any of us, hence 10 days with him would be a great opportunity, although as we hardly know each other and I've only met his wife three times, maybe we will all find we hate each others company!