Flying vs Driving to the South of France

knightstyle

Hi, We used to do this regularly, driving overnight if pos. Some motorways in Northern France and round most cities/large towns are free, otherwise use RN. Try transmanche ferries Newhaved-Dieppe, new boats very good service. For overnight try Gites de France-herbegement for French B&B or Bonzai or B&B hotels for cheap overnight accommodation.
If you fly car hire is better arranged from UK, Holiday Autos were good for us. If you want a bargain car hire go to a SuperU or HyperU supermarket, they are by far the cheapest but tend to run out of cars quickly. They also do vans. Don't know if other supermarkets do this.
Good luck, post your decision/experiences when you get back.

casey_jones

Have you thought about the Eurostar? London to Paris, then Paris to the south of France

Voyager2002

casey_jones wrote: »

Have you thought about the Eurostar? London to Paris, then Paris to the south of France

That was my first thought, but would they have to change stations in Paris? Doing that with small children and all the gear that kids need would not be fun.

Voyager2002

Another point: do you really need a car when you get there? Most of France has far better public transport than the UK, so unless the apartment is really isolated you are likely to be fine.

dzug

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Another point: do you really need a car when you get there? Most of France has far better public transport than the UK, so unless the apartment is really isolated you are likely to be fine.

???? most of rural France has next to no public transport


http://www.cg24.fr/modules/FCKeditor/upload/File/pdf/transperigord/horaires_transperigord_2006.pdf

Nothing very frequent in there - quite the contrary

doodle_bug

I've driven to the south of France twice, no problems both times. First time drove half way and stopped over in Beaune, next time got a late ferry and drove through the night. Used the toll motorways both times, you could use normal French roads though, the beauty of the motorways is that there are stopping places every few miles, toilets and sometimes shops, it's not like here if you miss the services you might be deperate for 30 or 40 miles. I was in northern France last year and set my sat nav to avoid tolls and it was great, the normal French roads are deserted by UK standards it's like going back 30 years, look on a map to see how big France is compared to the Uk, they have similar population to us, it's easy to see why the roads are clear, I love driving in France.

lovinit

we recently went to france. we had the same debate ferry or fly with a nearly 2yr old. we decided to fly:rolleyes:
we had to drive 3hrs to airport wait for flight then 1h 30 to destination. for all the time it took we said we will drive next time.
i would say you definatly want a car there. especially if you wish to sight see a bit.
the public transport was diabolical imo and it ended up costing us a fortune on taxis:mad:
it seems to be the norm to drive, we were one of only a hanfull on our site who flew the rest had drove and the majorty were british:D

NafUk

We have travelled to Sarlat (1 hour East of Bergerac) 6 times by car with young children (1, 6, 11). They are good in the car and know the small amount of discomfort is worth it for the lovely holiday they will have. Don't fill them with sugar and stop to play football etc. every now and again.

We travel 250 miles (4.5 hours) to Dover for a midnight ish ferry, then about 9 hours the other side, arriving around 2ish. This is in May/June when the roads are relatively clear. If we are tired we sometimes stop for a snooze). Total one way is 750 miles.

For environmental reasons we looked at taking the train this year. It would have cost the 5 of us £460 return, not including getting to and from the stations, or hiring a car, buses etc.

We use £200 worth of petrol (about 1900 miles) and about £30 in tolls. We travel from Calais to Rouen, Dreux, Chartes, Orlean then south. This route avoids Paris, many of the tolls, is only slightly longer and used by many people.

Flying such a short distance releases approx. 10x the CO2 that a car journey makes.

I would drive. Don't use your radar detector in France if you have one. The roads are very good and the rest stop good and frequent.

Carmen

Voyager2002 wrote: »

That was my first thought, but would they have to change stations in Paris? Doing that with small children and all the gear that kids need would not be fun.

I have just looked at raileuropes site and you can go from Waterloo to Lille and then from Lille to Nice (random choice) without changing stations, maybe just platforms. Make sure you check the waiting time for connections! Maybe worth a look?
I have travelled with Raileurope to southwest france many times and love this mode (hate flying) the trains are clean, dedicated seating.
Carmen x

Carmen

NafUk wrote: »

We have travelled to Sarlat (1 hour East of Bergerac) 6 times by car with young children (1, 6, 11). They are good in the car and know the small amount of discomfort is worth it for the lovely holiday they will have. Don't fill them with sugar and stop to play football etc. every now and again.

We travel 250 miles (4.5 hours) to Dover for a midnight ish ferry, then about 9 hours the other side, arriving around 2ish. This is in May/June when the roads are relatively clear. If we are tired we sometimes stop for a snooze). Total one way is 750 miles.

For environmental reasons we looked at taking the train this year. It would have cost the 5 of us £460 return, not including getting to and from the stations, or hiring a car, buses etc.

We use £200 worth of petrol (about 1900 miles) and about £30 in tolls. We travel from Calais to Rouen, Dreux, Chartes, Orlean then south. This route avoids Paris, many of the tolls, is only slightly longer and used by many people.

Flying such a short distance releases approx. 10x the CO2 that a car journey makes.

I would drive. Don't use your radar detector in France if you have one. The roads are very good and the rest stop good and frequent.

This is also a good option and you will have approx another 5hrs down to the south.
Friends of ours sail from Portsmouth to Le Havre with LD Lines and they also go between Newhaven and Dieppe.
They usually book a cabin so they can have a good rest before the drive down but there is always the option to stop overnight in one of the many motels en route. I have used Etaps which I think are fine for just the one night...cheap and cheerful.
Carmen x