Bergerac is ideally situated in the south west of France for travel
from the UK. Served by its own airport along with being only 60 minutes
away from the larger airport in Bordeaux. Both of these airports are
served by budget airlines from the UK, which make flying to your French
holiday home even better sense than ever. For the more sea faring types
the closest ferry port is Bilbao in Spain, 450km away along the atlantic
coast, making a stopover in Biarriz a possibility. For those who wish
to see more of France on the drive from the ferry, Bergerac is 900km
from Calais and 600km from the Normandy ports. The French road system
makes travelling down to Bergerac a pleasure, not a chore, with well
signposted, and relatively empty, autoroutes. Equally as excellent as
the road is the rail system, with the new high speed links in both England
and France, getting from London to Paris takes a mere 2.5 hours with
the further 6.5 hours TGV ride to Bordeaux St Jean.
By Air
With the advent of the budget airlines, flying to Bergerac or Bordeax
has never been easier or cheaper. Flybe, Ryanair, Lufthansa and of course
Air France all fly to the region with prices starting at £120
return in the high season. Parking at the UK airports is around £7-8
per day in the long stay car parks.
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France
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UK
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Airline
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Bergerac
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Stanstead
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Bristol
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NEW
Birmingham
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Southampton
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Bordeaux
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Gatwick
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Birmingham
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Manchester
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Bristol
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Once at the French airport hiring a car is very simple, arranged before you travel or once you arrive. All of the large hire firms have desks at the airports and all offer a range of new, clean cars; mainly french ones of course. Further details of the hire companies can be found at the bottom of the page. If you don't wish to hire a car for your stay we can also provide a car service to and from both Bordeaux and Bergerac airport, this is also detailed further below in the page.
Numerous ferry operators sail form the UK to France with prices starting, for a family of 4 plus car, from £185 for a standard return on the Dover to Calais route. With so many operators and so many routes the best way to find your ideal package is to visit one of the cheap ferry ticket websites, a good starting point is:
If you prefer to do your travelling by rail, you can travel from London to Bordeaux by Eurostar and TGV. Starting from either Waterloo International in London or Ashford International in Kent, the Eurostar is taken to Lille Europe where a simple change of platform allows you to catch a further train to take you down to Bordeaux, prices for this journey starts at £99 return.
Please note the above timetables are just an indicator, to check exact times and to book a seat you can either call Eurostar on 08705 186 186, go to www.eurostar.com online, or in person at the ticket office in Waterloo or Ashford International.
Travelling by road in France is an enjoyable experience, the autoroutes are generally traffic free and well maintained. The speed limits are higher than in the UK, 130kmh (81mph) in the dry and 110kmh (68mph) when it is raining, the only downside to all this are the tolls, which will amount to approximately €33 for the trip from Calais to Bergerac, a 550 mile journey. Fuel is also cheaper, especially in the case of diesel (Gaz-oil), and the quality of food in the autoroute services puts the UK service stations to shame. Naturally the trip by road will take longer than that by air, but it will mean you are able to take back alot more of the local produce.
For more detailed information about driving in France click here
Cars can be hired at both Bergerac and Bordeaux airports as well as in both towns, and convieniently at Bordeaux St. Jean railway station. Prices, availability and pre booking can all be found at Holiday Autos Typically a Ford Fiesta sized car will cost from £110 per week.
| London Waterloo |
08:39
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14:42
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| Ashford |
09:30
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-
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| Lille Europe arr |
11:29
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17:21
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| Lille Europe dep |
12:21
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18:09
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| Poitiers |
16:40
|
21:24
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| Angoulême |
16:54
|
22:11
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| Bordeaux St. Jean |
17:58
|
23:10
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| Bordeaux St. Jean |
06:37
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07:50
|
11:01
|
14:25
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| Angoulême |
07:31
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08:49
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12:04
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15:24
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| Poitiers |
08:18
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09:35
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12:53
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16:13
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| Lille Europe arr |
11:50
|
13:04
|
16:14
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20:00
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| Lille Europe dep |
12:45
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13:39
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17:41
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21:06
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| Ashford |
-
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13:36
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-
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21:04
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| London Waterloo |
13:25
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14:25
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18:27
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21:56
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