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Leaving Your Trip in NIMES
This page offers help (concrete or informational) on leaving your trip. Topics include...
- Where you Leave Your Trip (see immediately below)
- Our “Access Packages,” designed to help you to do so.
- Suggestions on how to time your ongoing travel, whether you are having us arrange it, or doing it yourself.
- Service information regarding train travel from your trip end location.
- Suggested post-trip visits, especially when these are not geographically obvious, but are rendered economical and convenient by direct rail connections.
- Hopefully helpful hints for those setting up their own travel from the trip.
If you wish to arrange some or all of your travel through us, please tell us what by means of this response questionnaire, designed to collect all the information we need to be able to book your travel.
1. WHERE and WHEN Do You Leave Your Trip?
Your trip disbands on Saturday evening, in Nimes, after a full biking day and a short train ride out of the mountains. After our Autumn '10 trip, an optional Sunday night extension to ARLES is on offer, during the city’s annual feria, a party / extravaganza involving both bullfighting and rice... see the post-trip visits, below, for details.
If you wish to arrange your own ongoing travel (in other words, you do not want to set up any ongoing travel arrangements through us), a couple of hints regarding ongoing travel are offered at the bottom of this page. Otherwise...
2. Our ACCESS PACKAGES
as of January 19, 2010
The closest intercontinental airport in terms of travel time is is Paris’ Charles de Gaulle. Geneva, Nice and Barcelona, listed in order of convenience, are all geographically closer, but they take longer to reach (and Barcelona also costs more).
Our “Access Package” includes a Saturday night hotel in Nimes, and a Sunday ticket to any of the above, or to downtown Paris. Our London “Access Package” includes a train to London. Be sure to consult “Service Information,” below, before booking a Sunday flight, to ensure that train schedules to your selected departure point are compatable.
Base (Starting) Access Package Price: 102€.
To see what this means in your currency, look here: http://www.bluemarble.org/CurrencyConv.html
Availability is generally good until 35 days prior to trip start (payment received by us). This is because we try to hold an allotment of hotel rooms in Nimes until that point, and there are several trains to most destinations, so at least one will generally offer the necessary discount fare code. Within 35 days, availability must be confirmed, and costs may be higher (in particular, of the rail component). Some extra-cost options also have higher prices if ordered w/in 35 days.
Included:
- A hotel night in Nimes, based on shared occupancy. Typically, a majority of your past weeks’ travelling companions will also be staying over, and this is a nice evening of reaquainting yourself with civilization after a week in the Cévennes.
- Breakfast, if you have time / can get out of bed for it.
- Sunday train tickets from Nimes to any of Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport, downtown Paris, Geneva, or Nice. Tickets to Barcelona are available for a small additional cost.
Tickets are not refundable or exchangeable once ordered (see below for extra cost first class or flexible tickets).
- Seat reservations on trains which require them.
- A printed schedule / itinerary, highlighting any connections.
“Ride the Bike Train” Discount Travel Arrangements
Package as above, with a Sunday train to Paris via Narbonne, Dijon or Avignon: 49€.
Via Dijon: depart 10:30a, arrive 4p.
Via Avignon: depart 9:30a, 2.5 hour layover in Avignon (which can be used to explore), arrive Paris at 4p.
A Saturday overnight route via Narbonne is also available, couchette provided on board, arrive Paris 7:30a Sunday morning.
No upgrades available on either train.
Package subject to availability, rail schedules subject to modification..
Options Offered at an Extra Cost (subject to availability)
Prices are in addition to the “Base” Access Package price.
For a general discussion of train upgrades, see here. Topics include the relative comfort of first versus second class, and different types of accommodation available on overnight trains.
- Tickets to London. Add 59€ if you are also purchasing tickets from London at the start of your trip, 99€ if not, or if you prefer a changeable ticket (in 1st class, add 99€ or 138€; 1st class tickets include meal service).
Add 10€ to any fare for service via Paris (stop-over permitted).
- Sunday train to Barcelona: 14€. To Milan: 33€. To Madrid, Florence, or Rome: 69€.
See below for 1st class upgrades.
- Flexible (Exchangeable) Tickets.
To Paris or CdG airport: +28€. To Geneva or Barcelona, +19€. To Nice, +11€. To all other points within France: +35€ maximum. To other non-French destinations: +49€.
These tickets are exchangeable at any station, on a space-available basis, at any time until the train’s departure, for free if the exchange is made prior to the date of travel, or for 10€ on the date of travel. Cost of either exchange is 10€ higher if you make it through us (as opposed to going to the ticket counter yourself). Tickets are refundable less 20% before the train’s departure.
You may either request tickets to a specific destination on a specific train (in which case seat reservation charges are included in the cost). Or you may ask for an open travel voucher, which is good for travel to anywhere you choose to go — you may even decide the question locally. The cost of seat reservations on your chosen trains (typically 5€ / train if you wait on line at the station, 13€ / train if you book through us) will be additional if you do not order them at the same time as the travel voucher.
- Travel vouchers are available for further trips within France at a cost of 32€ per travel day in 2nd class, 39€ / travel day in 1st class.
- Vouchers are only available to guests with trains included in both their pre- and post-trip Access Packages.
- Travel must be in the same class as the Access Package travel.
- 1st class train tickets (in lieu of 2nd class):
Tickets are not refundable or exchangeable once ordered (see above for extra cost flexible tickets).
- 19€ to Nice or Geneva via direct train.
- 29€ to Paris, Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, Barcelona, or to Nice or Geneva via connecting train.
Also applies to “Comfort Couchette” upgrade on overnight trains to Strasbourg or Paris.
- 39€ to Milan.
- 59€ to Florence or Rome, or to points in Germany / Austria / Denmark / the Czech Republic.
Trips involving the overnight train to Strasbourg include a “Comfort Couchette” on the overnight train to Strasbourg.
- Private single room in Nimes: +24€ / night.
- Tickets on the Paris airport train, to Charles de Gaulle or Orly from anywhere in Paris. Follow this link for details.
Alternate Arrangements, in lieu of our usual packages (subject to availability)
Prices are complete (in other words, they are not in addition to the “Base” Access Package Price)
- Hotel in Nimes (additional nights, or without rail tickets): 48€ shared occupancy, 72€ single, including breakfast, taxes, booking charge.
Shared occupancy rate guaranteed to singles (on the post-trip Saturday night only) until 35 days prior to trip departure.
- Saturday evening TGV to Paris: 59€ including reservation.
Price also valid on the overnight train via Narbonne, in a couchette.
Tickets are in 2nd class, not refundable or exchangeable once ordered (see above for extra cost 1st class or flexible tickets). If you choose this option, we recommend the 7p train, which arrives Paris at 10p. Trying to book an earlier train requires that you rush through a long cycling day, and exposes you to the risk of having to buy a new ticket at full fare should you not reach Nimes in time for your train. See “Service Information,” below, for details.
- Saturday overnight train to Strasbourg. Connects w/ daylight trains to Munich, Prague, Frankfurt, Salzburg.... 79€ to Strasbourg, 119€ to Frankfurt, 139€ to other points in Germany or to Salzburg, 149€ to Prague, Vienna or Copenhagen.
Prices include a couchette sleeping berth on the overnight train. Tickets are in 2nd class, not refundable or exchangeable once ordered (see above for extra cost first class or flexible tickets).
Upgrade from 2nd cl. couchette to “comfort couchette” on overnight train: 55€.
3. TIMING Your Trip
It is possible to rush through the final riding day, but (a) it is a pity, and (b) you cannot compress it completely. It is 40 hilly kilometers from our final Cévennes hotel to the nearest rail station. From there you must catch an (infrequent) train to Nimes. Planning a pre-6:30p departure (or a flight scheduled to take off before 8p) will effectively take one of the most beautiful days of the trip, and turn it into a stressful race.
In addition, Nimes is interesting: a center of Roman antiquity. And you will not have time to see it on Saturday evening (when the trip arrives).
If you have the flexibility to do so, try to schedule your departure such that it leaves you time to visit a bit.
Finally, if you can afford an extra day, after certain trip departures we offer a one-day extension to nearby Arles, one of Provence’s prettiest towns. Details are below.
Like airplanes, trains from Nimes require reservations. You must not only tell us where you wish to go, but at what time of day you wish to travel. Allow ample time to connect to a flight: the airline is not responsible for train delays, and though these are rare, they can happen. Moreover, it can take a while to get from train to check-in counter.
4. Service Information
Schedules are approximate – exact timetables can be consulted at http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/point_to_point/triprequest.htm.
Best trains are mentioned. Others are slower or have multiple connections.
- To Paris. Travel time is 3 hours, Sunday service is every 2 hours starting at 8a.
The last Saturday evening train is at 8p, but you are typically safe booking the 7p service.
To save a hotel night, you may alternatively take the overnight sleeper train in a couchette (dp Nimes at 8:30p, connect in Narbonne at 10p, arrive Paris 7:30a Sunday morning).
Bike train runs on Sunday morning with a connection in Avignon (adds 5 hours to the trip).
The Saturday overnight train also carries bikes: depart Nimes at 8:30p with a connection in Narbonne at 10p, arrive Paris 7a.
- To Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport. Travel time: 3.5 hours, Sunday service from 7:30a.
In a pinch, you can reach CDG an hour earlier (10a) via a 75€ taxi ride to Avignon, and a 6:45a TGV from there.
The last Saturday evening train is at 7p.
- To Nice. Travel time 4.5 hours. Sunday service every 2 hours from 8a, with one connection.
The only appropriately-timed Saturday evening train is at 7p.
- To Geneva. Travel time is 3.5 - 4 hours. Sunday service is every 2 hours from 7a, with one connection. A direct train runs at 2:20p, making the trip in 3 hours.
The only appropriately-timed Saturday evening train is at 7p.
- To Barcelona. Fast Sunday services at 6a and 2:30p (a 5.5 hour trip with one connection).
No Saturday evening service.
Additional Sunday trains, with an additional connection and taking half an hour longer, operate throughout the day.
- To London. Fast Sunday trains via Lille at 9a, 1:30p (with an additional connection) and 3p. Trip time 7 hours.
Additional services with approximately the same travel time are available via Paris, spread throughout the day.
5. Suggested POST-TRIP VISITS
Arles. A beautiful pedestrian city less than an hour from Nimes, inspiration to Van Gogh, sight of a preserved Roman amphitheatre, and a delightful place to wander. Spend Sunday morning in Nimes, continue to Arles at your leisure. Dinner and a hotel night in Arles, and travel onwards on Monday (the same ongoing travel choices are on offer as for Nimes, at the same price).
Following our autumn trip, we offer a “package extension” to visit Arles, including the following.
- Saturday night hotel in Nimes.
- Sunday breakfast.
- Sunday train from Nimes to Arles.
- Dinner in Arles.
- Sunday hotel for a nuit en Arles (apologies to Van Gogh).
- Breakfast Monday morning.
- The approximate services of one of our coordinators (present during your stay).
- All taxes and booking charges.
Package price is 175€ shared occupancy (guaranteed to singles willing to share), 229€ for a private single room.
Ongoing travel from Arles on Monday is available at the same prices as from Nimes, and service information is generally similar: add 30 minutes to travel times from Arles, other than to Nice and Italy.
6. Hints on TRAVELLING INDEPENDENTLY After the Trip
Guests subscribing to an “Access Package” need not read this section.
See also “Timing Your Trip” and “Service Information,” above, as either of these may additionally help.
We gladly provide travel consulting (schedule or routing information) concerning post-trip individual travel. In particular, we have invested a great deal to become railway experts. Our service fees are reasonable: a 20€ charge for all but the most complex projects – or the most simple (for instance, only a 10€ charge applies if the service is limited to the preparation of a routine rail ticket). You will generally find them well-justified by the time they will save you in research, standing on line, overpaying for your tickets, or all three.
But, for some, this type of research is fun. So, here are some hints, intended to start off hardened “do-it-yourselfers.”
Trains. Schedules for all routes can be consulted on this web site:
http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/point_to_point/triprequest.htm
Nimes is served by TGV (high-speed train) to northern France, including direct service to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport. Main line trains also run to elsewhere in France, Switzerland (one daily TGV), northeastern Spain, and northern Italy. Overnight sleeper trains go to France’s west coast (La Rochelle and Brittany), Italy, Madrid, and Germany via Strasbourg. Night trains to Italy and Madrid depart too early for you to be able to catch them on Saturday night.
Planes. Nimes has a tiny airport, traditionally offering mosquito planes to Paris (the airline has changed three times in as many years, and the route is not served at this writing). Nearby Montpellier and Marseille both have more service, though only intra-European at this writing.
Ryanair serves London Luton from Nimes. Other Ryanair airports within two hours by train are Marseille, Montpellier, Carcassone and Perpignan.
Train frequencies and travel times to regional airports from Nimes are as follows.
Montpellier: hourly, 30-minute trip, service from 6a.
Marseille: irregular service runs roughly every 2 hours; a 75-minute trip, service from 8a. There is one direct train to the airport at 10a. Allow 90 minutes including the shuttle bus to the terminal.
Carcassone or Perpignan: irregular, but every 2 hours on average; trip time is 2 hours. Service from 6a to Perpignan, 7a to Carcassone.
If you wish to arrange some or all of your travel through us, please tell us what by means of this response questionnaire, designed to collect all the information we need to be able to book your travel. |
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