Leaving Your Trip in SOUILLAC

This page offers help (concrete or informational) on leaving your trip. Topics include...

1. Where you Leave Your Trip (see immediately below)
2. Our “Access Packages,” designed to help you to do so.
3. Suggestions on how to time your ongoing travel, whether you are having us arrange it, or doing it yourself.
4. Service information regarding train travel from your trip end location.
5. Suggested post-trip visits, especially when these are not geographically obvious, but are rendered economical and convenient by direct rail connections.
6. 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?

You leave your trip in Souillac, a small town on the banks of the Dordogne river, at noon on Saturday, after a 30 k cycle along the river.

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 February 15, 2008

The closest intercontinental airport is in Paris. Paris is 5 hours from Souillac by train, plus the time required to get to the airport. Our “Access Package” includes Saturday rail tickets to Paris, and a night there to put you in position for ongoing travel on Sunday. Our London “Access Package” includes a train from Paris on to London in lieu of the Paris hotel night; variants permit you to travel onwards on Saturday evening, or after a Saturday night in Paris.

Base (Starting) Access Package Price: 89€.
If you are a North American traveller, the $ price (US or Canadian) on your price chart applies until 35 days prior to trip departure. Otherwise euro prices are transcribed to your invoice in its currency, converted at the exchange rate of the day on which the package is requested (rounded to the nearest whole dollar). Current “mid-market” rates can be consulted from the site we use for conversion. We use the mid-market rate on the day of conversion, and add 2% to cover currency broker exchange commissions (our conversion rates are thus as good as, or better than, any you could obtain, including via your credit card, unless you are a professional currency trader).

Availability is normally guaranteed until 35 days prior to trip start (payment received by us). Within 35 days, availability must be confirmed, and cost is 29€ higher. Some extra-cost options also have higher prices if ordered w/in 35 days.

Included:

• 2nd cl. Sa train tickets from Souillac to Paris.
  Tickets are in 2nd class, not refundable or exchangeable once ordered (see below for extra cost first class or flexible tickets).
• Seat reservations on the main line train (local connecting services, if required, do not offer them).
• A printed schedule / itinerary, highlighting any connections.
• A hotel night in Paris, at our “usual” hotel, or similar, based on shared occupancy (rate guaranteed to singles willing to share).
• Breakfast, if you have time / get up for it.

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.

• Sunday tickets on 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 cl., add 99€ or 145€; 1st class tickets include meal service).
• First class train tickets to Paris: 19€ (not a bad investment for this 5-hour ride).
• Flexible (exchangeable or refundable) tickets.
  To Paris: 24€. To all other points within France: 35€ maximum.
  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.
  
• Single room in Paris, 22€.
• Saturday night in Souillac instead of Paris, with breakfast and Sunday train to Paris: no extra cost in twin / double (twin share option available to solo travellers only if someone else requests same). Single supplement: 25€.
• Upgrade to our more luxurious hotel in Paris.
• Tickets on the Paris airport train, to Charles de Gaulle or Orly from anywhere in the city. 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)

• Overnight train to Nice: 79€ regular couchette, 119€ “Comfort Couchette.”
  Tickets are in 2nd class, not refundable or exchangeable once ordered (see above for extra cost flexible tickets).
• Saturday night in Souillac, including breakfast, but without ongoing train (or with alternate ongoing train, purchased separately): 49 euros single, 65 euros double or twin, 39 euros per person for singles willing to share (only available if someone else requests same).
• Rocamadour package. See “Suggested Post-Trip Visits,” below.
• Saturday train without any hotel nights:
  - to Paris: 49€
  - to London: 99€ if you are also purchasing tickets from London at the start of your trip, 139€ if not.
  Tickets are in 2nd class, not refundable or exchangeable once ordered (see above for extra cost first class or flexible tickets - for first class to London, add upgrade prices to Paris, and then on to London).

3. TIMING Your Trip

Souillac is 30 kilometers from Sarlat, the previous night’s stop: a 3-hour cycle at a relaxed pace if you make a coffee stop. Your bike must catch a train to Paris at 1p. If you wish to have lunch / visit Souillac, another train departs in early evening. Trip time is 4.5 hrs.

The town is interesting. If you are not in a hurry to get back to Paris, there are worse ways to spend the day than a leisurely lunch and a walk around. You can then either catch the evening train to Paris, or spend the night and travel up on Sunday..


4. Service Information
Schedules are approximate – exact timetables can be consulted at http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/fares_schedules/index.htm.
Best trains are mentioned. Others are slower or have multiple connections.

• To Paris. Travel time is 4.5 hours. There is a direct train at 1p, or a connecting service (taking a half hour longer) at 3:30p, or an overnight couchette train.
• To Nice. Depart Souillac in the afternoon, spend the late afternoon / evening in Toulouse (pick a restaurant, and leave your luggage there), depart by overnight train at midnight, arrive Nice 8a.
• To London. Via Paris. Add 3.5 hours for the station change in Paris, and the ongoing trip to London.

5. Suggested POST-TRIP VISITS

Rocamadour. A nearby cliff town of extraordinary beauty. We offer a package visit for trips ending in Souillac in June and October.

• Transfer by taxi or minibus to Rocamadour on Saturday afternoon (departure from Souillac station at 3:30p, trip time is less than 30 minutes).
• Dinner
• A Saturday hotel night, based on shared occupancy (rate guaranteed to singles willing to share -- typically, many of our Cévennes riders will also be staying at the same hotel).
• Breakfast the next morning.
• A Sunday train from Rocamadour to Paris.
• The services of a Blue Marble Trip Coordinator, present in Rocamadour.

Price is 179€ (209€ single). Without train to Paris, 36€ less.
Sunday transfer from Rocamadour center to Rocamadour station is by taxi, and is not included in the price. Allow 15 € with tip.


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/fares_schedules/index.htm

Souillac is a minor stop on the main line from Paris to Limoges to Toulouse. Service is sparce, however.

Planes. Toulouse has the closest airport. A train to Toulouse runs at 3p (ar. downtown Toulouse 5p). Limoges has a tiny airport, served by Ryanair (a train departs Souillac 1p, ar Limoges city 3p). The closest intercontinental airport is Paris, but you cannot reach it in time for a Saturday flight.


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.