Thanks to Rick's suggestions, I recently (August 8 - 15, 2015) visited the Lot valley and the Dordogne region of France, without a car. I don't like to drive in a foreign country, and took it as a challenge not to have a car while visiting these regions. Rick's suggestion to contact Philippe Mouret of Allo Phillipe (iallophilippetaxi@wanadoo.fr) worked out beautifully. Philippe met us at the Souillac train station on time, and we rode in his impeccably clean car to Sarlat le Caneda for several days. Bus from Souillac to Sarlat on Sunday was not a good option. Philippe discussed our itinerary with us to confirm our plans for Monday, and picked us up at 7:30 from our hotel (the Hotel Renoir in Sarlat) to get us on the first tour of the day at Rouffignac caves. This was quite a treat; and I'd recommend going there. After that we toured Lascaux II and returned to Sarlat. Tuesday's itinerary included a trip to Rocamadour, capped off with a trip to the caves at Pech Merle, which were the highlight of the trip. Philippe speaks very good English, is an excellent driver and tour guide and was a delightful driver/companion for our trip. He gave us lots of background information, was a fount of information and has a great sense of humor. I'd recommend arranging tours with him, or using his taxi service. He's a thorough professional, and made our trip quite special.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
Sounds great. As a non-driver, I'm always interested in other options. Would you be willing to post how much this cost? I assume it's prohibitive for one person, but if it's not too expensive, I'd definitely consider this.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Harold,
I suggest looking at Philippe's website for pricing information. It's http://www.allophilippetaxi.com. I split the cost with another person; I believe he offers an option as a single person, or several people can share in the cost. I hope you can make it work; I found it a great relief not to have to drive in that part of France. Bon voyage!
Posted by
Tucson
4154 posts
Philippe drove us around when we did a similar trip in 2009. It was October and we were the only passengers, so we got to do whatever we wanted and had time for a couple of suggestions from him. Our day was delightful. We can also highly recommend Philippe.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
dogzoe - Thanks for posting the link!
Posted by
Ypsilanti, MI, USA
233 posts
Happy to hear Phillipe is still in business! I also do not want to drive in Europe and used him for a wonderful day in 2009 around Sarlat to the caves (and also split the cost with another couple). He arranged everything, and I had a fabulous time!