Dordogne Itinerary Review

Why are you staying at two places? I would just stay in Beynac the entire time.

Went back and forth on that but decided that I wanted a taste of two different atmospheres in the evening. We like to have wine with dinner and obviously don’t want to be driving. Places change after the crowds leave. I know it’ll take a little time to switch lodging but I’m ok with that.

We stayed in Sarlat for four nights last month. Do NOT try to arrive in Sarlat on a Saturday. The market fills the entire medieval center and most of the streets are blocked, however the market is definitely worthwhile. Maybe you could re-arrange your hotels to stay first in Sarlat, then switch to the other location if you want. Our best meals in Sarlat were at Coin Coin and Gueles de Gossier. (spelling?) We enjoyed our dinner at Le Presidial, the garden setting and food were lovely, but the service was so haphazard it was ridiculous!

Martel was our favorite of the many villages we visited and it was not crowded. We also enjoyed Brantome which is about an hour northwest of Sarlat. Chateau Commarque was our favorite castle, but we enjoy ruined castles more than restored ones. You don't need an English tour at Lascaux IV - they give you an audio tour in your language. We had no trouble getting tickets at Font de Gaume a month ahead, but we really enjoyed visiting Pech Merle much more. It works well combined with a visit to Cirq la Popie. For a sense of place, you might enjoy reading a couple of the Bruno mysteries by Martin Walker which are all set in the area.

We were in the Dordogne last Fall and stayed in Beynac and loved it. I'd highly recommend the balloon ride. It's hard to describe taking off at dawn when it's still misty. You'll be done before noon and still have plenty of time to visit a couple of castles; Beynac Chateau and Castelnaud la Chapelle are close together. If you're interested, here's my Trip Report.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-part-2-hills-and-castles-dordogne

Cynthia, I am hoping that we should be able to get into our B&B ok on Saturday morning. It is north of the medieval center of town (yet still within walking distance to it) and has it's own private parking that we can check into early, even if our room isn't ready yet. Fingers crossed it won't be a complete mess. Thank you for the restaurant recs; I will look into them.

I too enjoy ruined castles and appreciate your recommendation for Commarque. I wasn't sure if we would have time for it; I will pencil it in and maybe we will have time for it. It looks like it is only open 1:00-5:30 daily while we are there so somewhat limited visiting hours. Good to know on the tour at Lascaux. I really wish we had time for Pech Merle and further south. We will have to go back as there is a lot in that area that I would like to see. And thank you for the book recommendations!

Allan, thanks for the encouragement on the hot air balloon flight. I'm seriously scared of heights but I'm trying to hype myself up for it! I actually relied heavily on your trip report when doing my planning and really appreciate your detail in your report. It was also part of the inspiration behind our two nights that we have planned in Beynac.

I think your schedule looks fine as long as you realize you might not get to everything. We liked Beynac and La Roque Gageac more than Domme, but I don't really remember why. Martel and Collonges-la-Rouge were great.

We loved Font de Gaume, Lascaux IV, and Peche Merle. I don't know what the audio tour is like at Lascaux IV, but the in-person tour in English was extremely well done, and the timing at 11:10 is good.

In Sarlat, we stayed at Villa des Consuls, which had a reasonably priced arrangement with a nearby parking garage, which was a big help. But arriving there mid-day on a Saturday could be difficult. You could ask your hosts if they have any recommendations about when to arrive.

Here is my report, in case it is helpful.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-paris-lyon-dordogne-lot-toulouse

When you visit Font de Gaume, you can easily visit https://musee-prehistoire-eyzies.fr/ in Les Eyzies.

With the few days you have in the Dordogne, I don't see why you'd switch accommodations, especially since it's less than a 15-minute drive from Baynac to Sarlat. You'll be staying in exactly the same area while the Dordogne Valley is over 200 km long.

From Beynac, it'll only take you a few minutes to get to the "Journées du Goût et de la Gastronomie" in Sarlat. It's the kind of trip I make almost every day just to go to the bakery, so IMHO, switching accommodations in this context is absolutely pointless.

Just in case, I remind you that this week-end (September 26th and 27th) is dedicated to lamb (not the wool, the meat) and Pomme de terres sarladaise"

If you absolutely want to switch atmospheres and since you have to go to Brive-la-Gaillarde at the end of your stay, go further east to an area less crowded with tourists than Sarlat and Beynac.
Stay in the area near Martel. You'll experience a change from a touristy atmosphere to a more authentic one and there are enough places to keep you busy for more than a week in this area.

Remember that hot air balloon rides and canoeing/kayaking activities are highly dependent on weather conditions, so be flexible with your planning.

Regarding the hot air balloon ride, final confirmation will be sent to you the day before the flight. Postponement or cancellation is always possible. The good news is that even if you're facing a fear of heights and unable to climb a ladder, you probably won't suffer from vertigo aboard a hot air balloon.

River activities are also primarily dependent on the water level and its flow, which can change from day to day, especially after heavy thunderstorm.

A list of places, things to see and do in the region in this map, which I try to update regularly.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1OdPOg8AgsNn0Jlv1cNHkujaWv9p_Jpc&usp=sharing

I have found your itinerary as we are planning to spend time in Dordogne and it looks great. And very helpful Some things we would like to do. However we will be there in November and so I was wondering if anyone had thoughts about the area at that time of year?

Regarding the hot air balloon ride, final confirmation will be sent to
you the day before the flight. Postponement or cancellation is always
possible.

This is important. I received a text the day before, but I was busy siteseeing at 3:52pm when I received a text via WhatsApp that the flight the next morning was on and to reply with my name and OK to confirm. But I only had until 4:00 to reply or they'd give my spot away. Luckily I had pulled my phone out at 3:55 and saw the message. The flight the day before had been cancelled and they were filling any unconfirmed spots.

If you decide to do the flight I'd recommend waterproof shoes. We took off from a grassy field that was soaked with morning dew.