Getting to the airport in Bordeaux from Sarlat

Our first trip to Dordogne we stayed near Sarlat and flew home from Bordeaux. Drove to Bordeaux, stopping to get our last fix from our favorite pastry shop and fixings for a picnic dinner. Turned in the rental car and got a shuttle to the motel. Arranged at the front desk for a taxi the next morning since we had a 6:15 AM flight. So your plan should work fine.

The only fly in the ointment was our big bags wouldn't fit in the taxi trunk. If I could only ride in the front seat, "no not allowed". The motel clerk tried to help but no. The taxi had to make two trips, one for me and one for my wife. I thought for sure we would miss the plane. We were still in line at scheduled take off time but we made it.

Enjoy Sarlat and the cliff side river villages! We return in May for a month and are looking forward to it.

Thanks for the information--by any chance, do you recall where you stayed? I don't know when our flight will be, since we're still working on dates, but even if later, being closer to the airport beats a long drive! Since we only travel with carryons, I don't think putting our bags in a taxi will be much of a challenge.

If you're staying for a month, you must have really liked the Dordogne. Any suggestions of what are the must sees (besides the caves) for a 4 or 5 day visit? We were thinking of staying in Sarlat rather than moving after a couple of days, unless it makes more sense to do that.

Staying in Bordeaux the last night makes sense, but not at the airport. It's not a long trip from the center to the airport. We did it by tram and bus, but a taxi is even easier.
As far as the Dordogne is concerned, Sarlat would be a good choice. We spent a week at a house in nearby Beynac, which was great. Here's a link to my travel blog, which has several entries covering our Dordogne stay. http://mainelywinenews.blogspot.com/2016/04/from-bearn-to-dordogne.html

You probably already know this, but just in case you or another reader doesn’t...

If you are leaving from the Bordeaux airport the morning of your overseas flight, you need to be sure the two flights are on one ticket/connected itinerary and your bags checked through to your final destination.

If not, you could drive to Bordeaux and take the two-hour train ride to stay in Paris the night before your highstakes overseas flight, or fly to CDG and spend the night there.

A third option would be starting your flight itinerary home from the Toulouse airport, a larger, busier airport and a center of the airplane industry.

Robert, the posts from your blog are lovely and inspiring. Looks like just driving and stopping at villages along the way is the way to go. We had thought of a hotel rather than a gite--do you need to be there for a week for a gite? how do you find them?

And thanks, Bets, for the thoughts about the ticketing. We would book the connecting flights on the same ticket, so that wouldn't be a problem, and since we always travel with only carryons, no issues about checking bags to the final destination.

Try L'Ombriere. The couple are lovely and serve delicious breakfasts ! We had a delightful stay here to visit Beynac, Sarlat, Urval, and La Roque. And we decided that the Dordogne was one of our favorite areas of France.

Make sure to eat at the Michelin restaurant La Belle Etoile in La Roque. It is a flat 35 euros and just exquisite. Friends ate at Paul Bocuse in Lyon for $250 and determined that this wonderful restaurant on the Dordogne is excellent !

Make sure you canoe the river.

Look at http://www.les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org for the best of the best villages in France to see every village you can visit in the region.

No I don't recall the motel we stayed at. It was a long time ago.:)

The restaurant mentioned above in la roque is our favorite. Request a table on the terrace next to the river if possible.

If you are there on Sunday we love the morning market in St Cyprien. We get chicken/pork/vegies/wine etc for lunch or dinner at home.

Also our favorite pastry shop is on the road going to St Cyprien, south side of the road, Les Gourmandises de Lucco.

We love driving the back roads, canoeing the Dordogne, antique fairs, gardens.

The house we rent is near Cenac. We frequently visit Sarlat but wouldn't want to stay there. We prefer the countryside.

Also this time we are flying into and returning from Toulouse. We found the airline connections better than Bordeaux.

Thanks for the suggestions--we will definitely try to go to La Belle Etoile. I know that canoe trips are popular, but the second week in October might be rather cool, so not sure about that.

The countryside looks amazingly beautiful and there are many nice places to stay, but I had thought that Sarlat would be better since there is a town to walk around in the evening. If we were outside the town, and had to drive there, it seems that parking might be an issue. And especially on market day--we will be there for the Wednesday one and would love to go.

The connections from Toulouse don't look that much better for us than those from Bordeaux--the return is a nuisance from either place. We need to start in Bordeaux because we are taking a river cruise, and when we finish that, the car will be rented from Bordeaux, So it will probably be easier to return it in the same location and just deal with a return flight from there. I suppose another alternative would be, after returning the car, to take the TGV to Paris and then fly from there, but I don't think that will save either time or money. The Dordogne and Bordeaux are just not the most convenient locations for travel to and from!

Thanks for the suggestion, Andrew. I did check Lufthansa, but the total travel time isn't really different, and the Lufthansa tickets were more expensive than Delta, so no benefit.

"do you need to be there for a week for a gite?"
It depends on the region, the time of year, and the particular gite. We've always used Gites de France (www.gitesdefrance.com). We've always rented for a week at a time, which used to be the only option. But that's not always the case anymore.
And don't pay any attention to this statement: "Bordeaux is Dullsville." Bordeaux is actually quite attractive and lively.

You will enjoy a after dinner walk thru old Sarlat. Also early morning walks in up the hill in Beynac and la Roque. At Beynac all the way up to the chateau. Both of these will likely be without many tourists or locals. Very good photo ops. I think it was la Roque that had a house built around the rock of the hill, pretty neat.

The pastry shop I recommended, for best choices get there before 9 AM.

Andrew, I disagree about Bordeaux. As a tourist, I've been there several times, and have always enjoyed it. Rick Steves isn't always right. On the other hand, the prestigious chateaux/wineries don't interest me. I've visited wineries in every wine region in France, except for Bordeaux (unless you count St. Croix du Mont/Cadillac/Loupiac).