Hello everyone,
I will be staying in Sarlat-la Caneda for 5 days and would rather not rent a car. I was wondering if it’s convenient to use Uber or a similar taxi-type service instead of driving.
I’d love to hear from people who have visited the area and how they got around.
Thanks, Debora
We had a car and it was well worth it! Stayed in Sarlat…..love their market…..and Beynac. Take a canoe trip down the river and enjoy the beauty!
It's a very rural area, with a few small taxi and guide services, but I wouldn't consider it convenient if your plan is to walk out of your hotel and hail a cab. We were there last Fall with a car which gave us the freedom to come and go as we pleased.
deborawkart,
Definitely get a car. You will miss a lot relying on buses and Uber is not huge there, I suspect. The beautiful countryside, plus the locations of much that you will want to see, makes a car indispensable, IMO. Rental car options are a bit limited at Sarlat, I think. Best to plan ahead, just in case you decide to rent one.
debora, I'll be interested in the responses you receive. I, too, would like to travel the Dordogne without a car.
I came across several companies that do day tours out of Sarlat.
Ophorus has been mentioned previously in these forums with good reviews. Most tour companies require a minimum booking of 2 persons. I have found in the past with other tour companies, if you can be flexible, contact the company directly. They can tell me which tours/dates already have bookings and can add a solo traveler to the tour. They may not be able to confirm you until a few days before the tour.
We were in the Dordogne region, June, 2025. We had a rental car and drove everywhere. No problems, although it can be a challenge to find parking in some of those villages if it is market morning. Most of the roads were similar to lesser used state roads in the US. Not much traffic on any of them. You will waste a lot of your vacation time if you don't have a car.
What makes the Dordogne so attractive is that it's extremely rural, with dozens of small villages, castles, and caves lost in the middle of nowhere, inaccessible except on foot, by bicycle, or by car.
There are no Uber drivers in the Dordogne; it wouldn't be useful; there wouldn't be enough people to transport. Locals don't use Uber, and many don't even know what it is.
There are very few taxis; these are mainly used for medical transportation, such as for elderly people in retirement homes who have medical appointments at a hospital or doctor's office (taxi fares are paid by the social security system). Taxi companies are also often private ambulance companies, as operating solely as taxis in the Dordogne is not profitable enough.
The bus network is not designed, with a few rare exceptions, for tourist routes but for locals, and especially for school transportation with the resulting routes and schedules.
So, to summarize: A tourist without a car has no chance of visiting the real Dordogne, even with a travel agency that will only show a glimpse of a few places for an exorbitant price.
As for Sarlat, it's one of the largest towns in the Dordogne, with less than 9,000 inhabitants. Over the years, it has transformed into a kind of visitor center overrun with tourists, many of whom don't go further than Beynac-et-Cazenac and La Roque-Gageac, which is about 10 km from Sarlat, with the exception of Lacaux IV, which is 25 km away. The Dordogne Valley is over 150 km long. Sarlat is located at the far west of this valley, but the landscapes, castles, and villages are identical all along the valley, as well as in the Lot Valley a little further south.
Any good travel guide will tell you about it.
We were very happy with the service of Eric Faugere Taxi several weeks ago. I even have his information because I asked for his card for future use. He drove us from Domme to Sarlat, was waiting even before the agreed time (and we later saw him waiting for someone on an incoming train when we were leaving Sarlat), so punctual and also seemed a conservative and safe driver. Based in Sarlat, Telephone 05 53 31 62 43. His card says Excursions toutes distances.
