Hi! We have booked our plant tickets --yay! and found places to stay. Our next task is looking at transportation. We fly into Bordeaux, and rent a car when we leave there to drive to Sarlat, then off to Paris and fly out of there to home. Would it make more sense to drive back to Bordeaux and take the TGV train to Paris or could we return our car in Sarlat and take the train to Paris, so less driving for us?
Posted by
20 posts
We took a similar route without a car in 2022. As I recall, we had to take the train back to Bordeaux in order to get to Paris, so you will pass through Bordeaux either way. Sarlat is fairly small; are you sure you can return a car there?
Posted by
OP
28 posts
There is a Europcar rental place there, but I have not emailed them to ask about this option
Posted by
Gig Harbor, Washington, USA
1966 posts
Our trip was in 2018, so things may have changed. Europcar was the only rental agency in Sarlat and it had very limited opening hours. There are lots of car rental agencies in nearby Brive. We took a train from Brive to Paris. It was a slower train, but it was less hassle and still quicker than returning the car in Bordeaux.
Posted by
Green Bay
22629 posts
The TGV is only 2 hours to Paris. Have you looked into a place to drop the car in Sarlat? The connecting train from Sarlat is 2 hours and 15 minutes to Bordeaux, so figure that in.
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
2467 posts
I would definitely drive back to Bordeaux and take the very fast and nice TGV train to Paris. We went to Bordeaux in 2023, spent the night to see some of the city, and drove the next day to the Dordogne (about 3 -3 1/2hours on country roads, not the autoroute). It was an enjoyable drive. After our ten days in the Dorodgne valley, we drove back to Bordeaux the same way and spent a couple of nights before taking the TGV to Paris. You could do the same without staying in Bordeaux on your return, but if you are arriving in Bordeaux after a long overseas flight (and transfer at CDG to the Bordeaux flight), make sure you aren't too tired for the drive. I don't think you will save much time going from Brive to Paris. In Bordeaux there are lots of car rental agencies at the airport and at the train station. It would probably be no problem picking up your car at the airport and returning it at the train station.
I concur that you may find limited car rental and return options in Sarlat, and maybe a drop-off fee for not returning it in Bordeaux.
Go to Autoeuropoe.com for options.