As Rick Steves says, it's tough! 1. We'll be arriving at Sarlat at 13:07 and hope to have Copeyre Canoe pick us up for the 9 mile Vitrac Port to Beynac paddle. Will there be enough time to see La Roque-Gageac, Chateau de Castelnaud, and Chateau de Beynac, before the latter closes at 6pm (last entry at 5:15)? Or should we do this trip the next morning and maybe do the Day 2 activities below on this day? We expect to take a taxi from Beynac back to Sarlat. 2. The second day we'd like to go to see some prehistory at Les Eyzies and perhaps see Grotte de Font-de-Gaume (need reservation). The only viable train leaves Sarlat at 12:15 for an hour trip. The only viable return is at 19:47 for an hour. I was thinking of maybe renting bikes for the day and cycling from Sarlat to Les Eyzies and perhaps seeing more of the surrounding countryside. But what about hills and traffic? My wife and I are fairly accomplished cyclists (we'll be coming from a 5-day bike trip in the Loire Valley), but we'd like it to be enjoyable.. Any advice would be appreciated! Merci!
Posted by
Bellevue, WA, USA
811 posts
you may want to look into renting a car. i thought chateau de beynac closes earlier than 5:15 - last time i missed it and i thought i arrived earlier than that. there are actually a lot of prehistorical sites in the area, including some cave houses. i don't remember any bike lock near the entrance, so you're better off with a car. i don't think the train or bus in the area is that great. you can drive to the canoe shop and rent if weather is good - you don't want to be on the water when it rains.
Posted by
Marin, CA
532 posts
We stayed at Les Cordeliers Hotel in Sarlat and the owner is the most gracious helpful person you'll ever meet. You may want to make a reservation there and see if he can help you.
Posted by
Austin
976 posts
I don't know what time of year you are traveling, which makes a huge difference as to daylight and visibility on the roads. We're drivers, saw very few bicyclists on the 2 lane roads here in July a few years ago, but would not have wanted to be on the roads past late afternoon. Traffic varies with locals driving very fast, tourists trying stickshifts, and delivery trucks. Beautiful scenery, not a lot of extra space on the road.
We stayed in Montignac and drove the area; wish we had stayed longer. The above suggestion to ask your hotel is an excellent one.
Posted by
Los Angeles
1825 posts
Paddling the Dordogne is less of a tour and more of a way of enjoying the river. Unlike what RS does in the video (which looks ridiculous) people wear bathing suits and stop to swim and picnic. Stopping at La Rouqe is easy and worthwhile however visiting the castles isn't feasible. They are at the top of the hills and walking there in wet shoes wouldn't be much fun. If you arrive a 1:00 you won't be settled in for several hours and there won't be time for the canoe trip. I would rent a car in Tours and drive to the Dordogne. You really want a car while you are there.
Posted by
Boston, MA, USA
250 posts
Echoing the other posters. If you rent a car, you'll be able to do these things. Otherwise, it's kind of a logistic nightmare. Hotel Montaigne in Sarlat had parking.
Posted by
OP
Rocklin, California, United States
4 posts
Thanks for all the info. I've already pretty much commited to getting to Sarlat by TGV (mostly) from Tours. A one-day car rental from Europcar in Sarlat is pretty steep at about $80/day, but I may give it a go, especially since Copeyre Canoe says they won't pick us up in Sarlat (although the 2012 RS France book said they would)...