My wife and I do not drive in Europe. We stick to public transportation. Has anyone traveled from Sarlat to Carcassone other than by car?
Thank you, Milo.
Posted by
Sydney
12 posts
Yes we travelled soley by train through France last February. To get to Carcassonne there is a bus that takes you from Sarlat train station to Soulliac train station through some stunningly beautiful countryside to connect with the train to Carcassonne. The cost of this connection is included in your ticket as it is a bus service run by the rail company The bus trip is about 45mins. The only downside is that we had about a 2hour wait for the connecting train so be prepared with a good book. The travel time was then 3hours but quite enjoyable scenery. Can strongly recommend Villa des Consuls in Sarlat and Le Jardin de la Cite in Carcassonne.
You won't go wrong in visiting both these fantastic places.
Posted by
OP
tampa, florida, united states
25 posts
Thank you Louise. This is exactly what we needed.Do you know if the bus/ train runs daily? We are leaving Sarlat on a Monday morning. After Carcassone, we are going to Avignon. Any advice for that? Milo.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
According to the timetables on the French Rail site (voyages-sncf.com), the earliest you can leave Sarlat on the bus is 11:42. If you connect to trains at both Souillac and Toulouse-Matabiau, you'll arrive in Carcassonne at 16:31. If you want to make only one connection and go directly from Souillac to Carcassonne, you'll have a two-hour layover and you'll arrive in Carcassonne at 17:18. Depending upon your departure time, for Carcassonne-Avignon you'll need to make one connection in either Nimes, Narbonne, or Arles.
Posted by
Boston, MA, USA
250 posts
Milo - is there anyway you might reconsider renting a car? So many of the marvelous things to do in these areas depend on mobility. Near Sarlat: the caves, the Dordogne (canoeing, etc.), the various villages & castles. Near Carcassonne: various Cathar sites & villages (Minerve, Rennes-Le-Chateau, Peyrepertuse). And Albi in between. The roads are fine and the logistics of public transport eat up too much of your valuable time. Just saying ...
Posted by
Sydney
12 posts
Yes I beleive it is daily. I think we left Sarlat around 12.00pm and arrived in Carcassonne about 5.30pm.We also continued on to Avignon a few days later. It is about 3hours with one change. Even though all our rail trips were in France, I always consult the German rail website DB Bahn, it is easy to follow and gives great information on many European (not just German) timetables,transfer times and interim stops. After Avignon we went to Beaune, a delightful place, also any easy rail connection (about 3 hours).
Happy travels