Cheapest way to get from Seattle to South of France

betsy,

The best option would probably be a flight to Marseilles. Travel by train from Marseilles to Arles is reasonably short and not too onerous after a long flight.

I'd have to do some checking to find out which airlines might service that route. I'm sure some of the others will have some good suggestions. You may be able to save some money by flying from Vancouver (given the current state of the Canadian dollar).

Marseille is not a major connection so fares there are higher

Round trip:

$1032 for a flight with 2 stops or $1120 for one stop

Seattle to Paris - $746

Train Paris to Arles $65

Seattle to Frankfurt $566 - nonstop - dang - I'd jump on that!! I used September 8 return 22nd - this was Lufthansa

Play around with flight options here

and trains here

It's difficult to talk dollar prices without knowing when the flights will take place. I ran a test on www.itasoftware.com for early September. It showed a number of combinations from Seattle to Marseille, costing about $120 US more than Seattle-Paris. There is local train service from the Marseille airport to Arles costing about $14. The train from Charles de Gaulle airport to Arles is about $85 US depending on the time of day. So the comparison is close, financially. My choice would be the connecting flight to Marseille, a smaller and efficient airport, making for a more comfortable day. (My real choice would be to fly into Marseille and home from Paris, using a multi-destination search to find the flights.) http://www.marseille-airport.com/access-car-parks/access/trains

what dates did you use southam?

Unless you are going to stop and visit Paris first, it's best to have your connecting transportation all on one ticket. So that would generally mean one airline ticket, such as flying Seattle-Marseille with one connection in Amsterdam or Paris (on Delta), or one connection in London on British, or one connection in Frankfurt on Lufthansa. That way, the airline is responsible for getting you to your destination, regardless of delays on the first flight.

Some airlines may sell connecting train tickets in a similar manner, but I don't know which ones. Paris-Arles train tickets only cost $65 if booked well in advance, not refundable or changeable, and useless if you miss the train. The full fare that you're more likely to pay at the last minute is about $150.

Cheapest & easiest are rarely the same.

Christi: "Early September"; I don't remember the exact dates.

Thanks to everyone who posted suggestions. This forum is fabulous. I've been traveling for years and just started mining the wisdom of Rick Steves' afficionados recently. I should have started long ago. Betsy
My travel blog is www.EmpoweredGrandma.com.

The cheapest way may be to fly out of Vancouver instead of Seattle, but the logistics could make it painful. There are cheap flights to Gatwick on Westjet and Air Transat, and then you could take EasyJet to Marseille and the train to Arles. Or try booking Air Canada through to Marseille.

Thanks to everyone who gave wonderful advice. I have made my decision for the trip, which will be to England instead of France. but I will save this thread for future reference. Bon Voyage.