After a Rick tour in Spain, I plan to visit Arles for a few days. Looks like nearest major airport is Marseille is there an easy way to get from Marseille airport to Arles? Or should I be looking at flying into Nimes or Avignon?
Posted by
Honolulu/Seattle, HI/WA, USA
2788 posts
If you do not get satisfactory answers to your question on this web site, you should drop in on the RS Office there in Edmonds and ask one of the trip consultants. You should be entitled to a consoling session at 50% off if taking a RS tour.
I go there and take advantage of the offer every year and have always gotten good ideas.
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
Bus from Marseille airport to the main railway station then train to Arles. The train journey is about an hour.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
This site shows a bus from Arles to Marseilles. http://www.mrsairport.com/eng/acces/acces_train.jsp
Posted by
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4085 posts
There are frequent trains from the station near Marseille airport. The trip takes an hour or less. You can research the trip at www.tgv-europe.com Keep in mind the standard warning that you must specify a country other than the United States (it doesn't matter which one) to avoid being bumped to RailEurope. As departure station, type in Marseille Provence Aeroport. Also, the schedule seems to indicate a change of trains, but what it really shows for the first leg is the shuttle bus from just outside the airport terminal to the tracks.
HOWEVER, and this is a big however as I learned the hard way, there is no agent at the station. You must either order your ticket delivered to your home, which will take some time, pick it up at another station in France, which you probably can't do if you are arriving at the airport, or have a chip-and-PIN credit card to get the ticket from a machine before taking the shuttle.
Posted by
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4085 posts
Sorry to need a P.S., but here it is. I wasn't clear enough about the route; I am recommending you do not go into the main Marseille station. My suggestion requires only a few minutes ride to a small station at the edge of the airport.
Posted by
Portland, Maine
2916 posts
I wouldn't reject RailEurope out of hand. I recently used it for tickets from Bordeaux to Paris, and it worked fine. You can have the ticket emailed for printing on your computer, with a backup for printing at a ticket machine at the train station.
Posted by
Stuttgart, Germany
3050 posts
But RailEurope is almost always more expensive than buying your tickets directly from the SNCF at TGV-Europe.com....
Posted by
OP
Edmonds
2 posts
Thanks, everyone -- I was hoping one of you savvy travelers knew up-dated status on a new train station near Marseille airport. I could find website rumors that one was pending, but needed confirmation that one really existed. Looks like it's now up and running so I'll plan accordingly. So appreciate your input!! Shirley - Edmonds