Souillac to Sarlat

There is a regular local bus from Soulliac station to Sarlat. Leaves right outside the station at Soulliac. It meets trains arriving in Souilliac travelling north and south. About a 25 km trip to Sarlat. Just pay on the bus.

Thanks Judy for the info. How frequent is the bus ? And how do I get back to Souillac from Sarlat ? Same bus ?

We did this trip in 2004 from Soulliac to Sarlat. Can't help with the Sarlat to Soulliac leg. We went on to Bordeaux from Sarlat. I found the Sarlat Tourist Information office very helpful with several queries I had before we arrived. Email them and see if they can help with the bus schedule. www.sarlat-tourisme.com
Enjoy your time in this truly amazing part of France.

OK. But you are saying that from Souillac to Sarlat I dont have to worry about bus frequency. There are plenty, even early morning 5 -6 AM. The tourism office wasn't very helpful. They just asked me to check sncf.com. No information about local buses there. Regards
Sriram

The Sarlat tourist information site does have a link to a page on which you can download the bus timetables. See here. Monday-Saturday buses leave from the Souillac train station for Sarlat at 11:45 and 15:00. It looks like you'll either need to take a taxi or wait for the 11:45 bus. There appears to be no service on Sundays. Monday-Friday the first bus leaves Sarlat at 08:07 and arrives at the Souillac train station at 08:48. There are no morning buses from Sarlat to Souillac on weekends.

Thanks guys.
At 05:00 in the morning would I get a taxi at Souillac station ? And how much would it cost me ? Can I rent a car at Souillac and drop it off at the same point on my way back to Paris ? I have a national license.

I did a Google search for car rental outlets in Souillac and didn't find any. If there are any, they wouldn't open until at least 08:00. There probably is a taxi stand at the Souillac train station, but I have no idea how much the fare would be to Sarlat.

From memory it's about 25 kms from Soulliac to Sarlat. Wouldn't be a cheap taxi fare. Perhaps spending the night before you leave in Soulliac would be a the way to go.

What if we rent a car in Bordeux and drive from there to sarlat ( i think its 2 hrs )? Also, car would come handy when i go to see caves, going around the valley,etc ? You think someone without any knowledge of french and first time in Dordogne can manage self driving there ? Do these rental agencies accept national ( indian ) driving license ? Also, am i right in assuming that france also has right hand driving just like india ? regards
sriram

Yes, it would be a good idea to have a car, but you don't have to rent it in Bordeaux. You can take trains all the way to Sarlat and rent a car there. For example, leave Paris at 07:45, connect in Libourne, and arrive in Sarlat at 13:39. In France the steering wheel is on the left and you drive on the right-hand side of the road. Your national license should be sufficiient, but check the Auto Europe site to learn about what kind of license is required.

A license from anywhere is fine. Driving is on the right. Since you already have train ticket and I'm betting that the train from Paris to Souillace stops at Brive la Gaillarde, you might want to think about getting off there and picking up a car. The drive from Bordeaux to Sarlat is more than three hours and it can be hard to find your way out of Bordeaux. From Brive it's less than an hour and fairly simple. Edit: Tim's always right, but I just can't picture a car rental place in Sarlat. Maybe down at the train station, but I've never been there.

Having a car in Sarlat would be a good idea. We found it difficult to get around to various sites around Sarlat. Public transport is virtually non-existent. We took a couple of day tours which were excellent, but not cheap.

It seems that one needs to have an international license to drive ( Europcar replied to my query ). I am trying to get in touch with Christine Bonhomme of DECOUVERTE & LOISIRS, for a mini van day tour. But hasnt been successful so far. I also reached out to Philippe Mouret. But he charges on hourly basis and the cost is extremely high. Let me know if you guys know of any other tour operators.

Sriram, I went to the Dordogne recently with my wife. We had a wonderful time and there is a lot to do and see. In my opinion you need a rental car with a GPS and a good guidebook. Having a GPS (and they can be set to many different languages) makes driving the Dordogne stress free. I think your current train schedule has a problem. I would travel to Limoges or Bordeaux and rent your car. If you like wine driving through Bordeaux and St. Emilion is a good choice. The three hour drive is through very scenic country if you tell the GPS to avoid tolls. We chose to stay in La Roque and after seeing Sarlat feel we made a good choice. Les Eyzies would also be a good choice.

I don't know where other agencies have outlets in Sarlat, but the one used by Auto Europe has a downtown location. To clarify terms, there is no such thing as an international drivers license. What you need is an international drivers permit which is a translation of the essential information on your national license into eight different languages. I expect travel agencies in Bangalore can tell you where to buy one. You will need to provide two passport-sized photos. Your national license will be primary so be sure to take it with you. You won't be able to pick up a rental car without it.

My daughter and I took our tours with Philippe. Not cheap, but worth every cent. We were the people only tour one day. He went over time at no extra charge. He is a lovely, charming man and a wonderful guide. Even if you take one tour with him, it will be worth every cent.