Traveling from Provence to Dordogne... train or car?

Tesa, my wife and I made the drive from Ille sur la Sorgue to our gite in Les Eyzies 2 years ago. It was a good drive but much! longer than I expected - 9+ hours. France doesn't seem to have east/west motorways so the drive was mostly 2 lane roads with lots of roundabouts. The roadways were good and safe; it simply took much longer than expected.

Thanks for the reply. Did you enjoy the drive and make some stops along the way? Would you have rather taken a train?
Tesa

Well, you generally need a car to get around Dordogne--I would highly recommend it. Have you checked to see if the places you want to visit are served by public transport? Most aren't. If you are planning on joining a tour or otherwise know you don't need a car, have you compared drive times to train times?

Another option is train, then picking up a car there. Have you check into rail service to Toulouse or Bordeaux? It would be an easy drive from those cities to Dordogne.

Christy, We are definitely going to rent a car in Dordogne and we'll be renting a car in Provence... we were just trying to decide how to get to Dordogne. It seems like the train takes about 9-10 hours and some one already posted it took them over 9 hours to drive. I like your suggestion of going to Toulouse and then driving in. Thanks

Thanks Steve for chartig it on viamichelin. It looks similar to mapquest. We are also considering skipping the Dordogne because it's a bit out of the way and going up to Tours from Provence which is our next stop.

Hi Tesa, back to you on your question about whether we enjoyed the drive between Provence and Les Eyzies. The simple answer is yes. Probably the only reason I remember the actual time (9+ hours) is because I had a gite owner waiting for us to arrive to deliver the key for our week long gite stay. Using Michelin, I'd estimated 6-7 hours, so I was a little stressed. As long as you know how long it takes, enjoy the drive! Responding to your question about whether you should skip the Dordgone ... don't skip it. It is a beautiful, historic, and less touristed area. The Dordogne is now our favorite region in France.

Thanks for all your posts Will. Did you stop often along the way on your drive? What route did you take? Was it hard to find your way?

At this moment we are leaning toward just going to the Dordogne. I am thinking we might take the train from Cassis (where we'll have spent Friday night) to Toulouse, rent a car and drive from there to Les Eyzie/Sarlat area. How does that plan sound, logistically?

Hi Tesa, your train to Toulouse idea sounds good. Than you'll be on high speed motorway most of the driving portion of the trip to Les Ezyies. Having a car makes the Dordogne really enjoyable. Part of the reason our trip from Provence to the Dordogne took so long is because we routed the drive through the Gorges du Tarn. It's like being in a huge national park. The drive is very winding and we stopped frequently for pix. Although beautiful, I wouldn't do that route again. I like your idea much better.

Sorry I dont remember the exact details of the time it took, but I have made the drive from Rocamodour to Isle Sur la Sorgue and it was a long but pleasant drive..
we left early in the morning and arrived early afternoon with a stop in Nimes for lunch and a little sightseeing. We mainly took the toll road which was very easy.