I%26#39;m going on holiday next summer with 6 of my friends, and none of us have a car.
We originally thought of flying, but it%26#39;s turned out very expensive and we%26#39;re trying to keep costs low as possible, so instead we thought we%26#39;d look into catching the train.
I know we could catch the eurostar from london st pancras to paris, but then we need to somehow get from paris down to argeles village station.
Does anyone know the easiest (and cheapest!) way to do this?
Thanks a lot!
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Try this rail site. Put in London and Argeles sur mer plus your dates. When you have results choose - show details for all - shows route and timings.
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
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I have done that journey myself and will be doing so again in June (at least in the reverse direction) as I have half a mobile home near Argeles. The train can be more expensive than flying, but is more enjoyable!
There are direct TGV trains from Paris Gare de Lyon to Perpignan, where you can take the local train for the ten minutes or so journey to Argeles sur Mer. Consult www.voyages-sncf.com for travel options and book up as early as you can for the cheapest fares.
Avoid travelling on summer Saturdays as fares are very high on some routes. I can%26#39;t remember if Eurostar offer a through fare to Perpignan but that might be worth a look, as I have found some good deals with them before I moved to Portugal.
Eurostar and SNCF bookings open 90 days before travel. Reservation is compulsory on all TGV trains.
A couple of years ago I flew British Airways Gatwick to Montpellier for a low price then took the train from Montpellier to Argeles. Add taxi fare and train fare and I think it came to about £150.
Have you been to Argeles before? Many of the campsites are a long way (3 or 4 miles) from the station - mine is - so you might need a taxi when you get there. There is a good network of tourist train things to take people around and about. These run from 9am until midnight every day but can work out costly. I hired a bike when I was last there - the area is flat and although not ideal cycling country (no separate cycle tracks and very busy roads) it was a lot more convenient and a lot less expensive.
I can perhaps help a little more if you need.
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PS - the thought occurs that there are direct trains from Lille to Perpignan at least twice a day. I have seen them. That will avoid the grief of going across Paris from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de Lyon and vv and probably won%26#39;t be a great deal slower overall.
Try this routing:
London St Pancras - Lille Europe - Perpignan - Argeles sur Mer
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Just a few points :
Train is unlikely to be the cheapest option. It is also an 11+ hr journey.
TGV routes :
St Pancras / Avignon / Argeles (Summer weekends only)
St Pancras / Lille / Argeles (year round)
St Pancras / Paris / Argeles (need to change stations via metro in Paris)
Some of the Lille %26amp; Paris routings need another change in Lyon. All need another change at Montpellier or Perpignan.
Air will probably be cheaper, but luggage is reduced because of the weight limits.
Closest airports are Perpignan %26amp; Girona, both having Ryanair flights. There are bus services from both to Perpignan centre , then there is a train to Argeles s Mer. Check out Frogbus from Girona.
The Gatwick - Montpellier service is now run by Easyjet. Note that Carcassonne and Beziers also have cheap flights and are closer than Montpellier. Even further away, but possibly with useful connections are Nimes Avignon %26amp; Marseille airports. There is a Luton - Nimes flight.
Due to the present economic situation, airlines have not yet finalised routes for next summer. Info is updated here :
the-languedoc-page.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php…
the-languedoc-page.com/tourism/languedoc-tou…
Hope that helps
Peter
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I agree with Peter in that travelling by train is very unlikely to be cheaper unfortunately, especially if you can get a good deal by booking a flight early.
Even with all the add-ons eg travel to airport air will be less costly I think.
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