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Air travel to our properties for rent in the South of France especially to the regions of the Languedoc, Provence, Côte d'Azur and even Corsica has been revolutionised by the advent
of cheap “no-frills” airlines like Ryan Air, Flybe,
Easy Jet and Thompsonfly, who have return flights to the region
for as little as £30 return including airport taxes in low
season. Their competition has meant that British airways have also
reduced their tarifs.
For Western Languedoc it may even be worth considering flights
to Girona in Spain, about an hour south of the border. Some airlines
refer to it as “Barcelona-Girona”, (although it is
closer to France than to Barcelona!).
***A new Ryan air flight Bristol-Beziers Cap D'Agde will be operating from 31st March 2008 on a Monday, Thursday and Sunday.
***Ryan air will also be operating a flight from Stansted to Beziers Vias in July and August 2008!
To see a comprehensive list
of flights from UK airports to southern France's airports - click
on the plane button above.
Lowfarelights.co.uk A very useful site indeed - It compares latest
airfares from the lowcost no-frills airlines from the UK (it does
not have details of some full service airlines like BA and Air France).
Fares are updated daily.
cheapflights.com
All airlines from all UK airports.
Consider flying from your local airport to Paris then on to a local
airport in South of France, or to Gerona just over the border in Spain.
From the USA:
- Check out Air
France for through-ticket to one of the regional
airports via Paris. Despite their reputation for being pricey
they can be surprisingly competitive, eg. LA to Montpellier,
changing at Paris, was recently available from about $400 return.
- Or look at flights to London Gatwick (eg. Virgin) then British
Airways or Ryan Air to regional airports in South of France.
Airport Parking:
Start your holiday to France by saving on your UK airport parking.
flypark.co.uk
uk-airport-car-parking.co.uk |
For Provence and Côte d’Azur take the Reims-Rhone
valley route (A7 autoroute).
For Central Languedoc take the Massif Central Route (A75 autoroute) which is
shorter and prettier than going via the Rhone valley. The A75 is free south of
Clermont Ferrand and there is no longer a bottle-neck at Millau now that the
new viaduct has been completed.
Distances from channel ports, (and estimated driving times):
| |
CAEN |
CALAIS |
Perpignan |
1074 km (10 hrs) |
1144 km (10-11 hrs) |
Carcassonne |
835 km (9 hrs) |
1058 km (10 hrs) |
Beziers |
980 km (9 hrs) |
1050 km (10 hrs) |
Avignon |
920 km (8.5hrs) |
988 km (9.5 hrs) |
Nice |
1170 km (11 hrs) |
1231 km (11.5 hrs) |
ROUTE PLANNERS:
(Estimated journey times, distances, autoroute tolls):
viamichelin.com The
Michelin Guide's website; best all-round guide; route-planner,
hotels, restaurants: the lot!
Maporama.com route-planner & maps
Mappy.com route-planner & maps
Hotel Stop-overs:
www.Accor.com handles
on-line bookings for several hotel chains:
Formule 1 less than €30/night
Etap €30 to €40 /night
Ibis €45 to €65 /night
Novotel, Mercure and Sofitel all about €60 to €90 /night.
Guidesdecharme.com Charming
hotels and B&B. |
Don't assume that you will get the best deal with your airline's car-hire partner
- Shop around!
Car Hire Online
EveryCarHire.com
Auto
Europe
rentacar
Alamo.com
location-voiture-vehicule.com
ADA.fr (french) Cheaper than the big boys.
Sixt Also
have very competitive prices.
Avis
Europcar
Hertz
English website: lists all the car hire companies in Avignon
Car hire companies direct:
| |
ADA |
Avis |
Budget |
Citer |
Europcar |
Hertz |
Sixt |
| Toulouse |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
| Carcassonne |
N |
Y |
Y |
N |
Y |
Y |
N |
| Perpignan |
N |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
N |
| Montpellier |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
| Nimes |
N |
Y |
Y |
N |
Y |
Y |
N |
| Avignon |
N |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
N |
| Marseille |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
| Toulon |
N |
Y |
Y |
N |
Y |
Y |
N |
| Nice |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Of the car hire companies Ada and Sixt tend to be the cheapest.
People arriving on the train to Béziers might want to know there are 2 car hire companies just outside the train station.
AVIS is open Monday to Friday: 8.30-12.00 and 14.00 - 18.30
Saturday: 8.30 - 12.00
Their number is 04 67 28 65 44
If you would like to book out of hours, go through your travel agent or contact the Nice office.
EUROPCAR is open Monday to Friday: 8.00 - 13.00
and 14.00 - 18.00
Saturday: 8.00 - 14.00
Their number is 04 67 62 09 89
If you cannot pick up the car during office hours, you can reserve in advance with your credit card details and your driving licence details, the Terminus Hotel (opposite the station) will give you the keys when you arrive.
When dropping the car off, again if you are not able to make it during office hours, you can leave the keys at the Terminus Hotel - however this incurs a 3€ charge. |
Eurostar.com London
to Avignon direct trains take less than 6 hours.
raileurope (TGV
= "Trains à Grande Vitesse"). Less than
3 hours from Paris to Avignon! A good alternative to second-leg
flights following trans-Atlantic flights.
SNCF.com The French railways official website.
Morocco
Best Villas for rent in Morocco and Marrakech - check out our new venture in Morocco - discover the luxury of private holiday villas for rent in Morocco - we have the very best at www.moroccanvillas.com.
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