Arriving at Bergerac Airport

The nearest airport is located in Bergerac (Airport Bergerac Dordogne Périgord), about 37 miles away.

Flybe offer direct flights from Birmingham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Manchester and Southampton.
For up-to-date routes please refer to the Flybe website.

Ryanair offer direct flights from Bristol, East Midlands, Liverpool and London Stanstead.
For up-to-date routes please refer to the Ryanair website.

Jet2.com offer direct flights from Leeds.
For up-to-date routes please refer to the Jet2.com website.

British Airways offer direct flights from London City Airport.
For up-to-date routes please refer to the British Airways website.

Other Airport Information

• Bergerac - Airport Bergerac Dordogne Périgord (about 37 miles away) - www.bergerac.aeroport.fr
• Brive La Gaillarde - Brive-Souillac Airport (about 42 miles away) - www.aeroport-brive-vallee-dordogne.com
• Limoges - Aéroport International de Limoges (about 63 miles away) - www.airportlimoges.co.uk
• Bordeaux - Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (about 100 miles away) - www.bordeaux.aeroport.fr

Airlines and Destinations

• Flybe - www.flybe.com (Also fly direct into Limoges & Bordeaux)
• Ryanair - www.ryanair.com (Also fly direct into Brive, Limoges & Bordeaux)
• Jet2.com - www.jet2.com (Fly direct into Bergerac)
• British Airways - www.britishairways.com (Fly direct into Limoges & Bordeaux)
• easyJet - www.easyjet.com (Fly direct into Bordeaux)

Useful Booking Agency Links

• Skyscanner - www.skyscanner.com
• Expedia - www.expedia.com
• Travelocity - www.travelocity.com
• Cheapflights.com - www.cheapflights.com

Departure Ports

In England - Dover, Folkestone, Hull, Newcastle, Newhaven, Plymouth, Poole and Portsmouth.
In Ireland - Cork.

Arrival Ports

In France - Calais, Dieppe, Dunkirk, Roscoff, St. Malo, Cherbourg, Caen and Le Harve.
In Belgium - Zeebrugge.
In Netherlands - Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

Channel Crossing Options

By Train

• Eurotunnel - www.eurotunnel.com (By Car - Runs from Folkestone to Calais).
• Eurostar - www.eurostar.com (By Passenger - From Ashford, Ebbsfleet, London to Paris).
• SNCF/TGV - www.sncf.com (By Passenger - From Paris to Périgueux with 1 Change).

By Boat/Ferry

• Brittany Ferries - www.brittany-ferries.com (Crossings from Portsmouth to St. Malo, Cherbourg, Caen and Le Harve / Poole to Cherbourg / Plymouth to Roscoff / Cork to Roscoff).
• P&O Ferries - www.poferries.com (Crossings from Dover to Calais / Hull to Zeebrugge / Hull to Rotterdam).
• DFDS Seaways - www.dfdsseaways.co.uk (Crossings from Newcastle to Amsterdam / Dover to Calais and Dunkirk / Newhaven to Dieppe).

For up-to-date routes please refer to the relevant websites noted above.

From the North East of France

In order to avoid Paris, good routes to take are:-

From Dunkirk > Calais > Rouen > Le Mans > Tours > Poitiers > Angoulême > Brantôme > Périgueux > Gîte
From Calais > Rouen > Le Mans > Tours > Poitiers > Angoulême > Brantôme > Périgueux > Gîte
From Dieppe > Rouen > Le Mans > Tours > Poitiers > Angoulême > Brantôme > Périgueux > Gîte

From Calais it takes about 8 hours and is the preferred route that my family have used many times when visiting us.
From Périgueux direction, please don’t take the A89 Motorway/Autoroute to the gîte, please see ‘When Nearing the Gîte’ below.
If you travel down through Paris and to the East side of France, it is possible that you will pass through Terrasson, again please see ‘When Nearing the Gîte’ below.

From the North West of France

From Cherbourg, Caen or Le Harve > Le Mans > Tours > Poitiers > Angoulême > Brantôme > Périgueux > Gîte
From Roscoff > Rennes > Nantes > Niort (outskirts) > Angoulême > Brantôme > Périgueux > Gîte

From Périgueux direction, please don’t take the A89 Motorway/Autoroute to the gîte, please see ‘When Nearing the Gîte’ below.

When Nearing the Gîte

Depending upon your chosen route you may decide to use the A89 Motorway/Autoroute, otherwise know as the ‘La Transeuropéenne’, which connects Bordeaux to the West of us with Lyon to the East of us.

Important Note:-

• From the West (Bordeaux/Périgueux) direction, you need to come off at Junction J16, otherwise you will pass us by, wave, stamp your feet and end up near Terrasson.
• From the East (Lyon/Brive-la-Gaillarde) direction, you need to come off at Junction J17, otherwise you will pass us by, wave, stamp your feet and end up near Périgueux.
• So the best road to access us from Périgueux or Terrasson is the D6089.

Don’t worry, if in doubt, when you book, if you inform us of your proposed route, we can advise you of how to find us and send you some maps and instructions etc.

Some Tips for Driving in France

• At the time of writing Diesel is currently around 1.25 euros and Petrol is a bit more. So try to leave the UK with a low tank and fill up when you arrive in France (but not in a Motorway Service Station!).
• If you need a full tank of fuel, don’t pay extortionate Motorway Service Station prices. Use your Sat Navs features like ‘Point of Interest’ (or similar) and look for an Auchan, Carrefour, E.Leclerc, Hyper U or Intermarché, where more reasonably priced fuel can be found.
• Sat Navs are great until you hit roadworks or diversions, personally I find French diversions lacking in signage, therefore, it is probably a good idea to also have a map as a backup.
• Where there is a lack of signage, we have found the best policy is to continue on the road that you are on until you are instructed to otherwise turn off it!
• The French are quite religious about their lunch ‘hours’, normally 12:00noon - 2:00pm, sometimes till 3:00pm. So I prefer to travel then, to take advantage of slightly quieter roads and eat before 12:00noon or after 3:00pm. Note though that some independent places don’t serve after 2:00pm, however, service stations are usually non-stop.
• In summer it can get very hot, so ensure you have plenty of soft beverages at all times.
• Driving laws and safety requirements change all the time, so check a website like RAC to keep legal.
• Strongly consider not leaving home without a good comprehensive Breakdown Insurance Policy, which covers you for also driving in Europe.
• Likewise I would also suggest taking out a good comprehensive Travel Insurance Policy.