La Vélodyssée - return journey

[MrsHJ]

Actually I’m slightly gobsmacked by how expensive the train is but it is still a bit cheaper. E224 (so £195) inc the bike for Biarritz to Saint Malo, one change at Paris Montparnasse-07:35-16:20 with a 2 hr wait in Paris. I priced for one months time so there may be no bike spaces doing it last minute and the price would go up. Maybe the train would be cheaper if booked further ahead.

NB I would recommend pricing up a carte advantage if you are doing trips like this- it costs 49 euros but saves a third off train fares at the weekends and I think it covers 2 travellers. I would recommend an Interrail pass as this would also save you money but sncf is well known for not integrating Interrail and bike bookings on their tgv or intercity services so you’d be stuck with TER which is fine but would take a lot longer.

No doubt Ryan air Bordeaux to the UK would be cheaper and quicker (and arguably more soul destroying! )

Edit: I’m impressed you got the night train CatleChat- I struggled to find it bookable the last time I looked- there in theory but not in reality but I was looking for the Narbonne service. Good to know it worked so well. I’ll persevere the next time it looks like a possibility for a French trip- I did the Nightjet twice this year and it mostly worked well.

[simonhill]

As the train goes via Paris, you can go via Calais unless you want the SW. This saves a lot.

[MrsHJ]

As the train goes via Paris, you can go via Calais unless you want the SW. This saves a lot.

I think CatleChat nailed the solution and as you say that was for Calais. Also means you finish cycling and could hop straight on a train so you’ll likely be home in less than 24 hours (and also possibly without a shower!). Of course the poster who drove may be resident in Portsmouth and it was a good fit for him. jdsk often advocates hiring a car and it is a viable option but wouldn’t be my first choice.

TBH the whole south west thing doesn’t always means you save time (and definitely not money) by taking local ferries- going via Paris and London could still potentially work ok as the trains and ferries are a lot more frequent. Certainly worth researching.

I admit I quite like the local ferries but that’s mostly to stuff myself with crepes before I leave and so I don’t need to deal with big cities. It’s got so pricey recently that I have been put off.

[CatLeChat]

I’m impressed you got the night train CatleChat- I struggled to find it bookable the last time I looked- there in theory but not in reality but I was looking for the Narbonne service. Good to know it worked so well. I’ll persevere the next time it looks like a possibility for a French trip- I did the Nightjet twice this year and it mostly worked well.

It appears to book out very quickly on certain dates -weekends, bank holidays etc - and I think it then won't show up in certain booking engines. I had alerts set up on a few different websites to tell me when it opened for booking but they didn't seem to work, so I nearly didn't manage it.

One thing I will say about the night train is that Bayonne isn't the first stop, it doesn't stop for long, and the access into the bike storage is awful - really narrow to even get onto the train and then a tight corner to get into the actual bike storage. You want all panniers off, and even then at least 5 random French people will tell you that you have to dismantle your bike, while you patiently explain that you have paid the extra fare for an assembled bike. I was also sharing a couchette compartment with someone who had turned all the lights off before the train got to Bayonne and left bags all over the floor (and ladder!) who didn't seem to realise that this made it really difficult for anyone joining the train later to actually make up their beds/not trip over everything. She also locked someone out of the compartment when they went to the loo in the middle of the night, meaning the poor dude had to hammer on the door to get back in and woke us all up, so even if you can book it, the night train isn't without it's annoyances!

[b1ke]

I haven't read all the responses to your post, so this may have already been covered.

I caught the train to Dieppe, via Paris from Hendaye a few years ago after doing the Velodyssee. Think it cost about £85. There was also a £10 cost for the bike (Paris train), which may have been extra, or may not. Then I got the ferry to Newhaven. Pretty easy journey, as I remember.