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Leaving Your Trip in NIMES
This page offers help (concrete or informational) on leaving your trip. Topics include...
- Where you Leave Your Trip (see immediately below)
- Our “Access Packages,” designed to help you to do so.
- Suggestions on how to time your ongoing travel, whether you are having us arrange it, or doing it yourself.
- Service information regarding train travel from your trip end location.
- Suggested post-trip visits, especially when these are not geographically obvious, but are rendered economical and convenient by direct rail connections.
- Hopefully helpful hints for those setting up their own travel from the trip.
If you wish to arrange some or all of your travel through us, please tell us what by means of this response questionnaire, designed to collect all the information we need to be able to book your travel.
1. WHERE and WHEN Do You Leave Your Trip?
Your trip disbands on Saturday evening, in Nimes, after a full biking day and a short train ride out of the mountains. An optional Sunday night extension to ARLES is on offer... see the post-trip visits, below, for details.
If you wish to arrange your own ongoing travel (in other words, you do not want to set up any ongoing travel arrangements through us), a couple of hints regarding ongoing travel are offered at the bottom of this page. Otherwise...
2. Our ACCESS PACKAGES
as of February 10, 2008
The closest intercontinental airport in terms of travel time is is Paris’ Charles de Gaulle. Geneva, Nice and Barcelona, listed in order of convenience, are all geographically closer, but they take longer to reach (and Barcelona also costs more).
Our “Access Package” includes a Saturday night hotel in Nimes, and a Sunday ticket to any of the above, or to downtown Paris. Our London “Access Package” includes a train to London. Be sure to consult “Service Information,” below, before booking a Sunday flight, to be sure that train schedules to your selected departure point are compatable.
Our 2008 trips are scheduled to be in Nimes during the “Feria” weekends — a big bull-fighting and drinking extravaganza that takes place twice a year. Hotel space is hard to come by. Please reserve this package well in advance.
Base (Starting) Access Package Price: 99€ in Spring, 114€ in Autumn.
If you are a North American traveller, the $ price (US or Canadian) on your price chart applies until 35 days prior to trip departure. Otherwise euro prices are transcribed to your invoice in its currency, converted at the exchange rate of the day on which the package is requested (rounded to the nearest whole dollar). Current “mid-market” rates can be consulted from the site we use for conversion. We use the mid-market rate on the day of conversion, and add 2% to cover currency broker exchange commissions (our conversion rates are thus as good as, or better than, any you could obtain, including via your credit card, unless you are a professional currency trader).
Availability is normally guaranteed until 35 days prior to trip start (payment received by us). Within 35 days, availability must be confirmed, and costs may be slightly higher. Some extra-cost options also have higher prices if ordered w/in 35 days.
Included:
- A hotel night in Nimes, based on shared occupancy. Typically, a majority of your past weeks’ travelling companions will also be staying over.
In 2008, our autumn trip dates correspond to those of the Feria weekend, a big bull-fighting and drinking extravaganza that takes place twice a year. Lots of local color. Maybe a bit too much.
- Breakfast, if you have time / can get out of bed for it.
- Sunday train tickets from Nimes to any of Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport, downtown Paris, Geneva, or Nice. Tickets to Barcelona are available for a small additional cost.
Tickets are in 2nd class, not refundable or exchangeable once ordered (see below for extra cost first class or flexible tickets).
- Seat reservations on trains which require them.
- A printed schedule / itinerary, highlighting any connections.
“Ride the Bike Train” Discount Travel Arrangements
Package as above, with a Sunday late-morning train to Paris via Avignon, save 50€.
OR
Saturday evening TGV to Paris (no package): 29€.
No upgrades available.
Options Offered at an Extra Cost (subject to availability)
Prices are in addition to the “Base” Access Package Price. For a general discussion of train upgrades, see here. Topics include the relative comfort of first versus second class, and different types of accommodation available on overnight trains.
- Tickets to London. Add 59€ if you are also purchasing tickets from London at the start of your trip, 89€ if not, or if you prefer a changeable ticket (in 1st cl., add 89€ or 135€; 1st class tickets include meal service).
Add 10€ to any fare for service via Paris (stop-over permitted).
- Sunday train to Barcelona, 14€. To Milan, 33€. To Madrid, Florence, or Rome: 69€.
See below for 1st class upgrades.
- Flexible (Exchangeable) Tickets.
To Paris or CdG airport: 35€. To Geneva or Barcelona, 19€. To Nice, 11€. To all other points within France: 35€ maximum. To other non-French destinations: 49€.
These tickets are exchangeable at any station, on a space-available basis, at any time until the train’s departure, for free if the exchange is made prior to the date of travel, or for 10€ on the date of travel. Cost of either exchange is 10€ higher if you make it through us (as opposed to going to the ticket counter yourself). Tickets are refundable less 20% before the train’s departure.
- 1st class train tickets (in lieu of 2nd class):
Tickets are not refundable or exchangeable once ordered (see above for extra cost flexible tickets).
- 19€ to Nice or Geneva via direct train.
- 29€ to Paris, Charles de Gaulle, Barcelona, or to Nice or Geneva via connecting train.
Also applies to “Comfort Couchette” upgrade on the overnight train to Strasbourg.
- 39€ to Milan.
- 49€ to Florence or Rome, or to points in Germany / Austria / Denmark / the Czech Republic.
Trips involving the overnight train to Strasbourg include a “Comfort Couchette” on the overnight train to Strasbourg.
- Private single room in Nimes on Saturday night: 22€.
- Tickets on the Paris airport train, to Charles de Gaulle or Orly from anywhere in Paris. Follow this link for details.
Alternate Arrangements, in lieu of our usual packages (subject to availability)
Prices are complete (in other words, they are not in addition to the "Base" Access Package Price)
- Hotel in Nimes (additional nights, or without rail tickets): 54€ shared occupancy, 89€ single, including breakfast.
Shared occupancy rate guaranteed to singles (on the post-trip Saturday night only) until 35 days prior to departure.
These are special Feria prices, higher than usual for what are objectively modest hotels....
- Saturday evening TGV to Paris: 59€ including reservation.
Tickets are in 2nd class, not refundable or exchangeable once ordered (see above for extra cost 1st class or flexible tickets).
- Saturday overnight train to Strasbourg. Connects w/ daylight trains to Munich, Prague, Frankfurt, Salzburg.... 79€ to Strasbourg, 129€ to Frankfurt, 159€ to Prague, Vienna or Copenhagen, 149€ to other points in Germany or to Salzburg.
Prices include a couchette sleeping berth on the overnight train. Tickets are in 2nd class, not refundable or exchangeable once ordered (see above for extra cost first class or flexible tickets).
Upgrade from 2nd cl. couchette to “comfort couchette” on overnight train: 55€.
3. TIMING Your Trip
While you can, of course, rush through the riding day, you cannot compress it completely. It is 30+ hilly k from our hotel to the nearest rail station, and then you have to wait for the (infrequent) train to Nimes. Planning a pre-6p departure (or a flight scheduled to take off before 8p) will effectively take one of the most beautiful days of the trip, and turn it into a chore.
In addition, Nimes is interesting. And you will not have time to see it on Saturday evening (when the trip arrives). If you have the flexibility to do so, try to schedule your departure such that it leaves you time to visit a bit. This is especially true if your trip happens to correspond to the Feria weekend... one of the most interesting and lively town festivals in France.
Finally, if you can afford an extra day, we offer a one-day extension to nearby Arles, one of Provence’s prettiest towns. Details are below.
Like airplanes, trains from Nimes require reservations. You must not only tell us where you wish to go, but at what time of day you wish to travel. Allow ample time to connect to a flight: the airline is not responsible for train delays, and though these are rare, they can happen. Moreover, it can take a while to get from train to check-in counter.
4. Service Information
Schedules are approximate – exact timetables can be consulted at http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/fares_schedules/index.htm.
Best trains are mentioned. Others are slower or have multiple connections.
- To Paris. Travel time is 3 hours, Sunday service is every 2 hours starting at 8a (the last Saturday night train is at 8p). Bike trains run on Saturday evening, or Sunday late morning with a connection in Avignon (adds 2 hours to the trip).
- To Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport. Travel time: 3.5 hours, Sunday service from 7:30a.
In a pinch, you can reach CDG an hour earlier (10a) via a 75€ taxi ride to Avignon, and a 6:45a TGV from there.
- To Nice. Travel time 4.5 hours. Sunday service every 2 hours from 8a, with one connection. The last Saturday evening train is at 6p.
- To Geneva. Travel time is 3.5 - 4 hours. Sunday service is every 2 hours from 7a, with one connection. A direct train runs at 2p, making the trip in 3 hours. The last Saturday evening service is at 7p.
- To Barcelona. Fast Sunday services at 6a and 4:30p (a 5-and-a-half-hour trip with one connection).
- To London. Fast Sunday trains at 9a, 12n and 3p with a connection in Lille. Trip time 7 hours.
Additional services with approximately the same travel time are available via Paris, spread throughout the day.
5. Suggested POST-TRIP VISITS
Arles. A beautiful pedestrian city less than an hour from Nimes, inspiration to Van Gogh, sight of a preserved Roman amphitheatre, and a delightful place to wander. Spend Sunday morning in Nimes, continue to Arles at your leisure. dinner and a hotel night in Arles, and travel onwards on Monday (the same ongoing travel choices are on offer as for Nimes, at the same price).
We offer a “package extension” to visit Arles, including the following.
- Sunday train from Nimes to Arles.
- Dinner in Arles.
- Hotel nuit en Arles (apologies to Van Gogh).
- Breakfast Monday morning.
- The approximate services of one of our coordinators (present during your stay).
- Package price is 119€ shared occupancy (guaranteed to singles willing to share), 149€ for a private single room. Lodging in Nimes on Saturday night is additional, or the Nimes “Access Package” may be subscribed, with ongoing travel from Arles instead, at no additional cost.
6. Hints on TRAVELLING INDEPENDENTLY After the Trip
Guests subscribing to an “Access Package” need not read this section.
See also “Timing Your Trip” and “Service Information,” above, as either of these may additionally help.
We gladly provide travel consulting (schedule or routing information) concerning post-trip individual travel. In particular, we have invested a great deal to become railway experts. Our service fees are reasonable: a 20€ charge for all but the most complex projects – or the most simple (for instance, only a 10€ charge applies if the service is limited to the preparation of a routine rail ticket). You will generally find them well-justified by the time they will save you in research, standing on line, overpaying for your tickets, or all three.
But, for some, this type of research is fun. So, here are some hints, intended to start off hardened “do-it-yourselfers.”
Trains. Schedules for all routes can be consulted on this web site:
http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/fares_schedules/index.htm
Nimes is served by TGV (high-speed train) to northern France, including direct service to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport. Main line trains also run to elsewhere in France, Switzerland (one daily TGV), northeastern Spain, and northern Italy. Overnight sleeper trains go to France’s west coast (La Rochelle and Brittany), Italy, Madrid, and western Germany via Strasbourg. Trains to Italy and Madrid depart too early for you to be able to catch them on Saturday night.
Planes. Nimes has a tiny airport, traditionally offering mosquito planes to Paris (the airline has changed three times in as many years, and the route is not served at this writing). Nearby Montpellier and Marseille both have more service, though only intra-European at this writing.
Marseille is bigger, but it is not easy to get to, despite its proximity (infrequent train to the city center, connecting bus...). If you can find an equivalent flight from Montpellier, you will have an easier trip.
Ryanair serves London Stansted from Nimes. Other Ryanair airports within two hours by train are Montpellier, Carcassone and Perpignan.
Train frequencies and travel times to regional airports from Nimes are as follows. Montpellier: hourly, 30-min. trip, service from 6a. Marseille: irregular service runs roughly every 2 hours; a 1-hour trip, service from 8a. Carcassone or Perpignan: irregular, but every 2 hours on average; trip time is 2 hours. Service from 6a to Perpignan, 7a to Carcassone.
If you wish to arrange some or all of your travel through us, please tell us what by means of this response questionnaire, designed to collect all the information we need to be able to book your travel.
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