Getting there

During summer 2006 approx. 30% of our guests flew with Flybe, Ryanair, Easyjet or Bmibaby. 25% came via Eurotunnel. 25% took the Condor or Brittany Ferries car ferry to St.Malo and 20% took car ferries to other channel ports.

By Plane

Approx Airport Distances from LaVendange

LaRochelle: 50mins, Poitiers: 1hr 10mins, Bordeaux: 1hr 40 mins, Limoges: 2hrs, Nantes: 2hr 10mins, Bergerac: 2hr 10mins

Ryanair offers flights to a number of towns in the region. The most popular flights are from Stanstead to La Rochelle or Poitiers. Both these airports are just over 1hr drive from LaVendange. Both flights run daily during the summer.

Ryanair also operates flights from Liverpool and East Midlands airports to Limoges airport.

Flybe runs daily flights to La Rochelle from both Southampton and Birmingam airports.

Easyjet operates a Sunday flight from Bristol to La Rochelle (from 3rd June 2007) or a daily flight from Gatwick to LaRochelle from 14th July. There is also a daily flight from Luton to Bordeaux.

Bordeaux is also another option with regular Air France, BA Easyjet and Bmibaby flights. It takes just under two hours to drive to LaVendange from Bordeaux airport.

A number of hire car firms operate in the area and are easy to find on the internet. Hertz (booked through the Ryanair website ) is often the cheapest at around 130-150 pounds/week, depending on the size of vehicle.

By Ferry/Car

Approiximate Port distances from LaVendange

St.Malo: 4hrs, Caen: 5hrs Roscoff/Cherbourg: 6hr, Calais: 6hr30mins.

The two largest companies that provide sea crossings are P&O Ferries and Brittany Ferries. Condor also provides a good value daytime fast ferry service from Poole or Weymouth to St Malo.

The closest sea crossings used by our guests include:

Pool, Weymouth to St.Malo

Portsmouth to St Malo, Cherbourg, Caen or Le Havre

Poole-St Malo or Cherbourg

Plymouth-Roscoff

Weymouth-St Malo

Cork-Roscoff

Rosslare/Dublin-Cherbourg

Other alternatives which involve short sea crossings and more driving are Dover to Calais, Newhaven to Dieppe, and of course the Eurotunnel.

The cheapest and quickest (short crossing) way to get over is Speedferries.com. Be quick though, they only have one boat so are booked well in advance at peak. It goes to Boulogne which is handy for the new Rouen - Le Mans - Tours route. (See driving.)

By Train

St Jean d'Angely has the closest rail station, ten mnutes walk away, but the frequency and connections are limited.

The main stations nearby with good connections are Angouleme, Niort and Poitiers, which are about 1 hour away. It takes about 4 hrs from London to Angouleme by train. The SNCF and Eurostar websites are very comprehensive and give you a variety of itineraries to choose from.

Our Recommendation

With flights and car hire becoming cheaper every year, flying to France is becoming increasingly popular. Flying can actually work out less expensive than taking the ferry during peak season, if you book flights well ahead in order to get the cheapest seats.

For those who prefer to drive, catching the overnight ferry from Portsmouth to St Malo is an excellent option. You arrive early the next morning and it is an easy 4 hour drive from there. The late night sailing from Caen back to Portsmouth is also popular. In our experience it is worth paying a bit more for an overnight ferry. It is much nicer to have a shower in the morning followed by a (relatively) easy drive, than to spend all day in the car. Alternatively you could go Dover-Calais and stop off for a night on the way down. Many guests have said it was well worth it, having tried the long haul before. The Loire valley ( Tours or Amboise) and Le Mans city are both popular stop-overs.

Driving

The motorways in France are generally well maintained and uncrowded. For some sections there is a toll. To plot the best route down to St Jean d'Angely where you turn off the motorway, visit the AA route planner website.

The only slighly tricky bit being at Rouen. There are several ways through or around Rouen. It shouldn't take more than about 20 mins.

Also be a bit careful when the A28 dog-legs at Le Mans. Take the Tours direction. Do not take the Bordeaux one. (It's not a disaster but will add about 40 minutes to your journey.

Driving from Calais

With the new A28 motorway via Le Mans now completed, it only takes approx. 6 hrs 30mins to drive from Calais with no need to go anywhere near Paris. Getting lost or stuck in traffic on the Peripherique is a thing of the past for us.

Motorway Tolls in France

The tolls can be quite expensive, depending on where you are coming from. From Calais to St Jean d'Angely is approx. 50 euros. From St. Malo however, most of the motorway is free, except for a section of the A83 from Nantes to Niort (about 8 euros).