Since there are several forms of transportation in France (High Speed Train –TGV, Intercites train, TER train, Intercity bus, air, car pool), each with associated costs and travel times, it can be difficult to select one. Below you’ll find tables with different types of transportation and their costs and travel times.
I’ve tried booking 1 1/2 month in advance, on the 4th of September I booked for the 31st of October – (which is not really possible with car pooling – blablacar), trying to get the cheapest ticket possible. Obviously when you try yourself you’ll probably find totally different prices, but it’s the principle that is shown here.
NOTE: Remember to add at least 2 hours to air travel times due to security requirements. Often the 2 ours will stretch to 3 if you have bags that require check-in.
A comparison of cost in € and times in hours, traveling between two French cities using various means of transportation.All schedules and costs were looked at 1 month in advance except BlaBlaCar. All reservation were made for a Wednesday.
(1) Paris - Nice | € | Hours | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Bus | 46.5 | 28:45 | 2 changes, with IsiLines |
Car | 59 | 9:30 | Blablacar, 1 week in advance |
Airplane | 75 | 1:30 | Direct, EasyJet |
Train | 82 | 5:45 | Direct |
(2) Bordeaux - Lyon | |||
Bus | 25 | 8:10 | Direct, Ouibus |
Airplane | 36 | 1:10 | Direct, EasyJet |
Car | 43 | 5:30 | Blablacar, 1 week in advance |
Train | 70 | 5:22 | 1 change |
(3) Lille - Strasbourg | |||
Bus | 22 | 11 | 1 change |
Car | 35 | 5:15 | Blablacar, 1 week in advance |
Train | 50 | 3:52 | 1 change (direct possible) |
Air | 51 | 1 | Direct, Hop! |
(4) Clermont Ferrand - Biarritz | |||
Bus | 28.98 | 10:25 | Flixbus, change at Bordeaux |
Car | 58 | 5:45 | Blablacar, 1 week in advance |
Train | 107 | 11 | 2 changes |
Air | 169 | 6:40 | 1 change, Air France |
Conclusion
As you can see, going by bus wins hands down, followed by private (pooled) car. Then it’s a toss up between air and rail. However, going by bus or car will take you a lot longer.
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