Just wondering what the best option is for a group of 7 to travel from Lourdes to Milan or at least San Remo. We have two persons aged over 60, two aged 19 yrs and the rest between ages of 30 and 40years old. We would like to do it as cheaply as possible but also need to be sensible about it. Nothing worse then over tired people and sore backs/necks!
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If this is not a trip you must make but rather one you would like to make, you might want to rethink it. The best you could do by train to Milan would be about 15 hours with multiple changes. San Remo would not be a whole lot better, probably around 12 hours. As far as I can see there are no budget airlines operating from any airport near Lourdes to Milan.
If you have to make the trip the best way would likely be to rent a vehicle large enough to carry all of you and your luggage. If you are returning to France you could drive all the way to Milan and then return. If you will not be returning you would have to leave the vehicle in Nice and continue by train or pick up another rental in Italy.
The easiest place to research train timetables is bahn.de but to get an idea of fares you would have to use voyages-sncf.com, trenitalia.it, and/or tgv-europe.com You can use viamichelin.com to get an idea of driving times and routes. Your rental, should you choose to go by road, is best arranged through a broker such as autoeurope.com Finally you can look for budget airlines that might be of some help — though I had no luck with this — at whichbudget.com
Otherwise there are always Air France and Alitalia but you would probably have to get to Toulouse to find direct flights to Milan with either.
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Air France currently operates daily flights between Toulouse and Milan, but you should bear in mind that one way fares on full service airlines are extremely expensive. ( Toulouse - Milan A$ 1,000 +)
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Yes and only one flight per day. It still takes along time as well:
Lourdes to Toulouse 2 hours by train
Toulouse to airport 30 minutes on bus
At least one hour at airport for checkin security etc
Actual flight time 1hr 15minutes
Wait for bags at Milan airport 30 minutes
Travel into city centre by train 40 minutes
Total estimated time around 7 hours.
By train, the most efficient journey (ie with fewest changes) leaves Lourdes at 1405 via Toulouse (change trains with 1 hour 41 minutes wait), Perpignan (change trains again, 2hrs 45 minutes wait and time for dinner I guess!) then there is a direct overnight sleeping car train from Perpignan to Milan Central leaving at 2244 arriving 0950 the next morning.
That%26#39;s about 20 hours end to end but includes several hours waiting for connections en route. It is actually quicker (but almost certainly infinitely more hassle) to travel from Lourdes all the way to Paris on the overnight train which leaves at 2200, arriving Paris Austerlitz at 0710 then making a very rapid transfer across the city to Paris Gare de Lyon for the direct TGV to Milan which leaves at 0742 arriving in Milan at 1455. And the German railways database mentioned above also offers some bizarre alternative routings which are a little quicker, but with in some cases six changes of train including going through Switzerland on the way.
That prompts the thought as to whether it would be quicker/cheaper/easier to fly from Lourdes to Paris (Orly) then from Paris (Orly) to Milan. That research is however out of my area!
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Thanks for all you responses. We have decided that we will break journey and see some other sights along the way. Lourdes to Avignon, my reserach says approx 7 hours by train (stay a couple of nights) then Avignon to St Remo, 6 hour 14 mins (stay one night) then San Remo to Lake Como (3 nights) , 5 hours. This should be a less taxing option I hope. now for the costing total by Rail europe is $136 AUD. Will check snfc site for comparison. thanks again all.
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Thanks for all you responses. We have decided that we will break journey and see some other sights along the way. Lourdes to Avignon, my reserach says approx 7 hours by train (stay a couple of nights) then Avignon to St Remo, 6 hour 14 mins (stay one night) then San Remo to Lake Como (3 nights) , 5 hours. This should be a less taxing option I hope. now for the costing total by Rail europe is $136 AUD. Will check snfc site for comparison. thanks again all.
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That sounds much more enjoyable! I%26#39;m just wondering if it wouldn%26#39;t be less expensive for you to hire a vehicle and drive as far as Nice. That would also allow you to explore around Avignon and a bit along the way without having to pay extra for tours or whatever.
Just a thought...
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