Getting to Le Mans.....advice please

[Geoff66]

We're off again this year, ours is the easy bit, we'll drive from Somerset to Portsmouth, get on a boat and then drive to Le Mans... However, I've been chatting with a mate who lives in Newcastle, and he is now trying to join us. The best plan so far would appear to be:- Fly from Newcastle to Paris, then train to Le Mans, tram to the circuit. The tricky bit is the timing, he will be flying on the Thursday and can book the flights now, but he cant book the train tickets until April. He then has to return to Paris on the Sunday morning. Do any of you have experience of the train ? Will he have a good chance of getting train tickets ? is there a better option ? Any advice will be gratefully received, cheers.

[FredericRobinson]

He'll have no problem getting the train tickets, one of our lot still has the airline baggage label on the deckchair he booked onto the Newcastle-Paris flight in 2005. Tram makes things nice & easy getting from the gare to the circuit these days too.

[Troubleatmill]

Worst case - one way car rental. I did it when coming from Holland. The French TGV drivers went on strike for a few hours.
In Paris - missed the last connecting train.

Found a Hertz office, hired a car one way to Le Mans. The guards at the campsite let me leave the car at the gate. Dropped it off in town first thing in the morning.

[isynge]

Train is utterly straightforward. Worst case scenario is you'll have to kick your heels at CDG for a while if you want a direct one, but that's not a huge hardship and then it's a very comfortable ride around Paris and thence to Le Mans.

Alternative (and this may come into play if your mate is flying on Ryanair or other budget airline) in which case you need to get in to Gare de Montparnasse, not a vast hardship, and gets you onto the right side of Paris so there are more frequent trains and they hit the fast track more quickly.

Either way, don't worry at all about train related aspects of getting to Le Mans. I've done it (admittedly not around race weekend) a few times and never had any sort of substantive problem.

[Geoff66]

Sounds like the train plan will work well....thanks all.

One other option is for him to fly into Southampton and get on the ferry at Portsmouth, then if anyone has a spare seat he could be a contributor to fuel/tolls etc !

Either way, it looks as though another grown man will lose his LM virginity this year, so that's got to be a good thing !

[GlennC]

Yep, TGV is the correct choice, there is no need to stress, there are plenty of trains available during the LM week direct from CDG

Though the bookings generally come available 3 months prior to travel, so start looking in March. There are some great deals when ticketing first opens

[billy no brakes]

Geoff66 said:

Sounds like the train plan will work well....thanks all.

One other option is for him to fly into Southampton and get on the ferry at Portsmouth, then if anyone has a spare seat he could be a contributor to fuel/tolls etc !



Either way, it looks as though another grown man will lose his LM virginity this year, so that's got to be a good thing !

Or if he can get to Kent on the Wednesday morning he can come with us as we have a spare seat in a tvr, going via the tunnel, only one way though as someone is joining us on the Friday