If you’d like to find other riders travelling on the same dates, please use the Strava Club page and create a thread, using the travel destination name for your title for outbound transfers, and the departure town for any return transfers (don’t use the Loop name, because several Loops arrive/depart on the same days). It’s worth doing outbound and return as 2 separate threads.
Travel Advice
Travel to Le Loop
You need to arrange and pay for your own travel to and from your first and last hotel unless a transfer is included in the Loop. Please arrive at your hotel no later than 7pm on arrival day.
Train Versus Plane
Train travel in France can be booked on the SNCF website: sncf-connect.com We encourage riders to take the train where possible in order to reduce our environmental impact. We’ve put together guidance notes to help make taking the train as easy as possible.
Team up with other Loopers
If you’d like to find other riders travelling on the same dates, please use the Strava Club page and create a thread, using the travel destination name for your title for outbound transfers, and the departure town for any return transfers (don’t use the Loop name, because several Loops arrive/depart on the same days). It’s worth doing outbound and return as 2 separate threads.
Train Versus Plane
We encourage riders to take the train where possible in order to reduce our environmental impact. We’ve put together guidance notes to help make taking the train as easy as possible.
Team up with other Loopers
Travel To: Bilbao. Friday 23rd June
Ferry: Brittany Ferries has a Plymouth to Santander ferry at 12.15 on the 21st, arriving at 10.30am on the 22nd. It’s then 1hr30 by bus or 1hr drive to Bilbao.
Train: It’s possible to get from London to San Sebastian in one day with a short train or bus ride the next morning on to Bilbao. You need to take the Eurostar, then a TGV train from Paris Montparnasse to Hendaye where you switch to a Spanish local metro train to San Sebastian. For more information, have a look here.
Flight: Easyjet fly to Bilbao from Bristol (Thur 22nd), Gatwick (Fri 23rd) and Manchester (Thur & Fri) and Vueling fly from Gatwick.
Long Haul: If you’re flying long haul to Madrid, there are regular 4.5-5hr ALSA buses from the centre of Madrid direct to Bilbao.
Return From: Paris. Mon 17th July
Train: Eurostar departures from the Gare du Nord and flights from both CDG and Orly go to all UK airports.
Flight: From our hotel, the Gare du Nord is half an hour by metro or a 20 minute/20 euro taxi ride. Both CDG and Orly airports are accessible by public transport (€15 pp) and taxis cost 50-60€.
Travel To: Bilbao. Friday 23rd June
Ferry: Brittany Ferries has a Plymouth to Santander ferry at 12.15 on the 21st, arriving at 10.30am on the 22nd. It’s then 1hr30 by bus or 1hr drive to Bilbao.
Train: It’s possible to get from London to San Sebastian in one day with a short train or bus ride the next morning on to Bilbao. You need to take the Eurostar, then a TGV train from Paris Montparnasse to Hendaye where you switch to a Spanish local metro train to San Sebastian. For more information, have a look here.
Flight: Easyjet fly to Bilbao from Bristol (Thur 22nd), Gatwick (Fri 23rd) and Manchester (Thur & Fri) and Vueling fly from Gatwick.
Long Haul: If you’re flying long haul to Madrid, there are regular 4.5-5hr ALSA buses from the centre of Madrid direct to Bilbao.
Return from Bayonne Tue 27th June
Train: The spectacularly fast TGV goes from Bayonne to Paris (Montparnasse) in 3hrs50, meaning it’s completely possible to travel by train all the way to the UK in one day.
Flight: There’s an early flight to Stansted with Ryanair and a light flight to Gatwick with Easyjet – but those are the only two UK airports with departures on the 27th.
The best air alternative is flying from Bordeaux airport – TGV trains to Bordeaux centre are 1hr45 from Bayonne plus the airport shuttle (20 mins).
Travel To: Bilbao. Friday 23rd June
Ferry: Brittany Ferries has a Plymouth to Santander ferry at 12.15 on the 21st, arriving at 10.30am on the 22nd. It’s then 1hr30 by bus or 1hr drive to Bilbao.
Train: It’s possible to get from London to San Sebastian in one day with a short train or bus ride the next morning on to Bilbao. You need to take the Eurostar, then a TGV train from Paris Montparnasse to Hendaye where you switch to a Spanish local metro train to San Sebastian. For more information, have a look here.
Flight: Easyjet fly to Bilbao from Bristol (Thur 22nd), Gatwick (Fri 23rd) and Manchester (Thur & Fri) and Vueling fly from Gatwick.
Long Haul: If you’re flying long haul to Madrid, there are regular 4.5-5hr ALSA buses from the centre of Madrid direct to Bilbao.
Return From: Clermont Ferrand. Mon 3rd July
Train: The train to Paris from Clermont Ferrand is 3hrs30 and then you can switch to onward trains or planes.
Flight: See above for travel to Paris airports. Alternatively you can travel to Lyon centre by BlaBlaCarBus in 2hrs15 and then take a shuttle bus out to Lyon airport.
Travel to Clermont Ferrand Tue 4th July
We have arranged a coach transfer from Lyon (included in the cost of your Loop) for anyone arriving to Clermont Ferrand. You need to arrive by train or plane to Lyon St Exupery airport (LYS) or Lyon St Exupery TGV station by 14:00 and we will take you from there direct to the hotel (2hrs drive)**.
Lyon by Train: With a quick change in Paris from the Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, you can travel from London to Lyon in under 5hrs30.
Lyon by Flight: You can fly to Lyon airport with Easyjet (Bristol, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Luton, Manchester) or BA (Heathrow).
** Option 2 (if you’d rather not travel via Lyon)
If you prefer, you can travel by train direct to Clermont Ferrand from Paris Montparnasse station in 3hrs30. Just let us know that you don’t need a place on the coach from Lyon.
Return From: Paris. Mon 17th July
Train: Eurostar departures from the Gare du Nord and flights from both CDG and Orly go to all UK airports.
Flight: From our hotel, the Gare du Nord is half an hour by metro or a 20 minute/20 euro taxi ride. Both CDG and Orly airports are accessible by public transport (€15 pp) and taxis cost 50-60€.
Travel to Belleville en Beaujolais (for Chatillon sur Chalaronne) Thur 6th July
Train: There is a TGV station called Macon Loché which is under 20 mins from our hotel. (Macon Loché is 1hr30 from Paris Gare Montparnasse: allow 5hrs for the full journey from London). Alternatively, there’s a station 2km from the hotel called Belleville sur Saone although the fast TGV trains don’t stop here and you’ll need to change in Lyon.
Flight: Either fly to Paris and catch a train as above – or fly to Lyon and take a shuttle to town and then a regional train to Belleville sur Saone (see above) very close to our hotel.
Return from St Gervais Mon 10th
St Gervais les Bains has a train station with trains to Geneva Cournavin (centre) in 2hrs 15 (one change in Annemasse) or Geneva airport in 2hrs 30 (2 changes in Annemasse and Cournavin).
Train: TGV trains from Geneva to Paris take 3hrs 15 and arrive at the Gare de Lyon.
Flight: There are flights from Geneva to almost everywhere.
Travel to Clermont Ferrand Tue 4th July
We have arranged a coach transfer from Lyon (included in the cost of your Loop) for anyone arriving to Clermont Ferrand. You need to arrive by train or plane to Lyon St Exupery airport (LYS) or Lyon St Exupery TGV station by 14:00 and we will take you from there direct to the hotel (2hrs drive)**.
Lyon by Train: With a quick change in Paris from the Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, you can travel from London to Lyon in under 5hrs30.
Lyon by Flight: You can fly to Lyon airport with Easyjet (Bristol, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Luton, Manchester) or BA (Heathrow).
** Option 2 (if you’d rather not travel via Lyon)
If you prefer, you can travel by train direct to Clermont Ferrand from Paris Montparnasse station in 3hrs30. Just let us know that you don’t need a place on the coach from Lyon.
Return from Courchevel Thur 13th July
We have arranged a coach transfer (included in the cost of your Loop) for anyone leaving from Courchevel. The coach will leave Courchevel at 9 to arrive at Geneva airport at 11.00/11.15. If you are travelling on by train rather than plane, there are very regular trains from the airport into town (journey time 10-15 mins).
If you would prefer to depart Courchevel under your own arrangements, the closest train station is Moutiers Brides les Bains, under 15km from Courchevel.
Travel to Clermont Ferrand Tue 4th July
We have arranged a coach transfer from Lyon (included in the cost of your Loop) for anyone arriving to Clermont Ferrand. You need to arrive by train or plane to Lyon St Exupery airport (LYS) or Lyon St Exupery TGV station by 14:00 and we will take you from there direct to the hotel (2hrs drive)**.
Lyon by Train: With a quick change in Paris from the Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, you can travel from London to Lyon in under 5hrs30.
Lyon by Flight: You can fly to Lyon airport with Easyjet (Bristol, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Luton, Manchester) or BA (Heathrow).
** Option 2 (if you’d rather not travel via Lyon)
If you prefer, you can travel by train direct to Clermont Ferrand from Paris Montparnasse station in 3hrs30. Just let us know that you don’t need a place on the coach from Lyon.
Return from Annemasse (from Grand Colombier) Sat 8th July
Annemasse is just over the Swiss/French border from Geneva.
Train: A taxi takes 20 minutes to Geneva’s Cornavin central station or the train is 40 mins. From here TGV trains to Paris take 3hrs 15 and arrive at the Gare de Lyon.
Flight: A taxi to the airport takes under half an hour and the train (with a change in Geneva) takes an hour. There are flights from Geneva to almost everywhere.
To Bayonne (for Dax) Mon 26th June
Train: The spectacularly fast TGV goes from Paris (Montparnasse) to Bayonne in 3hrs50, meaning it’s completely possible to travel by train all the way from the UK in one day.
Flight: Ryanair is the only airline that flies from the UK to Biarritz airport on Mon 26th from Stansted. However Easyjet flies on other days.
If Stansted doesn’t suit, you can fly to Bordeaux airport and take a TGV train 1hr45 from Bordeaux centre to Bayonne.
Return from Cauterets Fri 30th June
We have arranged a coach transfer (included in the cost of your Loop) for anyone leaving from Cauterets. The coach will leave Cauterets at 9 to arrive at Tarbes train station at 10.00/10.30. This gives you enough time for a long lunch in Tarbes and the 16.45 flight to Stansted or the lunchtime direct train (5hrs20) to Paris (currently running at 12.40 but subject to change). An alternative would be a relaxed 2hr30 train to Toulouse and shuttle to the airport for a 17.35 flight to Heathrow.