Travel to France - help!

[Midge25]

We've booked a holiday in the Dordogne in June ... the nearest airports are Bergerac or Bordeaux. The prices for flights seem astronomical, (£1000 ish for two adults and one child) although this is my first trip abroad for a few years and we've left it a bit late booking flights so it could well be me.
Has anyone got any top tips for good 'flight supermarket' type websites?
The alternatives are Chunnel/ferry/drive or Eurostar+train to Bordeaux. Our dd is 4 and am worried about occupying her. And am not sure whether to buy train tickets to Bordeaux on arrival in Paris or to buy at this end. Has anyone done this before and how frequent/fast are the trains?
TIA

What will you do for a car once there? Hire? Because you REALLY need a car in the Dordogne, there are so many places to go and not very much public transport.

You could drive, but I would break the journey if I were you with a four year old.

Where are you travelling from in the UK?

i would drive (in fact we are going to the Dordogne in July, driving from Brussels). DFDS have some good bargains for their new Dover - Calais sailing at the mo. A dvd player is indespensible at that age, but the journey is quite doable. I too would stop over night somewhere - where would depend on where you are coming from.....

Not sure on your exact dates, but with Ryan air you can fly from Stanstead to Bergerac on 16th June, back on 23rd June for £221.94 - That is for all 3 of you not including lugage.

HTH

Thanks so much. Friends we're going with have lg car so don 't need to hire, and finally found some decent prices from East Mids (nearet airport) to Limoges-success!

For flights, try Skyscanner. What are your dates?

Personally, I would drive. It will probably cost £500 all in with crossing tolls and fuel. For the four year old - just get her a DVD player and let her watch some films.

Trains to Bordeaux are simple with a change at Lille:

www.seat61.com/France.htm#London to Bordeaux by train

We have driven to France for the past two summers.

Last year we were in the Dordogne for the first week, then slightly more northerly with extended family for a second week.

the previous year we stayed near Carcassonne.

IMO driving is easier, as you have everything you need with you from home. You can pack as much stuff in there - no luggage limits. We stopped off for an overnight break - last year in Blois. It was nice to experience a little piece of a different area. the year before that - we broke up our journey both ways, on the return journey we had booked an apartment in Paris for two nights. That was a great way to end the holiday.

We invested in twin DVD screens for the DC but they weren't used as much as I would have thought. but still a good distraction. Our DC are older than yours, but the principle is the same.

Just read through properly though and have seen that you have sourced flights. :)

Hope you enjoy your holiday - it is a lovely part of France to visit.