How: to get to the Pyrenees

The Mountain Riders association calculates that 75% of CO₂ emitted during a winter ski holiday is simply the transport to the mountains (generally car or plane). For a summer walking holiday this percentage is even higher as there is no heating or ski lifts to make up the other 25%. We do everything we can to reduce our carbon emissions and our overall environmental impact but if at least 75% of emissions are due simply to your chosen method of transport then we cannot make any significant difference on our own.

We therefore encourage you to take the train!  Luz St Sauveur is accessible by SNCF bus from Lourdes (55 mins) so getting to us via train and bus is an excellent option.  The TGVEurope website provides good information on train timetables and prices (you can buy tickets up to 3 months in advance). RailEurope also has prices and information, and a more user friendly site (where you can buy tickets 4 months in advance).  You can leave London at 7pm and arrive in Lourdes at 7:45am, or leave Lourdes around 10pm and arrive in London around 10am the next day. You gain a day for exploring on either end of your trip and taking the night train really does make you feel as if you are on a great journey. The Gare d’Austerlitz is well organised for night train departures (good bathroom facilities and shops open late etc) and the rocking along of the train is a very nice way to fall asleep… On the day train the TGV takes just under 6 hours from Paris to Lourdes, with 3 services daily.  A good RER and metro map for Paris can be found here.  If you arrive in at Roissy Charles de Gaulle then you can catch the RER B to Denfert Rochereau, the Metro line 4 or 6 to Montparnasse.

The train is even supported by philosphers: Alain de Botton says in The Art of Travel, “Of all modes of transport, the train is perhaps the best aid to thought….  At the end of hours of train-dreaming, we may feel that we have been returned to ourselves.”  So take the train and start your holiday “train-dreaming” rather than airport stressing!

If from your area the plane is the only convenient way to get to us then there are flights into Pau from London City airport, Lourdes from Stansted (see disclaimer), Biarritz and Toulouse.  Again SNCF trains will get you from Toulouse (there is an airport shuttle connecting the airport and the train station), Pau or Biarritz (you’ll need to catch a cab into the station from the last two) into Lourdes.

If you are flying or catching the ferry you can compensate for your carbon emissions by donating to The Converging World which funds renewable energy and social development projects in the third world, as well as carbon reduction in the UK. Use their calculator to work out a suggested donation.

 

For bus connections between Lourdes and Luz put Luz St Sauveur as the destination when you book your train journey and the website will give you the connecting bus times from Lourdes to Luz.  The current bus timetable between Lourdes and Luz St Sauveur is:

Bus timetable from Lourdes train station to Luz St Sauveur (Tourist Office)

8:15 am arriving in Luz 9:10am

9:30am arriving in Luz 10:25am

1:55pm arriving in Luz 2:50pm

4:10pm arriving in Luz 5:05pm

6:30pm arriving in Luz 7:25pm

Bus timetable Luz St Sauveur to Lourdes train station

7:10am arriving at Lourdes train station 8:10am

9:50am arriving at Lourdes train station 10:45am

11:35am arriving at Lourdes train station 12:35pm

3:30pm arriving at Lourdes train station 4:30pm

5:55pm arriving at Lourdes train station 6:55pm

When you arrive in Luz you can also use the local bus network to get around and access a huge range of walks and sites (see our Eco Independent Walks package).  The SNCF bus network stops everywhere between Lourdes and Barèges and you can reach Cauteret by changing at Pierrefitte-Nestalas. The Maligne (click for timetable) bus service links Tarbes with Luz and Gavarnie.  We will happily provide timetable information and ring around tourist offices to make sure the bus you are wanting to take is on schedule. For places where no buses go there is always Pierre, our local taxi driver, who will drive you half way up a mountain so you can walk up the rest.

If you would prefer the flexibility of a car while you are here then arriving by train and hiring a car is definitely more CO2 friendly than driving from your home (unless you have a fuel efficient car that with 3-4 people in it). Avis hire cars have an office at Lourdes train station. Another preferable option is taking the ferry to Bilbao or Santander, which apparently provide great possibilities for whale spotting.  Brittany Ferries have recently updated their fleet to be more fuel efficient and their environmental policy is here.