Transfer help needed

[Glamourgal]

Hi, I need help with some transports. The Viking Cruise ends in Lyon, France. Because I am deviating and not flying directly back from Lyon, to my homeport and going to Barcelona, my transfers are not included from Lyon port to the airport.

Can someone please tell me the best way to get from Lyon to Barcelona? I was thinking about taking a transfer to Lyon airport from the cruise and then flying to Barcelona but I would like to know how much those transfers/taxi would cost or which shuttle service to use.

If someone has a better suggestion, I'd love to hear it!!

 

Thanks so much!!

[jpalbny]

Walk off the ship to the tram stop immediately adjacent to the pier (Quai Claude Bernard). Take the tram upriver (to your left, as you face the street, with the river to your back) a few stops to the main train station in town (Part-Dieu). Take the train from here to the airport and catch your flight to BCN.

[Glamourgal]

Hi jpalbny...Thanks so much. Can I pre-book any of this or just buy tickets when we get off the ship? Do you have any idea on prices for this? Thanks again.

[jpalbny]

Information about Lyon's transport system is available at http://www.tcl.fr/en. We used Lyon's public transport a ton during our stay there for a river cruise. Disclaimer, we didn't take the train to the airport but it certainly looks easy enough. The rest of their system was simple to use.

 

Looks like tickets on the airport express are 13 euros per person.

 

If I were doing this I'd just buy tickets from a machine at the tram stop. It's public transport so there shouldn't be a need to prebook. If I were doing this I'd just walk off the ship and go. If you're worried you could always buy tickets the night before (assuming you get in before disembarkation morning).

 

If you don't want to do this on your own, your CD will almost certainly be willing to help you make alternative arrangements.

[CasaM]

If you don't yet have your flights, take a look at easyjet. They are inexpensive for one way flights and run Lyon to Barcelona.

[jpalbny]

Another thought is the train. Checking the TGV's website, it looks like there is a direct train from Lyon Part-Dieu, every day at 14h30, that takes 5h to get to Barcelona-Sants.

 

Check their website, http://www.voyages-sncf.com - they do offer an English version of their site.

 

Fares on a random day next month were about 90E pp for one-way first class tickets.

 

Something to consider... By the time you get to the airport in Lyon, deal with luggage and security (and extra fees if you fly a budget carrier), then get into Barcelona from the airport (further from town than the train station), it might be nicer to just take the train. And the total travel time might not be much longer. If you haven't traveled by TGV, it's pretty nice.

 

In that case, I would buy the train tickets ahead of time through the TGV site, 2-3 months ahead of your trip - DO NOT use rail Europe's US site as it won't always give you the cheapest fares. TGV fares don't go on sale until about 3 months prior to the journey, and the cheapest fares sell out first.

Edited October 25, 2015 by jpalbny

[caviargal]

We fly EasyJet often and have been very happy with them. However, with the choice between a 5 hour train ride and a flight, I, too, would choose the train. Lyon's train station is easy to navigate and I would travel in 1st class and buy my tickets well in advance.

 

Next month we opted for EasyJet from Berlin to Basel as the train was 6.5 hours with a connection and we will have my mom with us. Easier to just fly and the flight was under $100 each including extra leg room seats, priority boarding and checked bag. We also opt for those extras when flying EJ and it makes a huge difference.

[Glamourgal]

Thanks so much everyone...this is all so helpful and I really appreciate it!! :):):D:)