Substitution for Toulouse that is accessible by plane from Porto?
#1
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Substitution for Toulouse that is accessible by plane from Porto?
I am planning to fly from Porto to Toulouse however I have noticed that there are very few and far between direct flights between the two. I saw that a few airlines offer Porto - Toulouse via Madrid however it would mean either a very short layover that I am not willing to chance (a 45 minute self-managed layover) or a tiringly long layover.
With that in mind, before I look into tipping my itinerary on its head and zig zagging (i.e. going between Spain and Portugal and back to Spain in order to reach France) I wanted to see if anyone knew some destinations in France that are accessible by a direct flight from Porto which I could substitute for Toulouse? We will be visiting Avignon after Toulouse so it would need to be within reasonable proximity to Avignon.
Thanks in advance
With that in mind, before I look into tipping my itinerary on its head and zig zagging (i.e. going between Spain and Portugal and back to Spain in order to reach France) I wanted to see if anyone knew some destinations in France that are accessible by a direct flight from Porto which I could substitute for Toulouse? We will be visiting Avignon after Toulouse so it would need to be within reasonable proximity to Avignon.
Thanks in advance
#3
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You are likely to get few and far between cirect flights for any French city with the possible exception of Paris which should have more frequent flights. It looks like only Ryanair has a once a week direct flight to Marseille.
#6
I did a quick Google search, “Porto to France” and got this as a start:
You can then enter each city into Google Flights and select your filters.
Flights to Bordeaux, for instance, seems to fly regularly. Of course, I’m only looking at the calendar and they show frequently. There are other cities, like Marseille, that are worth checking out.
You can then enter each city into Google Flights and select your filters.
Flights to Bordeaux, for instance, seems to fly regularly. Of course, I’m only looking at the calendar and they show frequently. There are other cities, like Marseille, that are worth checking out.
Last edited by progol; Aug 8th, 2022 at 04:56 AM.
#7
According to seat61 it would take two days by train... https://www.seat61.com/international...Porto_to_Paris
Skyscanner is showing direct flights to Nice on Easyjet, Bordeaux on Easyjet and Ryanair, and Avignon on Ryanair although not every day of the week (I checked September). Probably as sparse as the direct flights they both have to Toulouse.
Those prices from Google are MUCH higher than the ones I'm seeing on Skyscanner.
Skyscanner is showing direct flights to Nice on Easyjet, Bordeaux on Easyjet and Ryanair, and Avignon on Ryanair although not every day of the week (I checked September). Probably as sparse as the direct flights they both have to Toulouse.
Those prices from Google are MUCH higher than the ones I'm seeing on Skyscanner.
#8
17% of the population of Luxembourg is from Portugal, so there are flights to Luxembourg from Porto. Since all public transportation in Luxembourg is now free, it would be easy to get to the French border.
#9
@kerouac - that's not much help for someone headed to the south of France.
Someone wanting to visit Portugal, Spain and France would be better off doing it in that order, or vice versa. Even then, transport links between Portugal and Spain aren't very good, even though they are now supposedly friends.
Someone wanting to visit Portugal, Spain and France would be better off doing it in that order, or vice versa. Even then, transport links between Portugal and Spain aren't very good, even though they are now supposedly friends.
#11
[QUOTE=thursdaysd;17389050] @kerouac - that's not much help for someone headed to the south of France.
/[QUOTE]
I suppose I should be thankful, but I have never understood why people have been brainwashed into thinking that the south of France is better than the north.
/[QUOTE]
I suppose I should be thankful, but I have never understood why people have been brainwashed into thinking that the south of France is better than the north.
#12
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Fly to Bordeaux. Easyjet has nonstop flights from Porto to Toulouse, Nice and Bordeaux, that's it. I presume you were going to fly them already.
It is not realistic to expect there to be many daily flights from Porto to any French city, that's just not realistic. Or any other city except maybe in Spain. I don't know what you are expecting, Easyjet has two flights to TLS on some days, you aren't going to do better and I am not sure why you want more. Easyjet will also only have two a day to BOD, if usual for them, it's only certain days of the week. They do have two a day to CDG on certain days, also.
Easyjet does fly to NICE from Porto nonstop, also, if you want to be in Provence, that would be it. But that's only one flight a day that I see. I don't know when you are going though.
It is not realistic to expect there to be many daily flights from Porto to any French city, that's just not realistic. Or any other city except maybe in Spain. I don't know what you are expecting, Easyjet has two flights to TLS on some days, you aren't going to do better and I am not sure why you want more. Easyjet will also only have two a day to BOD, if usual for them, it's only certain days of the week. They do have two a day to CDG on certain days, also.
Easyjet does fly to NICE from Porto nonstop, also, if you want to be in Provence, that would be it. But that's only one flight a day that I see. I don't know when you are going though.
#13
The best place to go for info on train travel in Europe is here: https://www.seat61.com/european-train-travel.htm
That site is also good for the rest of the world.
That site is also good for the rest of the world.
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#17
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Do you already have flights and hotels booked? I don’t remember your exact dates or itinerary.
Realize this may be of no value and know you do not wish to rearrange things, but would it not be much easier logistically to visit Portugal, then Seville/Granada area, then Madrid, San Sebastián area, and end Spain in Barcelona? To me, anyway, it makes sense rather than flying around, security at airports, getting to/from airports, etc. if you don’t absolutely have to.
The beginning of your trip to Portugal might not be direct (I don’t know), but the rest would be much more straightforward.
It is an easy, short, cheap train trip from Barcelona to Southern France.
I don’t know the train route exactly, but you might even be able to see Carcassonne on the way to Toulouse, if there is a place for storing luggage nearby or if you wanted a one-night stay there. It is such a short trip, and based on your ability to travel fast and light, that might actually work for you, almost like a day trip between Barcelona and Toulouse, or stay over if you can find a convenient hotel.
A short train trip from Barcelona, drop luggage, have day and evening to explore Carcassonne. Next morning, very short train trip into Toulouse.
A second option would be still to put Portugal first, Seville area, and then from Madrid, catch the fast train to Barcelona, and end Spain in San Sebastián or Bilbao (area). However, I know Barcelona would work, I don’t know about flight or train options from SS or Bilbao to France. There should certainly be short flights or trains from there to Southern France. You could look into it and decide it that is a better option.
Realize this may be of no value and know you do not wish to rearrange things, but would it not be much easier logistically to visit Portugal, then Seville/Granada area, then Madrid, San Sebastián area, and end Spain in Barcelona? To me, anyway, it makes sense rather than flying around, security at airports, getting to/from airports, etc. if you don’t absolutely have to.
The beginning of your trip to Portugal might not be direct (I don’t know), but the rest would be much more straightforward.
It is an easy, short, cheap train trip from Barcelona to Southern France.
I don’t know the train route exactly, but you might even be able to see Carcassonne on the way to Toulouse, if there is a place for storing luggage nearby or if you wanted a one-night stay there. It is such a short trip, and based on your ability to travel fast and light, that might actually work for you, almost like a day trip between Barcelona and Toulouse, or stay over if you can find a convenient hotel.
A short train trip from Barcelona, drop luggage, have day and evening to explore Carcassonne. Next morning, very short train trip into Toulouse.
A second option would be still to put Portugal first, Seville area, and then from Madrid, catch the fast train to Barcelona, and end Spain in San Sebastián or Bilbao (area). However, I know Barcelona would work, I don’t know about flight or train options from SS or Bilbao to France. There should certainly be short flights or trains from there to Southern France. You could look into it and decide it that is a better option.
#18
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Do you already have flights and hotels booked? I don’t remember your exact dates or itinerary.
Realize this may be of no value and know you do not wish to rearrange things, but would it not be much easier logistically to visit Portugal, then Seville/Granada area, then Madrid, San Sebastián area, and end Spain in Barcelona? To me, anyway, it makes sense rather than flying around, security at airports, getting to/from airports, etc. if you don’t absolutely have to.
The beginning of your trip to Portugal might not be direct (I don’t know), but the rest would be much more straightforward.
It is an easy, short, cheap train trip from Barcelona to Southern France.
I don’t know the train route exactly, but you might even be able to see Carcassonne on the way to Toulouse, if there is a place for storing luggage nearby or if you wanted a one-night stay there. It is such a short trip, and based on your ability to travel fast and light, that might actually work for you, almost like a day trip between Barcelona and Toulouse, or stay over if you can find a convenient hotel.
A short train trip from Barcelona, drop luggage, have day and evening to explore Carcassonne. Next morning, very short train trip into Toulouse.
A second option would be still to put Portugal first, Seville area, and then from Madrid, catch the fast train to Barcelona, and end Spain in San Sebastián or Bilbao (area). However, I know Barcelona would work, I don’t know about flight or train options from SS or Bilbao to France. There should certainly be short flights or trains from there to Southern France. You could look into it and decide it that is a better option.
Realize this may be of no value and know you do not wish to rearrange things, but would it not be much easier logistically to visit Portugal, then Seville/Granada area, then Madrid, San Sebastián area, and end Spain in Barcelona? To me, anyway, it makes sense rather than flying around, security at airports, getting to/from airports, etc. if you don’t absolutely have to.
The beginning of your trip to Portugal might not be direct (I don’t know), but the rest would be much more straightforward.
It is an easy, short, cheap train trip from Barcelona to Southern France.
I don’t know the train route exactly, but you might even be able to see Carcassonne on the way to Toulouse, if there is a place for storing luggage nearby or if you wanted a one-night stay there. It is such a short trip, and based on your ability to travel fast and light, that might actually work for you, almost like a day trip between Barcelona and Toulouse, or stay over if you can find a convenient hotel.
A short train trip from Barcelona, drop luggage, have day and evening to explore Carcassonne. Next morning, very short train trip into Toulouse.
A second option would be still to put Portugal first, Seville area, and then from Madrid, catch the fast train to Barcelona, and end Spain in San Sebastián or Bilbao (area). However, I know Barcelona would work, I don’t know about flight or train options from SS or Bilbao to France. There should certainly be short flights or trains from there to Southern France. You could look into it and decide it that is a better option.
#19
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I will definitely look into how feasible it is in the reverse order. We are about as far from Lisbon as it gets so going there first would involve 29 hours of flying and 2 stop overs (and is more expensive). I’m thinking maybe to start in Madrid, fly to Porto and then train to Lisbon and from there return to Spain so as to depart from Barcelona. Might have to play around with a few options.
I do not usually like circular or round trips, because they involve a long trip at the beginning or double hotel stays in the same city, beginning and end of trip. but I do it if necessary to break up a trip with a rest night and it might work better in your case. Consider arriving in Paris, tour, fly to Portugal, fly or train to Seville (area). Continue on to rest of Spain, then Southern France. Fast train back to Paris for trip home, or if you can make it work, flights out of Marseilles.
Good luck.