To see Gouarec on Google Maps with the ability to zoom in and out, please go here.
Our base at Gouarec is set in the heart of Brittany and yet is surprisingly easy to get to. Obviously what method you choose very much depends on where you are coming from and the make-up/size of your group. What follows is a very general guide to give you an idea of the options available, but of course we'll be happy to help further.
First you should plan to be with us on Saturday afternoon before 6.00pm - if you can't do this you need to get in touch to make special arrangements though it's normally not a problem, see what happens when you arrive. Your holiday normally finishes on the Saturday, and we write the routes so that there is only a short ride on that day giving you plenty of time to travel. But in fact you have the equipment for the day if you want, with us a 7-day holiday really means what it says.
Travel from Outside Europe.
The best way of doing this is to fly into Paris (huge choice there), and then either to hire a car, or take the TGV train to St Brieuc where we arrange a taxi (see Trains from Paris below).
Bringing your own car
There are many ferries that will bring you and your car to France, for an overview and almost all possible relevent links Ferry2France have put up a website with all you need to know about getting to us and car hire - go see www.ferry2france.com.
My strong advice would be that if you have the choice of a long drive in the UK and a short one in France, or the other way round, I'd always go for the long drive in France. The roads here are faster and quieter than in the UK, and as Gouarec is on the main N164 that cuts through the centre of Brittany it is very easy to find regardless of where you come from (and we'll supply driving instructions). You'll also find the shorter ferry crossings or Eurotunnel cheaper than the long crossings. If you do want to use the longer crossings from the South Coast of England or from Ireland we are agents for Brittany Ferries and can book any of these crossings for you if you wish.
Roscoff - 1 hour 20 minutes, St Malo - 1 hour 40 minutes, Cean - 3 hours, Cherbourg - 4 hours, Calais - 6 hours. All these assume no traffic (usually the case) and driving at the legal maximum which given the nature of the roads is the norm.
Coach Travel from London.
National Express now run a coach leaving London on Friday and returning on the Sunday for under £100 - see their website from Rennes you'll need to get the train to St Brieuc (or get car hire) where we can pick you up.
The Eurostar is convenient for many people and involves only one change at Paris in order to come to St Brieuc see http://www.eurostar.com/dynamic/index.jsp. Re train times. We collect and drop off people at the St Brieuc TGV (Train Grande Vitesse) station every Saturday afternoon, this service costs 25 pounds/30e per person in total for both trips. We are there to meet up with the 2.17pm (leaving Paris at 11.00am) and at the same time drop off the previous week's customers ready for the 3.04pm arriving at Paris Montparnass 1 et 2 at 6.20pm.
There are other trains during the day every hour or so and we can arrange taxis for those as well, though in this case the cost will be shared equally between those taking the taxi. In fact it is often the case that several people will want the pick-up and so the difference between taking these trains and our 2.17pm service is minimal - however we can't guarentee this, in the worse case you will have to pay the full cost of the taxi at around 80e... The cost for the train is about 70e return if you book via the internet and in good time - otherwise you may get cheaper, may be more expensive - the tarif system varying by the day and being quite labarynthine... You book direct with SNCF at their website - remember to search for 'Paris Montparnasse 1 et 2'. If you do not use that recommended timing then you'll find that a train leaves Paris every hour or so - lots of choice. Likewise the returns are equally frequent.
All these options will vary in price and convenience and we are happy to advise you.
See Breton Bikes new venture! For those wanting a place to drive their sportscar...!