Getting to France – a cost breakdown

Welcome to Tour de France Tips - the website for planning a cycling trip to France for Le Tour, L'Etape or just leisure. The website is full of useful information, facts and ideas to help you plan a great trip to France. For an all-in-one guide, check out the extensive Guide to Cycling Through France ebook.

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Cost breakdown – getting to France for the Tour
I thought I’d post a cost breakdown from our 2009 trip to France for Le Tour and L’Etape on suggestion by Liz at Corsica Journeys.

So, the damage from 2009, including airfares, accomodation/carhire (campervan), fuel, tolls, food etc is listed below. All prices are in Australian dollars, convert to your currency here. Costs were shared between 2 people. We had an extra 15kg free baggage allowance on Malaysian. If you want a detailed cost breakdown, as well as tips on how to minimise these costs, you need to check out Guide to Cycling through France I wrote.

Airfare: Malaysian into Frankfurt from Melbourne: $1800 inc tax
Hotel: N/A – we had a campervan
Car hire: includes accomodation as it was a campervan – $2800 ($1400 each)
Meals: $6-8 AU per day breakfast per person (croissants, coffee or cereal), lunch same (baguettes, cheese, tomatoe), dinner up to $40-60 pp eating out (main, beer, dessert), or $5-10 if cooking in campervan
Fuel: we spent $250 each/$500 total in 18 days, driving about 1600km.
Tolls: $100 each/$200 total, spent in Tunnel de Frejus, and on the southern and hautes alpes tollways. No tolls in Germany, or Switzerland (we had a Swiss tollways pass in the van, which came free)

More Information on Cycling in France
Like I said, if you want detailed information about how to do this properly and minimise your costs and hassles, you need to check out Guide to Cycling through France I wrote.

The guide is ~75 pages and contains info on:

A “Hassle-Free Checklist” for pre-trip planning (from airports to auto hire, baggage and beyond)
Detailed baggage/excess costs the airlines use when handling your bike (must-have data for most major airlines into the EU)
The pros and cons of taking your own bike versus hiring (covering cost, convenience, and even how to pack your bike)
How to save thousands (yes thousands) on mobile and data roaming
Important things to watch out for when watching the Tour from roadside
What you must know before participating in L’Etape du Tour (planning, pitfalls, tips, and more)
Must-have French phrases for making touring around France a breeze
Tips for finding free wifi (free and unsecured)
How to avoid surprises with road quality/types, travel times and toll gates
The smart way to decide between car versus campervan hire
Weather tips that will keep you happy (and dry!)
All the best places to base yourself for rides – and where to avoid
Comprehensive equipment list suggestions – what’s critical, what’s nice-to-have
Essential contacts, handy web links and more!