Reaching the Mediterranean in a few hours by train is the choice made by dozens of travelers this Saturday morning. This transport option is not really the cheapest, but it is mainly chosen for its practicality and ecological side.
Séverine leaves for a week in Ardèche with her family. “Thinking about nothing, drinking a mojito, forgetting about work, covid and all that”, here is his program for the holidays. These Brussels residents have chosen the train for comfort and for the children. “It’s already a bit faster, so you can take advantage of your holidays, notes his son. And I think you’re more comfortable, you don’t have to get attached and you really do what you want.”
The Thalys Soleil leaves every Saturday in the summer. It serves Valence, Avignon, Aix-en-Provence and Marseille. But for what price? Take the example of Noémie and Bastien, this couple who goes to Avignon. “I paid 123 euros one way and 74 euros return. So we are on 200 euros per person round trip”underlines the vacationer.
By train, the journey therefore costs 200 euros per person. On the plane side, a low-cost round-trip flight connecting Brussels to Nimes airport for the end of the summer costs around 100 euros per person this Saturday morning. And by car, the round trip Brussels-Avignon via the A6 costs 425 euros for the whole family. For its part, Thalys defends itself: the train is an ecological alternative. “If you travel by Thalys, you emit 20 times less CO2 than by car and 30 times less CO2 than by plane”notes Mattias Baertsoen, spokesperson for Thalys.
Travel time to Brussels-Avignon? 5 hours. Speed is an important argument for Noémie: “I’m leaving for a week so it’s not worth spending 2 whole days round trip in the car”she says.
The train is a more comfortable ride and you will already spend it under the sun.