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Alternate travel plans during French rail strike

MichaelaCaterina

New Member
I am spending a week in Nice in late April and then the next week in Santa Margharita Ligure. My apartment rental in Santa Margharita goes from Saturday through Friday and Saturday is one of the days that the French train system will be on strike. I was planning to take a train from Nice that morning.

Does anyone have any ideas for alternative travel? Or maybe I should just scrap my last night's apartment rental in Nice, travel on Friday and spend the night in a hotel in Santa Margharita.
 
I'm not sure of your train travel dates, Michaela. Could you specify exactly which dates you'll be travelling by train and from where to where?

Like Michaela, I'd like advice about the currently planned strike dates for TGV and other strike dates from any locals who can advise travelers in France right now. We're supposed to take TGV from Aix to Paris Saturday, April 7 then fly out CDG Mon. Apr. 9. So whatever, inside knowledge ST locals can provide on the strikes would help Michaela and the rest of us who will be in transit in April. The SNCF says to check 5:00 PM the night before departure, but are there earlier sources that can be checked? Merci beaucoup.
 
I need to travel from Nice to Santa Margharita on Saturday 4/28. The OuiBus schedule shows buses on Friday and Sunday, but not on Saturday.
 
Here's the latest link I have on the strike dates: https://www.thelocal.fr/20180403/black-tuesday-three-months-of-rolling-rail-strikes-begin-in-france

What I hope someone local will weigh in on for everyone traveling soon or later is what other modes of transportation besides trains will be on strike as well. RER are not operating fully. What about city buses in Paris and elsewhere? I don't mean to hijack your question, but if anyone out there can give you a bigger picture, it will help everyone traveling in and out of France.
 
Me again for anyone out there looking for some train strike strategies. My husband and I cut out one night in Paris--like cutting off a finger--to get out to the cheaper of the two Ibis hotels near CDG so that we wouldn't have to deal with transportation tomorrow morning, Monday, April 9, which will be a strike day. Today, Sunday, was a strike day as well, but we decided to leave Paris while the going was good and we wouldn't be competing for transportation with Monday morning commuters, workers, etc. We don't usually stay in an airport hotel, but it seems like a good strategy in this case. Here's what I wrote to Kathy Wood, a regular on sloweurope, whose house we rented in Bonnieux the last two weeks:

Here's how we handled the train strikes if this is any help: We'd had two full hotel nights booked in Paris, but bailed on the second night to get ourselves out (by taxi) to the 77E Ibis hotel near CDG. Yesterday was a no-strike day, so our TGV from Aix was fine--just dumb luck on our part when we booked. But today and tomorrow (Sunday and Monday) are strike days. So we sprung for the taxi 55E so that we'll already be out at the airport tomorrow AM to catch our flight. I don't know when you're coming back, or your clients, but that's how we juggled it. We had our hotel call the cab to make sure we got one during the strike. It looked as if the regular Metro was running but not the RER. Anyway we're at the Ibis (there are two; we're in the cheaper one which is totally fine). I would've killed to stay in Paris. The weather was incredible both days, but we had to leave the "party" early.
 

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