Getting from Cavaillon to Aix with bikes and luggage?

My husband and I are planning on taking two bike tours this September. The first is 6 nights starting and ending in Cavaillon; the second is 6 nights starting and ending at the Aix TGV station. Does anyone have any suggestions about how can we get ourselves, our luggage and our bicycles from Cavaillon to Aix TGV? Taking the train requires that we go first to Marseille, change trains and then get to Aix Centre, not Aix TGV. (2 and a half hours to get about 60km and not exactly where we need to be!) Does anyone know a better way?

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There may be a bus from Cavaillon to Aix TGV, although I would think it more likely that people in Cavailon would aim to catch a TGV at Avignon. However, whether it could carry bikes is a different matter. Have you sought help from either of the Tour Operators you are using, they may know of companies that could help you with the transfer.

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I think the SNCF booking engine is confused, because travelling to Aix TGV looks like you%26#39;re doubling back on yourself. Try asking for two separate journeys, Cavaillon-Marseille, then Marseille-Aix TGV and you should get some better options. For a Saturday in August, I found a service leaving Cavaillon at 12.56, change at Marseille St Charles, arrive Aix TGV at 14.40, with another couple of possibilities later on. You%26#39;d need to book seats on the TGV in advance, and also confirm bike transport.

Also - and I%26#39;m not sure how this might work out - the local train from Cavaillon stops at Vitrolles/Marseille airport on its way to Marseille St Charles, …aeroport.fr/img/…horairesvamp.pdf and there is a bus shuttle service between the airport and Aix TGV, every 30 minutes marseille.aeroport.fr/fra/acces/acces_bus.jsp I would guess that they carry luggage comfortably, but you%26#39;d need to check about the bikes.

Another possibility is to ask your holiday company if they have any suggestions?

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I can%26#39;t specifically answer your question but my husband and I recently did an 8 day cycling tour in the middle of a 3 week holiday in France and we took our own bikes (in soft bike bags) and travelled by TGV from Paris to Toulouse and Nice to Paris (via Marseilles). It wasn%26#39;t easy travelling with our bikes and luggage (1 suit case + a small back pack each) but we managed. We travelled first class on the TGVs and the configuration of the luggage space was slightly different on each train (one was a duplex). There isn%26#39;t a lot of space for big items on the luggage racks but we were lucky enough to be among the first people on each time and could find somewhere for the bikes although twice one bike was not actually in the rack but standing next to the rack (we chained it to the rack so it wouldn%26#39;t fall over). We didn%26#39;t have any problems with train staff asking us to move anything. The other thing you will have to consider is how to get to and from your hotels and the train station. We walked a couple of times as our hotel was nearby but in Paris we had to catch a taxi - with enough room for the bike bags, our luggage and us, not always an easy thing to find. Are you able to hire bikes for each tour? That would make travelling much less stressful.

The situation is different if your bikes are not packed in a bag (ie they are assembled) and I recommend doing a general internet search on travelling with bicycles for more information.