We have a property near Montbard, which is served by TGV (next stop Dijon). Unfortunately services from Waterloo to Montbard seem to cost over £300 return, which compares very badly with doing it by car (say £100 return fare plus say £120 fuel and £40 tolls, making a total of £260 for two people). It is just under 500 miles door to door, which is do-able in a day, being mainly motorway. Our plan was to keep a small car in France, and avoid the long drive and the dreadful M25 (especially on a weekday). However very high rail fares thwart our plan. We don't want to have to book months in advance. I fear the answer is a lemon, unless you have some hidden answers! Robert Caldicott, by email

Times Online rail expert Alan Heywood responds: If only the true cost of motoring really were the the sum of ferry, fuel and tolls! To get a true comparison with rail, you certainly should add to your £260, wear and tear on your car and, nowadays, something for your carbon footprint. I hope you agree I'm being fair - I'm allowing you to treat road tax and insurance as an overhead which is not debited to these journeys.

None of which takes into account that, at 500 miles each way, there's some wear and tear on you, the driver, too. One of the advantages of rail travel is that somebody else does the driving and, hopefully, the visit to your property isn't spoiled by a stressful journey.

Having got that off my chest, let's have a look at the figures. It would appear that, to champion rail, I need to beat £130 per person. How about £59 return London to Paris on Eurostar plus £40 return on a TGV from Paris to Montbard? That's the cheapest I can find but the crunch is that these are advance purchase return tickets and your letter does say you don't want to book months in advance. I can certainly understand your point of view - if you have your own property, you want the ability to visit when the mood suits you.

Related Internet Links

• Send a question for our travel experts

Multimedia

• Meet our travel experts

Related Links

• The complete rail guide to Europe

• Continental rail travel: the disaster and the triumph

• Ask our expert: taking the train to Bulgaria

You are quite right that the full price fully flexible refundable fare works out at £370.50 but there are fares between these two extremes which need only be booked a few days in advance provided you agree to spend a Saturday night at your destination. On this basis, you shouldn't have to pay more than £149 for Eurostar and £61.50 for the French domestic sector.

Why the Saturday night away? Well, that's a ploy to ensure that business folk don't get a cheapie!

I'm fairly certain that Eurostar doesn't have a through ticket to Montbard although there is a through ticket to Dijon which is marginally cheaper even though it a greater distance! However I couldn't advise booking to Dijon and then hopping off at Montbard. You might get away with it on the outward journey but, on the return, you would be treated as a "no-show" at Dijon and your seats might be reallocated.

So, once again I find myself advocating a rail specialist. www.aera.co.uk is the site of the Association of European Rail Agents and several such specialists would be happy to look out the best deals for you.

In the final analysis, the train can never beat the car for pure flexibility and your final decision is a personal one and must, of course, depend on how much of this you are prepared to sacrifice to avoid a 500-mile drive on motorways. Whatever you decide, I hope you will have many happy and enjoyable visits to Montbard.

Alan Heywood is a director at rail specialists, Ffestiniog Travel

Got a question for Alan, or any of our other travel experts? Email us at yoursay@timesonline.co.uk

Times recommends

• The Green Spaces Travel Awards, 2008 - the winners
• Britain's 12 best winter walks
• The insiders' guide to bohemian Paris