Chauffeur in Bordeaux: Airport, Business and Estate Days

A chauffeur in Bordeaux is a professional driver and a car reserved in advance for your arrival at Mérignac or Saint-Jean, a day of business meetings or a day among the estates, at a price fixed before you travel. SilverDrive provides English-speaking chauffeurs, flight tracking on airport pickups and hourly hire that waits at every stop.

Bordeaux is a compact city surrounded by a very large wine region. The centre is walkable and the tram is good, but the reasons most visitors come, the Médoc, Saint-Émilion, Pessac-Léognan and Sauternes, sit well beyond the ring road and in different directions. Add tasting appointments and the case for driving yourself disappears.

This page covers what a SilverDrive booking includes in Bordeaux. For the longer read on the estate calendar, en primeur week and what tasting days are really like, see our Bordeaux chauffeur guide.

What a chauffeur in Bordeaux covers

A chauffeur in Bordeaux covers airport and station transfers, business days in and around the city, and hourly or full-day hire for the vineyards and the coast. Every booking is one fixed price, agreed at booking, with a screened chauffeur and a vehicle from our own fleet.

Booking type	Typical use in Bordeaux	How it is priced
Airport transfer	Mérignac to a hotel in the centre or a château	Fixed per journey
Station transfer	Gare de Bordeaux Saint-Jean to a hotel or estate	Fixed per journey
Business chauffeur	Meetings, négociant visits, trade fair days	Fixed per journey or per day
Hourly chauffeur	Estate visits, tastings, a day on the coast	Fixed per block of hours
Long distance	Paris, Cognac, Biarritz or onward across Europe	Fixed per journey

Arriving in Bordeaux: Mérignac and Saint-Jean

Most visitors arrive either by air at Bordeaux-Mérignac or by high-speed train at Gare de Bordeaux Saint-Jean. A chauffeur meets you at either, takes the luggage and drives you on at a price that does not move with the traffic.

Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD)

Mérignac is about 12 kilometres west of the city centre, and the drive takes roughly 20 to 30 minutes. Your chauffeur meets you inside the arrivals hall, and flight tracking is included, so a late landing moves the pickup, not the price. For private aviation arrivals we coordinate with your crew or handler so the car is ready at the right facility. Terminal information is on the official Bordeaux Airport website.

Gare de Bordeaux Saint-Jean

The high-speed train from Paris Montparnasse reaches Saint-Jean in just over two hours, often faster door to door than flying. Your chauffeur meets you at the station and continues to a hotel in the Golden Triangle or straight out to an estate.

Drive times from Bordeaux to the wine regions

The appellations sit on opposite sides of the city and the Gironde estuary, which is why a driver who knows the routing saves real time. These are approximate planning times from central Bordeaux in normal traffic.

Destination	Typical drive
Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport	20 to 30 min
Pessac-Léognan estates	20 to 30 min
Margaux	about 45 min
Saint-Émilion	about 45 min
Sauternes	about 45 min
Pauillac	about 1 hour
Arcachon and the Dune du Pilat	about 1 hour
Cognac	about 1.5 hours

Combining the Médoc and Saint-Émilion in one day means crossing the city twice. It can be done, but it needs realistic spacing between appointments, and that is a conversation to have at booking.

Where a chauffeur in Bordeaux spends the day

Not every Bordeaux booking is about wine. Business travellers, conference delegates and private visitors keep our chauffeurs busy in the city as well.

• The Golden Triangle, between Cours de l’Intendance, Cours Clemenceau and Allées de Tourny, for hotels, offices and shopping.
• Place de la Bourse and the quays, along the Garonne in the UNESCO-listed historic centre.
• Chartrons, the old wine merchants’ quarter, for négociants and antique dealers.
• La Cité du Vin, the wine museum and cultural centre in Bacalan, details on the official Cité du Vin site.
• Parc des Expositions de Bordeaux-Lac, the exhibition centre in the north of the city, for trade fairs and congresses.
• The Médoc, Saint-Émilion, Pessac-Léognan and Sauternes, for estate visits by appointment.

Hourly hire for estate days

Hourly hire is the right format for a day in the vineyards. The chauffeur and car stay with you, wait at each château, and carry the cases you buy between stops, all for a price fixed before the day starts.

Tasting days are the clearest case for a driver anywhere in Europe. France sets a blood alcohol limit of 0.5 grams per litre, lower for new drivers, and a serious tasting at three estates puts everyone in the group over it. With a chauffeur, nobody has to choose between the wine and the drive home.

Book tastings directly with the estates, many of which require an appointment, and share the times with us. Your chauffeur plans the route so one appointment does not run into the next.

Choosing the right car for Bordeaux

In Bordeaux, two things shape the vehicle choice: luggage plus wine, and estate driveways that are often gravel and narrow.

Vehicle	Best for in Bordeaux
Mercedes-Benz E-Class	Solo travellers, airport and station transfers
Mercedes-Benz S-Class or BMW i7	Executives, client days and longer journeys
Mercedes-Maybach S-Class	Occasions where the car is part of the visit
Mercedes-Benz EQS	Quiet, fully electric travel
Mercedes-Benz V-Class or EQV	Groups of up to seven buying wine by the case
Mercedes Sprinter VIP or Setra coach	Trade delegations and corporate groups

For a group that intends to buy, one V-Class beats two saloons: one conversation, one driver and space for the cases. The full line-up is on the fleet page.

How booking works

Booking a chauffeur in Bordeaux takes one message, and the price is settled before anything is confirmed.

1. Date, flight or train, pickup address, estates or meetings, passengers and luggage.
2. One figure for the transfer, the hourly block or the full day.
3. Your chauffeur’s details arrive before the day, and the car waits at your time.

Book through the booking page or in the SilverDrive app, 24/7. For en primeur week and the harvest, book as early as your dates allow.

Why SilverDrive in Bordeaux

SilverDrive is a premium chauffeur company founded in Amsterdam by Joshua Faerber, with its own fleet serving the Netherlands and Europe. Bordeaux clients book on the same terms as everyone else.

The price is fixed at booking and does not move when a tasting runs long. Chauffeurs are screened, English-speaking and briefed on your appointments before the day. Flight tracking is included on Mérignac pickups. One point of contact covers the arrival, the estate days and the departure, and longer journeys to Paris, Cognac or across a border are quoted as one figure.

See the other destinations we cover on the cities page.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to hire a chauffeur in Bordeaux?

It depends on the vehicle, the hours and the route. SilverDrive quotes one fixed price at booking for an airport transfer, an hourly block or a full day in the vineyards. The figure does not change if a tasting overruns or the rocade is slow on the way back.

Is Uber available in Bordeaux?

Yes, ride-hailing apps and taxis operate in the city. They work well for short trips in central Bordeaux. They are much less dependable for a return journey from a château in the Médoc or a village near Saint-Émilion, which is where a chauffeur booked for the day makes the difference.

How long does it take to get from Bordeaux Airport to the city?

Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport is about 12 kilometres west of the centre, and the drive usually takes 20 to 30 minutes. The ring road, the rocade, is the main variable at peak hours. A chauffeur with flight tracking times the pickup to your actual landing.

What is the best way to get around Bordeaux?

Inside the city, walk or take the tram: the centre is compact. For the vineyards, the coast and anywhere beyond the ring road, a car with a driver is the practical choice, because the estates are spread across a wide area and tasting days rule out driving yourself.

Can I hire a driver to take me around the Bordeaux vineyards?

Yes. Hourly or full-day hire keeps one chauffeur and one car with you, waiting at each estate and handling the route between appointments. Book your tastings with the châteaux directly and share the timings; your chauffeur plans the drive so the appointments hold.

To book a chauffeur in Bordeaux, send your dates, arrival details and plans through the booking page or the SilverDrive app. You receive one fixed price before anything is confirmed, and a chauffeur ready when you arrive.