--- title: "Questions about your private driver in Burgundy" description: "Answers about tastings, prices, delays, payment and bringing wine home." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/faq lang: en updated: 2026-10-08 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/faq.png --- # Questions about your private driver in Burgundy > Answers about tastings, prices, delays, payment and bringing wine home. ## Booking and payment ### Do we need to book in advance? Yes. Your driver is a licensed VTC private driver (voiture de transport avec chauffeur) and works on advance booking only. Booking online takes about two minutes. ### How do we pay? Your driver confirms your booking by e-mail, with a secure link to pay a 30% deposit by card. You pay the balance on the day, by card or in cash. ### Are prices per person? No, every price is per vehicle, for up to four guests. Tolls, parking and any waiting caused by delays are included. ### Should we tip the driver, or at the tastings? No, tipping is not expected. The price per car is all you owe us, and in France service is included by law in the prices of restaurants and cafés, so a tip is only ever a personal thank-you, entirely up to you. At the domaines you pay the tasting fee and nobody expects a tip; where a small estate receives you free of charge, buying a bottle or two of the wines you liked is the usual way to say thank you, but you never have to buy. ### What is your cancellation policy? Free cancellation up to 48 hours before pickup: your deposit is refunded in full. Later, or if you do not turn up, we keep the deposit and ask for nothing more. ## Tours and tastings ### Are tastings included in the price? No. Tastings are paid directly to each domaine, and fees vary from house to house. We suggest domaines and make the reservations for you, free of charge. ### Can you take us to a specific domaine? Yes. Tell us when you book and we will request the visit. Some famous houses only receive the wine trade, and in that case we will suggest good alternatives. ### Which wine tours do you offer? The half-day wine tour is 4 hours for €290 (up to 60 km) and the full-day wine tour 8 hours for €560 (up to 150 km). The long-day wine tour, 12 hours for €880, takes you to Chablis and the Auxerrois; the Mâconnais, closer, is our full-day wine tour plus two hours, €700. Each extra hour on a wine tour is €70. ### Is the driver also a guide? Your driver is not a licensed guide-conférencier, but knows the villages well and will gladly tell you about them along the way. ### How do we bring our wine home? Cases of wine fit in the boot. Many domaines also ship abroad, so just ask when you buy. ### How much wine can we take home? Within the EU there is no fixed limit on wine you carry yourself for your own use, and the usual guide level is 90 litres, of which up to 60 litres sparkling. Outside the EU, allowances differ from country to country, so please check with your customs authority before you buy. ### What are the rules for the UK, the US, Switzerland and China? Without paying duty, travellers aged 17 or over arriving in Great Britain can bring 18 litres of wine, still or sparkling (24 bottles), and US residents aged 21 or over 1 litre, more if they pay duty and tax and the state where they arrive allows it. Switzerland allows 5 litres of drinks up to 18% alcohol per person and per day from age 17, but Swiss VAT is due if everything you bring is worth more than CHF 150. Mainland China allows travellers aged 18 or over 1.5 litres of drinks of 12% alcohol or more, or 0.75 litres if they arrive from Hong Kong or Macao; above that, declare the wine at customs and pay the duty. Rules can change, so please check gov.uk, cbp.gov, bazg.admin.ch or customs.gov.cn before you travel. ## Transfers ### How much does a transfer cost? Dijon station €120, Le Creusot TGV station €165, Dijon-Bourgogne airport €140, Dole-Jura airport €165, Lyon airport or Part-Dieu €410, Geneva Airport (French sector) €570, and Paris CDG, Orly or the city €750. Prices are per vehicle and include tolls, parking and waiting caused by delays. ### What if my flight or train is late? We track your flight or train, so we know when you really arrive. Waiting caused by delays is included in the price. ### Where do we meet the driver? Your driver meets you at arrivals with a name board and walks you to the car. ### Is an electric car fine for long transfers? Yes. Charging is planned around your trips, so it never delays you, even on the way to Paris or Geneva. ## Getting around ### Is there Uber in Beaune? Uber lists Beaune in its app, but few drivers work around the town and the wine villages, so do not count on one between tastings or late in the evening. Uber has operated in the Dijon area since November 2023 and itself warns that pickups in Beaune may take longer than in larger cities. Book a taxi or a private driver in advance instead. ### Can I get a taxi at Beaune station? Sometimes, but not reliably: Beaune has only a few taxi companies and their cars are often out on bookings, especially in the evening and on Sundays, so call one ahead of your arrival. We are not a taxi but a licensed VTC private driver: we meet you at the station by prior reservation only, from €60 per car to a hotel in Beaune or a nearby village. ### What is a VTC, and how is it different from a taxi? A VTC, voiture de transport avec chauffeur, is a licensed private car with a driver, booked in advance on terms agreed before the ride (French Code des transports, article L3122-1). Unlike a taxi, a VTC may not be hailed in the street or wait for passengers at a taxi rank: it may only pick up passengers who have booked in advance (article L3120-2), while a taxi holds a licence to wait for clients on the public road and charges by the meter, at fares capped by the State. We are a VTC: you book online, and your driver meets you at the time and place you chose, at a fixed price per car. ### How much is a pickup at Beaune station? From €60 per car to a hotel in Beaune, for up to four guests, booked in advance: your driver meets you at the station and drives you to your door. To a nearby village it costs €65 to Meursault or €85 to Nuits-Saint-Georges, and every village page shows its own price. ### Can you drive us to dinner at a starred restaurant and back? Yes. The return trip from your hotel in Beaune costs €110 per car for the starred tables in Beaune, Pommard and Levernois, €120 for Le Charlemagne in Pernand-Vergelesses, €155 for Ed.Em in Chassagne-Montrachet and €165 for Maison Lameloise in Chagny, for up to four guests. Your driver waits nearby while you dine, up to 3 hours, so nobody has to drive. Book your table with the restaurant, then the car for the same evening; each restaurant page shows its own price. ### Can you drive us to a golf course? Yes. The nearest is the Golf de Beaune-Levernois, 2 km from the centre of Beaune, with an 18-hole and a 9-hole course; the 18-hole course of the Château de Chailly, about 45 minutes away, is open to non-residents of its hotel, and the Golf Dijon Bourgogne lies at Norges-la-Ville, north of Dijon. Book the driver by the hour, €75 per hour (3 hours minimum): your driver waits during your round or comes back for you. Reserve your tee time with the club. ### Can you pick us up from a river cruise boat or a hotel barge? Yes. Your driver can meet you at the quay where your boat is moored, on the Saône, whose main ports of call in Burgundy are Saint-Jean-de-Losne, Chalon-sur-Saône and Mâcon, or along the canals, and drive you back to the boat after your visits. It is booked and priced like any other trip with us: give the mooring as your pickup address and tell us when the boat sails. ### Do you drive at night and on Sundays? Yes, booked in advance like every ride, any day of the week. Airport and station transfers can be booked for any hour, night included; a wine day starts between 07:00 and 18:00, and a driver by the hour picks you up between 06:00 and 22:00. There is no night, Sunday or public holiday surcharge. ## Driver and car ### Which languages does the driver speak? English, French, Mandarin Chinese and Arabic. ### Do you speak Chinese or Arabic? Yes. Your driver speaks Mandarin Chinese and Arabic as well as French and English, so you can book, plan the day and talk on the road in your own language, with help to follow the explanations at the domaines. ### Does the driver speak German? No. Your driver speaks French, English, Mandarin Chinese and Arabic, but not German. This website and the booking are available in German, and on the day you can talk with your driver in English or French. ### What car will we travel in? A Polestar 2, 100% electric, quiet and comfortable for up to four guests. Water and phone chargers are on board. On request, a Mercedes E-Class (4 guests) or V-Class (up to 7 guests) is also available, for €160 or €230 more per day of service. ### How much luggage fits in the car? The Polestar 2 has 407 litres of luggage space in the boot with the rear seats up, including a 43-litre compartment under the floor, and another 41 litres in the front trunk, according to Polestar. The boot floor is about 1 m long and 1 m wide, with 45 cm of height under the parcel shelf. With four guests the rear seats stay up, so tell us how many suitcases you have when you book. ### We are a group of five or more: can you drive us? Yes. For 5 to 7 guests we offer a Mercedes V-Class, on request: €230 more per day of service on top of your price, confirmed with your booking once its availability is checked. Just choose it under “Your car” when you book. For a larger group, please ask us on WhatsApp or by e-mail before you book: we will tell you what is possible on your date. ### Can you drive guests at a wedding, a celebration or a company event? Yes. Our car, a Polestar 2, seats four, which suits the couple, family members or a small team, booked by the hour at €75 per hour (3 hours minimum) or for set trips. A Mercedes V-Class takes up to 7 guests, on request. For a larger group, please ask us on WhatsApp or by e-mail before you plan, and we will tell you what is possible on your date. ### Do you have child seats? Yes, on request. Just tell us the children's ages when you book. ### Can we drink in the car? No, drinking alcohol in the car is not allowed. The bottles you buy travel closed in the boot. ### Can we bring our pet? Guide and assistance dogs are always welcome, free of charge. Other small pets can come on request, in a closed carrier. ### Is the car wheelchair accessible? There is no wheelchair ramp, but a folding wheelchair travels in the boot. The passenger moves to a seat with the driver’s help: please tell us when you book. --- Canonical page: