shuttle buses at La Pallice to La Rochelle

We are on Balmoral in October and one of our ports is La Pallice (for La Rochelle)

After I filled in our details online I went to port excursions and I found a notice that said that they are not running a free shuttle bus from La Pallice into la Rochelle but they are running a paid for bus which will cost £15 each :mad: - its about half an hour each way.

I found another page online which said that if a cruise ship is not running a free shuttle bus the port will run one and it will be 9 euros.

Can anyone confirm or deny this?

We were on a P and O at Easter and we had a free shuttle bus from the ship to the Tourist Information place. It was so lovely we went into town twice in the morning and in the afternoon, avoiding the lunch time rain.

I can't say of course what will happen during your port call, but when we were on the Infinity TA last fall, which called at La Rochelle, there was a free shuttle bus that took folks into town and back. I don't know who ran the shuttles (Celebrity or the town), but we were not charged.

We had a lovely day walking around the Vieux Port area and climbing the towers. And for lunch I had one of the best Nutella crepes I've ever eaten. :)

Have a great trip.

(La Rochelle by turtles06)

Hi mhoc. I have seen something similar too. I am on a small ship docking there at the end of next month. The cruise line are offering a transfer to La Rochelle for an eye-watering 35 Euros per person :eek:. I am hoping there will be a local shuttle but if not, I think a taxi will be a cheaper option - it is only about 6km into La Rochelle from La Pallice.

We are on Balmoral 3rd October from Southampton and will visit La Pallice.

I am informed by Fred Olsen that the transfer to La Rochelle will cost £25 each.

Expensive for a 6 km journey. If there is a shuttle bus organised by French

at 9 euros I would be very pleased. If there is no bus then we should share a taxi.

Looks like the No. 1 bus and possibly the No 50 stop at La Pallice though I am not sure where cruise ships dock (I spent a month in the area last December). No 1 terminates at La Pallice but check the direction of No 50 as it goes to Île de Ré.

http://yelo.agglo-larochelle.fr/bus

Don't forget to look for the German U-boat bunker at La Pallice. It was the setting for Das Boot. I've seen the other 4 at Brest, Lorient, Saint Nazaire and Bordeaux

I am not sure you can still get to the U boat pens on foot as the port has become quite security conscious in the past 5 years.

La Pallice is a commercial port handling grain and heavy machinery, as well as housing the local fishing fleet. The Scharnhorst berthed there in 1941 (see http://www.archieraf.co.uk/archie/l9512tlustory1941.html). The cruise ships dock at the same large deep water jetty about 300 metres from shore, accessible by a steel bridge.

The key place to visit is the area around the old port (le Vieux Port). This has escaped modernisation and is considered to be typical 'old France'. It was spared damage during WW2 because the target for attack was La Pallice and not the old town. Most restaurants specialise in seafood as so much is landed locally.

I am not sure you can still get to the U boat pens on foot as the port has become quite security conscious in the past 5 years.

Closed for liability reasons as the port is privately operated. 3 of the other 4 pens (Lorient (museum), Bordeaux (art display space) and Saint Nazaire (restaurant, bar, ocean liner museum)) are open to the public. Brest is still used by the navy.

It was spared damage during WW2 because the target for attack was La Pallice and not the old town. Most restaurants specialise in seafood as so much is landed locally.

What the allies didn't know was that the Germans built their u-boat fleet command centre right under an old hotel. It's been open for visits since last year.

What the allies didn't know was that the Germans built their u-boat fleet command centre right under an old hotel. It's been open for visits since last year.

Sure is!! Well worth a visit. 8 Rue des Dames between the vieux marche and the Hotel de Ville (which itself is closed for reconstruction since the devastating roof fire last year).

We have now had the booklet and the shuttle into La Rochelle will cost £25 each and you will have only about 3 and a half hours in La Rochelle - allowing half an hour each way for travel.

We are on Balmoral in October and one of our ports is La Pallice (for La Rochelle)

 

After I filled in our details online I went to port excursions and I found a notice that said that they are not running a free shuttle bus from La Pallice into la Rochelle but they are running a paid for bus which will cost £15 each :mad: - its about half an hour each way.

 

I found another page online which said that if a cruise ship is not running a free shuttle bus the port will run one and it will be 9 euros.

 

Can anyone confirm or deny this?

 

We were on a P and O at Easter and we had a free shuttle bus from the ship to the Tourist Information place. It was so lovely we went into town twice in the morning and in the afternoon, avoiding the lunch time rain.

We were in La Rochelle last week on Sea Dream Yacht Club and docked at La Pallice. We had a free shuttle into La Rochelle. Don't know who paid for it but I think it was Sea Dream. The city is quite charming and they have an extremely nice city market open daily except Sunday. We love markets!

Sea Dream is a very small ship and we docked inside the steel bridge and had great views of the German submarine pens. Quite interesting to see.

Our only problem was that they were loading grain into a ship very close by us and the wind was blowing the grain dust onto Sea Dream. It was miserable outside at the pool and on any outside area while docked.