Options for Le Havre to Bayeaux

[travel dog]

Our cruise will be in Le Havre from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on a Saturday. I've read that it takes about 1 1/2 hours to drive from Le Havre to Bayeaux, which I hope would give plenty of time to see the Tapestry, Cathederal and town and get back to the ship in good time.

 

Train and bus appear to be non-options, so what would be possible?

 

-- car rental?

Does anyone know early could we plan on getting a car and how late to return it? (Would love to squeeze in a stop at Honfleur on the way back.) I've been able to find information on almost all aspects of car rental except that information.

 

-- tour? The only ones I've found that go to Bayeaux also go to some of the D-Day beaches. Does anyone know of a tour that would go just to Bayeaux, or to Bayeaux and perhaps another location toward Le Havre rather than further away?

 

-- taxi/private driver? I'm assuming this would be too expensive but haven't been able to find a web site giving any information (hmmm .. perhaps because it would be too expensive .. <g>).

 

-- Don't suppose there are any nice ferries or other boats that go up and down the coast, are there? That would be great fun!

 

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.

[moyaroo]

Car rental places open early enough should show on their websites. I would rent the car and definitely stop in Honfleur on the way back. You are lucky to be in on Sat. as Sun is no rental and a real pain for getting around.

[John Bull]

There aren't any coastal ferries, & the train or bus options are slow & complicated:

- by train. Rail services at both Le Havre & Bayeux (watch your spelling), but since most main lines radiate from Paris, travel between the two involves at least 2 changes, inconvenient connections, over 3 hours total.

- by bus involves at least one change at Caen (bus or train from there to Bayeux), & frequency is too limited, esp the last bus back - check out: http://www.busverts.fr/upload/fiches_horaires/bis/L20S1.pdf

 

As Moyaroo's post, unless you can share a van with like-minded cruisers, car hire is by far the best bet.

And if you're a twosome, although the cost will be pretty reasonable, you should be able to find another twosome to share the experience & cost - via RollCall or whilst on-board.

 

Take the main road to Bayeux (90 mins, no tolls other than the impressive Pont de Normandie, about €4 e/w) but since you have a late sailing consider returning along the coast road:

 

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=Bayeux,+Calvados,+Lower+Normandy,+France&daddr=49.26721,-0.22094+to:49.30206,-0.05749+to:49.34681,0.04507+to:49.37712,0.09426+to:49.40187,0.1577+to:le+havre&hl=en&ll=49.385949,-0.21698&spn=0.718744,1.733093&sll=49.317066,-0.021973&sspn=0.089969,0.216637&geocode=FRXm7wIdXEX1_ymJCuK4qqwLSDGU8sPJX8VL1g%3BFQrC7wId9KD8_ykTKqIoYWQKSDFBNZcOcMnB1Q%3BFSxK8AIdbh___yl90AkAwX4KSDFQiP4CxnVpwQ%3BFfr48AIdDrAAACn1Fyzr39ThRzER1007SBQMEw%3BFWBv8QIdNHABAClb6mvBpSzgRzHQPu06SBQMEw%3BFQ7Q8QIdBGgCACkFa9EQdC3gRzEgPQ87SBQMEw%3BFWI58wIdmaUBACl9iyGVIy_gRzESrzOveobBWw&mra=dpe&mrsp=2&sz=12&via=1,2,3,4,5&z=9

This route includes Pegasus Bridge, the twins of Deauville & Trouville, & the pretty little tourist port of Honfleur. Plenty of eateries in Honfleur, which is under 30 mins from your ship (plus wiggle-time & time to return the car)

 

JB :)

[travel dog]

Ooops -- my very bad re: the spelling. Thanks for catching it.

 

And thanks, too, for the suggestion of return trip along the coast road. Looking at the map, I don't know why that didn't occur to me, since Deauville was one of the places I'd also like to see. I guess I was being anxious about the time, but both of you seem to think that wouldn't be a problem.

 

Okay, so this is do-able. Now I just need to find out about cost and hours (there are 3 of us but could add a solo traveler or, with a larger car, perhaps a couple)

 

AND - the really hard part - deciding whether to take this trip or a train to Rouen. English history at both places..... Tough. But what wonderful dilemmas to have! (First trip to Europe for all of us.)

 

Thank you very much.

[John Bull]

AND - the really hard part - deciding whether to take this trip or a train to Rouen. English history at both places..... Tough. But what wonderful dilemmas to have! (First trip to Europe for all of us.)

 

Thank you very much.

 

Train to Rouen is the simplest option. I've not been there for years, but remember that I didn't rate it highly.

And Bayeux/Deauville/Honfleur, plus the flexibility to explore so many other prospects along & around the route will give you so much more variety.

 

Never hired a car in Le Havre, always crossed the ditch by car ferry.

But there are several options in town, possibly at the port.

None of that sunday grief which Moyaroo alluded to, but the one grey area is indeed the latest time of day you can return a car, hopefully others can answer that. Or it may mean an e-mail or two.

With 3 in the party, I think I'd hire a car capable of squeezing in five (nb french law requires the use of seatbelts so it needs to be equipped for five), and see if & who you meet on the ship, rather than the lottery of who you end up with via a RollCall.

 

Have fun choosin', have fun cruisin'

JB :)

[gigimrs]

If you are still planning... we just returned from a cruise with a stop in Le Havre. Hired a fabulous guide who took us to Bayeaux, Caen ( William the Conqueror tomb, abbey, etc) war museum, Pegasus bridge and Honfleur. Olivier Pivain (ww.select-travel.fr) We recruited additional travelers via CC boards. Highly recommend him.

Happy travels

[nikel]

Our cruise will be in Le Havre from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on a Saturday. I've read that it takes about 1 1/2 hours to drive from Le Havre to Bayeaux, which I hope would give plenty of time to see the Tapestry, Cathederal and town and get back to the ship in good time.

 

 

Just returned from a cruise with a stop in Le Have and Cherbourg.

We used Pierre Doublet, www.cabtourservices.com. He basically customized the tour for us over two days. We did Bayeux,Honfleur, Caen, Mere St. Michel, Omaha beach, Etretat , Rouen . He ws excellent and very knowledgeable about all things historical.

[kiwicutie]

Did Pierre speak good English?? I will be coming into Cherbourg in Last April 2012, what were the fees he charged? Am interested in seeing the D Day beaches and surrounding area also heard there's an art museum nearby as well. Any help would be appreciated.

[newanne]

If you are still planning... we just returned from a cruise with a stop in Le Havre. Hired a fabulous guide who took us to Bayeaux, Caen ( William the Conqueror tomb, abbey, etc) war museum, Pegasus bridge and Honfleur. Olivier Pivain (ww.select-travel.fr) We recruited additional travelers via CC boards. Highly recommend him.

Happy travels

 

Was that a custom tour, I looked at their website and didn't see this tour listed. How long was this tour? Was it difficult to find people to share the tour, most people on our roll call sound like they are going to Paris.

 

Also, noticed you are from Venice, FL, we too, have a home there. Love that little town.

 

Anne

[nikel]

Did Pierre speak good English?? I will be coming into Cherbourg in Last April 2012, what were the fees he charged? Am interested in seeing the D Day beaches and surrounding area also heard there's an art museum nearby as well. Any help would be appreciated.

 

 

 

his English was excellent. The cost was 60E .p.p for a van of 8 for 8 hours. someone on our roll call put this tour together. He will customize to see whatever you want. We chose to only go to Omaha beach

[Hlitner]

The bottom line for this region (and many other places in Europe) is that a rental car will give you the most "bang for the buck" if you are among the more adventuress (count us in this category) who are comfortable driving your own car and doing your own thing. In most cases you can rent a small car for about $100 a day (including fuel) and have unlimited flexibility to go where your want, when you want, with whom you want. But a rental car is not for everyone. And keep in mind that most of the lower priced European rentals are manual transmissions (stick shift) which is a problem for many of our fellow Americans. You can often pay a huge premium for an automatic, and in some places (particularly in Italy) you may not even find an auto transmission. As to LeHavre, we love having a rental car when we want to go to places like Bayeaux, Honfluer, Fecamp, etc etc.

 

Hank