Large Family and traveling from England to Normandy and Paris

Premier Inns or Travelodges in the UK (not sure about what chain hotels France has, maybe Ibis or Sofitel?). With that many people, you'll be booking multiple rooms. These hotels will give you the best value. Most of them also offer breakfast, either included with your room charge or for just a wee bit more.

What are your interests? History? Gardens? Hiking? Museums? The Wars? Give us more to go on!

When are you travelling? Where in England do you want to stay? How many bedrooms do you need?

The more affordable locations would not include London, Bath or the Cotswolds. Or Edinburgh in August.

A couple of apartments will work out cheaper than hotel rooms in most locations. In Europe, use Trip Advisor or booking.com to book rooms, not Airbnb as their charges and exchange rate are poor.

Normandy isn't that easy to get to from London or Paris, so you would need to spend at least one night there. For London to Paris, take the Eurostar and for best value, book as soon as seats become available, c 6 months out from the date of travel.

You might look for apartments Airbnb. Not sure what rental vehicle could handle 12 persons. If you go to Normandy (Normandy is wonderful), don't miss the Bayeux Tapestry in Bayeux. It tells the story of the Norman conquest of England in 1066. It is amazing. Of course the D-Day beaches, cemeteries and other WWII sites are interesting as well. Not sure how much time you have, but the Loire Valley, south of Paris is worth a couple of days.

Normandy is an all day, or more, event. Because of the roads and traffic it takes time to get to the different places (towns, landing areas, cemetery, Point Du Hoc, etc) to see even though the distances aren't that far.. St Mare Eglise is a nice town. When I visited the town had photos of the town after the invasion for comparison then and now. We only spent the better part of a day in Normandy because of time constraints, and would have had no problem filling another day.

Thank you everyone for your responses. We are going mid September. Is there a ferry we can go on to Normandy? I am look into homes we can rent for our time in England. Also thoughts about London pass and Oyster cards for our travels for 8 days in England? And during that time we will go to Paris and Normandy. We are thinking Normandy one day spend the night there than go to Paris to see the attractions and head back to England

I think I'm lost. From what I can see so far the trip sounds very rushed.

Can you tell us how many total nights you will be spending on this trip? Also, where are you flying into and where are you flying home from?

This ferry link might help with your ferry questions. I'd pay particular attention to how long it takes, as well as to price for all of you. Some trips might be overnight.

We are traveling to London. During our stay we would like to see Normandy and Paris. I know we can go to each of those cities in two days staying at one of those places for an evening. Just trying to figure out logistics from London to go to Normandy or Paris first and how to travel with a larger group. I would not like to drive

Flying in and out of Heathtow. We love history and want to try and see all major attractions

Check rome2rio.com for transportation routes and time. I doubt it can be done and still leave you any time to see anything anywhere.

During our stay we would like to see Normandy and Paris. I know we can
go to each of those cities in two days staying at one of those places
for an evening

Normandy is not a city. It's a large region of Northern France covering around 12,000 square miles so you really need to tell us whereabouts in Normandy you want to go.

Sorry you are right about Normandy my grandparents would like to see D-Day!

Also, London thoughts about London Pass and Oyster card? Going to at least do 5 days of sightseeing in London. We want to see museums

You need a lot more information than you can get on a newsboard. 12 people is a special kind of trip, especially with some older guests who could have trouble with long days on foot - both in cities and on the D-Day Beaches. Please provide the additional information already asked for, and a few more important planning issues:
1)First trip to Europe?
2)Month of Year
3)Nights in Europe, not counting air travel nights.
4)100% public transportation? Willing to rent a van?
5)Medium budget, or absolute-cheapest?
6)Physical challenges of least-abled guest?
7)Potential for destination disagreements. (i.e. children bored with Normandy, etc.)
8)Expected number of rooms and beds
9)Was London picked because you want to start in a 100% English-speaking country, or was it the attractions?
10)Are you willing to buy non-changeable train etc. tickets to get the lowest price? Or do you need flexibility?
11)Have you been to the library to read our host (Rick Steves') "London" and "Paris" (or sections of country guides?)

We are doing a similar trip with 8 people, but we'll take the ferry North and head to Amsterdam first. . The largest rental van I could find is for 9 for when we drive from Lille France down into Normandy. We found a home on VRBO to rent but we are out of Bayeaux a little because we have a car, but there might be some options in town. We are taking one day to do an Overlord Tour (highly recommended by lots on this site and tripadvisor) then we will do our own trip to Mt St Michel. We will drop the car off at Caen and train into Paris (about 2 hours). We have three nights in Normandy for that and its pretty packed. Also traveling with that many people is lots of luggage to manuever around.

Also, London thoughts about London Pass and Oyster card? Going to at
least do 5 days of sightseeing in London. We want to see museums

Most of the big museums in London are free to enter. So I think the London Pass is generally a mistake.

The major attractions that do cost money are the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey and St Paul's. There is a slightly complicated offer via National Rail that can get you two tickets for the price of one: you would need to buy weekly travel cards for London's transport, but you have to buy the cards at a National Rail station such as Waterloo or St Pancras, not a tube station, and you'd need passport photos.

Oyster cards are simply a plastic card on which you put an amount of money to pay for your travel within London. It caps at a certain rate which means good value if you're making a lot of trips. But if you buy the travelcards mentioned above then you won't need an Oyster.