Car rental and driving in Normandy

Caen is an easier rental car pick up spot than Bayeux because there are multiple rental car companies at the train station. I've never been to a rental car location in Normandy where they did not speak English. What do you mean by reasonable times for opening? A lot of the locations are closed on Sundays and they take are usually closed for about an hour in the middle of the day for lunch.

It’s been 8 yrs since we were there so this may not be true anymore but as I recall the only agency in Bayeux was a Hertz, well outside of town housed in a service station so Caen at the station is the better choice

Most agencies (other than airport and some train locations) are closed Sunday, close around noon on Saturday and close on weekdays from 12-4 ish. That is true throughout most of Europe

I have never been to a car rental agency in Europe that didn’t have English speakers

I hope you are not planning to see all those sights in one day?

When you use the Search function- be sure to filter results by Type-Forum and Date-6 m, 1 yr, 2yr so you get more tecent results

We always book our cars with AutoEurope.com-a US based consolidator with excellent customer service and usually best rates. They work with all the major companies-Europcar, Hertz, Avis, Sixt, etc
Check their website or call toll free

Little hint-when you put in your pick up/drop off times make sure it’s during open hours or nothing will come up

@JHK
Great to know, thanks. By reasonable times for opening, I'm just fearful of a car rental store being closed. I've been to a few spots in France before and it just seems like stores close early. So that question was mostly just asked out of paranoia.

@ChristineH
Ok, awesome. Sounds like Caen it is! But sorry, should have clarified. That itinerary is for 2-3 days with some misc. stuff in between it all. Thanks for the advice and tips.

Thank you both for your help, and humoring my paranoia here (lol). It's appreciated.

to my mind, that's not paranoia but reasonable concern based on prior experiences.

Yes, watch the opening hours very carefully. I'm glad you've noticed that. You're right to be concerned.

Driving in much of Normandy is not difficult - just be sure that each driver has an in-date IDP and home driving license, and you understand the various French road signs, especially the laws of National speed limits and what settlement name signs mean as well as end of settlement. Understand the yellow diamond.

Some of the lanes near the beaches are quite narrow.

If you use the Normandy Bridge be prepared for very high, and how much you will have to pay.

We rented from the Caen train station where several companies share the same building directly across the street from the train station. English was spoken. I made my reservations through Costco travel. (Sept 25)

We watched some you tube videos about driving in France in advance that were quite helpful. It is important to understand road signs and right of way. We also rented an automatic just to reduce the number of things to think about at once. One person drove and the other navigated using Google Maps which was extremely helpful for the driver. Directions such as “ at the second roundabout take the third exit” make driving much easier.

I have rented from Bayuex, Caen, Rennes, Cherbourg and Paris. I concur with the recommendation to rent in Caen due to frequent train service that brings you to multiple car rental agencies right outside of the station. This is what I usually do now (ten car rentals in Normandy so far). But it depends on where else you will be going. If combining with a trip to Saint Malo or Mont Saint-Michel, Rennes is a better location for one end of your trip or another. I'll personally be picking up and dropping off in Cherbourg this summer due to arriving via ferry from the UK and staying in Sainte-Mère-Église.

Pay attention to opening hours including long closures for lunch (which happen to coincide with ideal trains from Paris to Caen). But you should be able to arrange an after-hours drop off to any place. If you do this, document the condition of the car with pictures and video before leaving it. Bon voyage!

I posted this in 2024 (before our trip): "We are working with Bessen Car Rental in Bayeux for our upcoming visit...they have been extremely accommodating when we explained our travel timeline issues (arriving later than planned on a Saturday due to limited train availability from Paris). You might contact them directly (email worked)."

Update: The Bessen Car Rental in Bayeux were very accommodating ...had no trouble getting our car, even though they were closed (family member was sent to meet us to rent us the car, lol). We recommend them.