CDG to Bayeaux Transport - SPECIFICS

Here are the simplest options:

1. At CDG, take a taxi, from the official taxi queue, to Gare St Lazare in Paris. Fare is fixed at 50€. Trains to either Bayeux or Caen depart from St Lazare. Purchase train tickets, up to 3 months in advance directly from the SNCF.

2. Rent a car from CDG (check rentals through Autoeurope). Depart CDG taking A1 south, to A86, to A14, to A13 to Caen. From Caen, take N13 to Bayeux. You can download and printout the exact route from either Mappy or ViaMichelin. Early Sunday traffic will be minimal.

There are several other bus/train options from CDG, but they are more complex and take much longer.

First specific instruction - before you leave home, go to AAA and buy an IDP for each driver on the contract.

We always take the train from Gare St Lazare to Caen and rent a car there. Word of caution however, many rental agencies in Caen are closed on Sunday, so check carefully.

Yes your main issue will be the ability to find an open car rental agency at Caen on a Sunday.

Also please note correct spelling is Bayeux (no “A”).

Check rome2rio.com for public transportation time. The shortest is 5 hours not counting waiting.
Check viamichelin for driving time: CDG to Bayeux is three hours, not counting pit stops.

If you are going to rent a car anyway, why pay for taxis and a train on the same day? Or, don’t rent a car at all but take a tour from Bayeux with a company such as Overlord.

Good advice so far. I will ask one question, and add another option. How many people is "we?" If it is more than two (with luggage), the taxi is the simplest and fairly economical. If there are one or two, I usually take the RoissyBus. It leaves right outside of arrivals at CDG, and brings you to the Opera Garnier—which is a 7-8 minute walk to Gare Saint Lazare. From there, there are TER trains to either Caen or Bayeux. As mentioned, there are more rental car options in Caen, which is right up the road from Bayeux. In Bayeux, you have to get yourself to a gas station on the Bayeux periphery road a mile and a half or so away from the train. But as mentioned, availability on a Sunday is iffy either in Caen or Bayeux. Hell, many rental offices even close for 2 hours for lunch the days they are open, and the web sites don't usually indicate this. I would confirm they will be open the actual hours you want to arrive. I usually rent from the Hertz office in Caen, which is just down the hill, and under the tracks from the train station. But there are other companies right across the street from the station.

By the way, watch me get flamed for this, but there is no legal requirement for an IDL, no one has ever asked me for one, and NO ONE has ever posted on this forum that they EVER had any difficulty in France due to not having one. I sometimes wonder if RS gets a kick-back from AAA for pushing these wastes of money. You are required to have a "notarized" translation of your driver's license, but it is easy enough to make a non-notarized one yourself using the standard format, which you can find online. I always do, but again, I've never been asked for one. And you are most likely to get a speeding ticket by a photo radar that is mailed to your home after the fact, along with a courtesy fee from the rental car company for letting them know where you are. Observe the speed limits signs to the "T." There is no grace range.

What I hope you will not do is get off an overnight transatlantic flight, jetlagged and probably sleep-deprived, rent a car at CDG and head toward a destination three hours away. That would not be safe. [Never mind. JHK has pointed out that you're traveling from Italy. I read carelessly.]

If you plan to take a D-Day tour on your first full day in France, you will not need a car until the day after the tour, assuming you stay in Bayeux. One or both of you can take the train from Bayeux to Caen to get the car on Tuesday. Most of the trains take about 15 minutes.

I do recommend a tour of the D-Day sites. The driver/guide will move the can around very efficiently, providing background information as you go.

That is a smart idea, a craven. Get in place on Sunday in Bayeux, take a guided (driven) tour of the battlefields on Monday out of Bayeux, and then pick up the car (or not) on Tuesday.

Given that you are flying in from Florence, I am going to conclude that you will not be jet lagged. If that is correct, I think renting a car from CDG and driving will be a reasonable plan. This avoids dealing with how to get a car in Caen or Bayeux on a Sunday. If you are jet lagged, I say train to Caen and pick up your car there through the Avis partnership with the train company: https://en.oui.sncf/en/train/train-services/train-avis. This will allow you to get a car even if the Avis location is closed.
As an aside, re the IDL, my husband has been asked for one twice by the police in the past 6 years. Both times, we were deep in wine country and it looked like we were in random DUI checks. One policeman did not even look at the IDLs after we handed them to him and the other examined them thoroughly. Hubby is our DD and all was good so we were waved along.

Thanks, JHK. I skimmed right by "Florence".

I'd look at the rental cost carefully since I suspect the car will sit unused, possibly incurring parking charges, for the first two days except for the CDG-Bayeux run--unless Karyn wants to see something on the way to Bayeux. And I'd check on how much the need for parking would constrain my choice of lodgings in Bayeux. But if an automatic is needed, it's more likely to be readily available at CDG than in Bayeux or Caen.

but there is no legal requirement for an IDL,

Well, it´s officially called an IDP though the documentation has a few references to the usage of IDL. Either way, IDL or IDP, it is only a translation so you must still carry your valid license. The IDP has always been a requirement in places such as Spain and Italy but carrying one was never much of a big deal in France. It may not be even now but the requirement has made its way into French law as an accommodation to unifying the rules of all EU countries. Here is the official mandate in French under Court séjour.

The IDP is an official document established by a number of treaties, most notably the 1949 Geneva Convention, the 1968 Vienna Convention, and the 2011 Amending to the 1968 Vienna Convention. There are two official entities sanctioned by the US State Department to issue IDPs in the USA: AAA and the AATA. Originally, IDPs were officially valid for only 1 year but the 1968 Vienna treaty lengthened the period to two years. Unfortunately, the USA never signed the Vienna Treaty so US IDPs remain valid for only one year. You must obtain a new IDP went your old IDP expires to remain compliant with the law.

Having an IDP is not required to meet the rule, you may have a translation performed separately but it must be done by an approved translator as specified by the French government. You cannot make the translation yourself nor have a friend do it for you. The price of an officially translated page from English into French is currently 50€ to 60€ so the IDP is a much cheaper option.

I have always found it odd that English licenses issued from English-speaking EU countries are perfectly OK. Even when the UK separates from the EU, Ireland remains so those English licenses are understood by authorities but other English language licenses apparently are not.

Another wrinkle is the introduction of the new international license format. French licenses are line item identical to US licenses from states which have adopted the format. It is not required to be able to read anything really. Item #1 is the driver´s last name, item #2 is first name, item #3 is date of birth, and so forth. It does not take a great linguist to understand any license using this format.

Also interesting, someone moving to France may use his foreign license without translation or without an IDP for a period of up to one year after his arrival.

What this all means is not really clear. I doubt most police officers will spend a lot of time chasing down someone with an otherwise valid driver´s license who does not have a current IDP. It could happen but on the whole, this is probably much to do about nothing for those driving only in France.

When we were pulled over by a cop the first thing he asked for was the license and the IDP; he actually looked a bit disappointed that we were able to produce it. It is a requirement for driving in France, Italy, Spain -- it is cheap and easy to get.

If I were coming from Florence and hence not jet lagged, I'd just pick up the car and drive from CDG. The rental agencies in Caen are closed for long lunches every day and closed completely on Sunday.

If you go on a beach tour with Overlord or similar agencies, you don't need a car. The Hotel Churchill and some local agencies also do daily van trips to Mont St. Michel, so if you are just doing those two things you don't need a car, but make reservations as early as you can. Train tickets are about 15 Euro from Paris to Bayeux if you buy them when they first become available and get progressively more expensive as the time of travel approaches.

wow! I am so grateful for all of your responses -- thank you! Yes, we will not be jet-lagged and it is just my husband and me with carry-on luggage. I didn't know about car rental agencies being closed in Caen on Sundays and the 2 hr breaks .. this is great information. I am inclined to just pick up the car from CDG and not hassle with the trains, cab rides, tickets, etc. since we only have two days in the Normandy area. I am a little worried about driving internationally (I did for a bit in Germany) but it sounds fairly straightforward. The car may just sit if we do a tour on Monday, but at least we can have it in the evening and Tuesday. The freedom of having a car available just sounds good to me and the cost doesn't seem exorbitant.

So-- I will reread all of the comments but can I just bag getting any other documentation than just having my US driver's license? We are only there two days so I don't' mind the risk - but will the rental company accept this? What rental company is best/easiest from CDG? Insurance options? What route is best from CDG to Bayeux? I would prefer a little longer, more scenic than the quickest way there if possible. Again -- thanks in advance for any suggestions, etc. I know there is a lot of info on the web about these things but I thought I would ask. THANKS!

Oops -- Just re-read Tocard's info route from CDG -- thanks!!

Karyn, your plan to drive from CDG makes sense to me, given that you won't be jet-lagged. Auto Europe can help you find a well-priced car rental. A GPS would help you navigate, supplemented with a map. What insurance you want depends on your risk tolerance and whether the credit card you'll use provides any supplemental coverage.

I'm in the pro-IDP camp, it's easy enough to get one from AAA before you leave and it could save you a lot of trouble if you have an accident or get stopped for any reason. Tha fact that others have not had problems in the past does not mean you won't have one in the future. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

We have rented cars multiple times in Europe. Sometimes they ask for the IDP and sometimes they do not. However, for the small amount of money and time it will take you to get one from AAA, I would have one. Not to mention that if you do get stopped or have an accident you are going to be saved a big hassle.

I have never been asked for an IDL when renting a car in a dozen or so trips. I even offered my translated U.S. license, and they had no interest.

It has been pointed out in a variety of threads related to several different countries that the need for the IDP may occur when you come face-to-face with traffic police as opposed to when you rent the car. Rental-car companies are in the business of renting cars. That they don't ask for the IDP is no guarantee that the police will not. This seems to me one of those "How lucky do you feel?" situations.

I never rent cars in Europe yet I always have an IDP on me just in case I change my mind. In some countries--can you say Italy--it is required by law. You can get in big trouble if you don't have one. (Yes, I know, you have been stopped 150 times and have never been asked for one. But there is always stop 151 where you will need it.)

$20 and 10 minutes. That's all it takes. And if you are a member of AAA the photos are free.

Wasn’t it Cyn and her husband who had the IDPs but forgot to bring them so were refused the car they had reserved in Greece?

Greece is one of the countries where the rental car company will ask for the IDP or at least that has been my experience. It actually makes sense in my case given the differences between the Greek alphabet and the English alphabet. I left my IDP in my hotel room the first time I rented a car in Greece, but lucky for me the company delivered the car to the hotel so all I had to do was go from the lobby to my room to get the IDP. On the other hand, we have never been asked for an IDP at the time of the rental in France but have had the two incidences that I mentioned above. We get the IDP if we plan to drive because it's $20 and 10 minutes.

Anyone who can get to and from a AAA office from home, and do the whole IDL thing in ten minutes must live right next door to a AAA office. It takes me 10 minutes to get to a major road. And why in hell do these IDLs expire after one year, even though the license they are verifying is good for much longer. Again, who here has ever had a problem in France because they didn't have an IDL? Ever? Anybody? Anybody?

The answer is who DIDN’T have a problem because they DID have an IDP? Janettravels44.

Others have been writing that you can order and receive the document by mail.

Hmmm. It looks pretty easy to get a permit and I can do by mail. There is an office near me as well. Application is simple, $20 fee and passport pics. I think my husband might drive to -- annoying to spend $40 when we will only have the car two days. Maybe I'll just drive! Once again, I am so GRATEFUL for all of your comments and responses. It has been very helpful indeed. Curious: the drive to Normany.. is it scenic or freeway primarily? I can look at a map but thought I would ask. And, this is embarrassing, but we want a car with a GPS, right? I shouldn't rely on mapquest or whatever due to cell service? I am hoping no one will scold me for asking repetitive questions that I can search in the forum for ... ya'll seem very helpful and knowledgable so I thought I would just keep asking questions.. !

The initial drive to Normandy is getting out of the city—so that is not scenic. But I find it gets prettier the closer you get, and I quite enjoy it—although it is mostly freeway. A lot of rolling farmland, and wide river valleys. If you have a home GPS for your car, you can pre-load the European maps and just bring that with you. That's what I usually do. Though many people have reported getting a car with GPS even though they didn't order it or pay for it. It was just what the rental companies had available.

Your post is weird, Tim, with sweeping generalizations. But, I appreciate your posting/input regardless. And thanks, Wally. It is something to think about for sure re car rentals. The reality is both options (train from Paris vs. CDG car rental) definitely have pros and cons with considerations of $$, convenience, hassle, comfort level, etc. I have read up a little about tolls and know there are quite a few outside of CDG toward Normandy. Thanks, again, everyone!!!!!!

If both of you are going to (or may) drive, it's not just two IDPs you need to worry about; both drivers need to be documented on the rental agreement, which I think will incur a rather substantial additional per-day fee. If you skip that step and there's damage to the car when the undocumented person is driving, I am nearly certain you will find that all of your car insurance, from whatever source, is void.

Why not rent a car in Bayeux? There is a Renault car rental location right next to the train station. We are making a similar trip in April and this seems easier than renting in Caen. Is there something I don't know?

They are arriving on a Sunday, and the car rental place in Bayeux is not open on Sundays.

At Avis the additional driver fee was 9€ per day when I Iast rented a car from them and it was capped at 12 days even though we had a 21-day rental. I think we paid 1€ more per day because we rented from a train station.

We are doing this exact same thing though on a Thursday. I did all the calculations and concluded that I could save both time and money by just renting a car from CDG for 3 of us. I have driven in Europe before so I think that helps. So I would urge you to look at this option. However, if it had been more cost effective I would have gone the CDG to Paris, change stations, then train to Caen, rent the car there and drive to Bayeux route. Depending on where you are going after Bayeux you might not need a car. We had to have one because I just couldn't make public or even private transportation options work for us on a Sat./Sun. combination from Bayeux, to Mont St. Michele, and then to Chartres. Depending on your plans you might be able to make public transport work for you all the way.

Once again, thanks so much to everyone. After considering all the alternatives, we are going to rent a car at CDG. In theory, I know it would be less "risky" to just take the train, etc. but there are a number of other considerations in terms of time, hassle, a reluctant spouse, etc. We will get the IDL as well -- as others have mentioned, $20 for a little peace of mind isn't too much. We have a nearby AAA office -- it will be easy to obtain. No matter -- traveling in a foreign country is a little nerve-racking. It is all a matter of pros/cons, really. You all have provided me with great insight and things to think about. I truly am grateful. I am next going to put a post out about travelling by train from Florence to Rome -- so, if anyone wants to reply on this thread, let me know. I know it is a matter of just going on the train website, but for me, it is a little confusing. THANKS AGAIN!!!!!

P.S.: I know this sounds weird, but I appreciate the sense of community with you all. :)

doesn't sound weird. that's why a lot of us are here, including me

Just to add about GPS... we rented an intermediate car at ORLY last November and it came with a navigation system that we easily changed to English. The problem was when entering your destination, you had to enter it in French. Maybe we did something wrong.

We were better off using google maps with previously downloaded offline maps. It might also be cheaper to just use data instead of adding GPS to your car rental. See if your cell provider offers a daily international plan.