France August 2018 help 😀

Take Le bus direct service to Gare Montparnasse

Https://www.lebusdirect.com/en/

Not sure you can find a taxi for 6.
St MALO is a nice beach town; you can probably include a day trip to Mont st Michael from there and the D-Day area.

The trying to drive from St Malo to Amsterdam and staying two days and then to Paris is a stretch.

You might want to reconsider some bits of this...

Do you have your car already set? I ask because...for a family of 6 (and all their luggage), you're going to need a big vehicle.

From here we plan to drive to Amsterdam for about 2 nights...

Why drive to Amsterdam? Having a car (especially a large one) in any large old city is going to be a headache. Be sure you factor in the cost of parking, too. A car would be useful in the countryside (in Normandy, a car will be needed). But only on that part of your trip.

If you go to Amsterdam for 2 nights, you get one day there. It'll take the better part of a day to get there, and another to get back. That does not seem like a good use of your time to me.

Within roughly day-trip range of St. Malo are a number of places I enjoyed last year: Dinard, Dinan (lively market, but check online to see what days it operates), Rennes, and two picturesque towns well off the US-tourist circuit, Fougeres and Vitre.

That's a lot of time to spend in one small city, though. St.-Malo itself is very, very touristy, which for me gets old quite fast. I'd prefer to split my time between that area and perhaps Bayeux (where you could take one of the great van-tours of the D-Day sites and also drive to some pretty coastal towns like Deauville and Honfleur) or somewhere farther west in Brittany.

Alternatively, I'd reduce the time in St.-Malo and add some to Amsterdam and/or Paris.

The drive from St.-Malo to Amsterdam will be an all-day affair (ViaMichelin says over 8-1/2 hours with no stops), giving you just one day to see the city before you have to turn around and drive back to Paris (about 5-1/2 hours with no stops). The car will be useless to you in Amsterdam, and the parking fees could be really substantial. There's no way I'd be making that detour to Amsterdam unless I was prepared to spend at least four days in the Netherlands.

You need a comprehensive guidebook covering Paris and northern France to get the best out of your trip, especially the driving portion of it.

I'm not sure what sort of car you'll be able to rent that will accommodate six people and six people's luggage. The usual suggestion in cases like this is that two regular cars be rented, because it will be cheaper and also provide some flexibility if your group wants to split up occasionally to do different things.

Sorry I should have mentioned this we are staying in saint malo because we are watching the world cup games. There is one in saint malo and then another in Concarneau mixed into the days we stay in Saint malo so that’s our home base for the first half the trip. I have rented a van that seats 7 so we should be just fine as far as cargo and room for everyone. I had read that in the Brittany area it’s best to have a car. If Amsterdam is too big a distance I’m def open to suggestions please! We are Ending in Paris for the last 4 days and returning the car there:

Would you consider turning in your car early and taking the train to and from Amsterdam? Depending on what time you want to leave, there are trains that take just over 3 hours, no changes and possibly cost €37 each for August.

Ditto Dinard. Absolutely LOVED it. We loved walking along the coast and then the beach. We loved the retro beach resort feel and the views of Saint Malo from Dinard. Enjoyed Dinan as well. In Paris, for food, we really liked the falafel at L' as Du Falafel in the Mariais, and Cafe Saint Victor on 11 Rue Monge. If you haven't watched the Paris episode of "I'll Have What Phil's Having", even just to increase the excitement level!

I've taken the train directly from the airport to Rennes without having to go into Paris Montparnasse to catch the train. If you haven't already bought your tickets, you might want to check that out.

Brittany alone has enough to offer for your whole trip without going to Amsterdam. Why not just Brittany, Normandy, and a day or two more in Paris? Driving back to Paris from Normandy, you have stops in Honfleur, Rouen, Etratat, Monet's house in Giverny. Brittany is filled with interesting sites. That's a lot of driving for two days in Amsterdam.

For info on Brittany, get the Michelin Green Guide Book. It's for sale in English on Amazon.

so just because we are just so curious, I mentioned your post to my husband who is both a Brittany fan and a soccer fan. He said the world cup is in Russia. Now of course there can be more than one world cup, I guess, but we are just so curious! What are you going to Brittany to watch?

Women’s World Cup.

Bets, Thanks! I am not a sports person, can't wait to point this out to my husband.

Yes thank you Bets it’s u20 women’s World Cup
Also I tried booking train from airport but it wouldn’t get us Into Saint Malo at a decent time I’m not sure why there were a few more connections maybe due to train strikes idk? But the station we did book Gets us us into Saint Malo at a decent time? I read there are buses to get us there bro I don’t want to be late and kiss the train. I’m unsure though if best way to get to that station? I think we may skip Amsterdam all together since the consensus on here is no lol... I’m listening... 😀. Also any tips for driving in France would be helpful thanks again!

Definitely skip Amsterdam on this trip. Sticking with France will give you more sightseeing time and less driving time. As you will see, France is chock-full of charming places to visit.

Keep in mind that on days when you're driving to a new hotel, luggage inside your vehicle will be at risk if you stop for a meal or sightseeing along the way. The usual advice is to hide everything in the trunk before you reach the place where you will park, but your vehicle isn't going to have a trunk, and if you have to pile excess luggage in tne 7th passenger seat...well, it's not a great situation. Therefore:

• Everyone needs to pretend the entire trip is being made by train and pack very light.

• When you make a mid-day stop, everyone should use a day-pack, tote bag, etc., to carry expensive electronic gear, camera s, prescription meds and the like around with him. Expensive jewelry should be left at home so you don't need to worry about it.

• Every suitcase should be locked. That will slow down an opportunistic thief looking to rifle a few bags quickly.

• Because of the vulnerability of the type of vehicle you will need, I'd consider buying one or more heavy chains and padlocks in France so you can run the chain(s) through the handles of your suitcases while they're in the car. No one will be able to run away with seven bags chained together.

Again, you need a good guidebook for France, one that covers northern France comprehensively. That guide book will surely also have a section on driving in France, which should be studied carefully before you begin your trip.

All potential drivers will need international driving permits (obtainable from AAA at about $20, plus you need two passport photos). However, I think you'll encounter a substantial surcharge for adding extra drivers to the contract, with the possible exception of the main driver's spouse; check now so you can figure out your strategy. Do not be tempted to let others drive the car without pre-authorization. If there's a problem (someone else may bump into you) and the driver is not on the rental agreement, I think you'll discover that the insurance you think you have is void.

Are you sure, Andrew? It has been reported on the forum that you are required to have a French translation of the license; the IDP covers that requirement.

You may be correct, but when I follow the links I'm not sure. The selected-states thing is about having a license that can be exchanged for a French license. It is not clear to me that being from one of those states means you are immune to the French-translation requirement.

So the husband's excuse (I believe him) is he thought the women's world cup was on years staggered with the men's.

A couple of corrections—Andrew’s link is for those on a visa and not an official government website. Someone posted the official policy from a French government website recently. The IDP or official translation requirement is correct for tourists.
I rolled my eyes, too, Andrew, and will probably just continue to carry my old pink French license with my US licence.
Edit: the Fr. gov. link about licenses is in another post. It says immigrants to France must have a notarized translation, too. I will translate our licenses and have the translations notarized at our bank.
https://franceintheus.org/spip.php?article376

As for second drivers, as the designated second driver, I assure you it’s not free. Every additional driver will be 8 euros a day, up to 48 euros each for the duration of the rental. This is charged after the vehicle is returned.

€8 per day for a second driver actually sounds pretty reasonable to me. I've read about $25/day charges in the US. However, I think in the US the spouse may be free.

Bets, Andrew, and others : The legal requirement is that, for short stay visits, one can drive for the entire period (90 days) on an American or Canadian (or other foreign) valid driver's license, provided the foreign license is in French or is accompanied by an official translation in French (I can provide more details if desired) or the license is accompanied by an International Driving Permit (IDP).

The presence or absence of a reciprocity agreement with an individual U.S. state has no bearing on this requirement.

Now, chances are very high that anyone driving in France with their foreign license will never be asked to produce it, except when renting or leasing a car, and even then it's most likely the agency will not ask for a translation or IDP. That's because traffic patrols are rare (the French police rely heavily on speed cameras and red light cameras). There are occasional motorcycle patrols and checkpoints, but in my experience they're rare outside of a manhunt or terrorist attack or the like.

When one is talking about becoming a permanent (or at least long-term) resident of France, one can drive for one year on one's foreign license after entering France for this stay, after which the foreign becomes permanently invalid in France; even if it still has years and years of validity back home. In contrast with the short-stay situation noted above, for a long stay the license is supposed to be accompanied by an official French translation. The IDP will not cut it (officially). That said, the individual officer examining your papers may exercise his or her discretion, however.

If the license was issued by a U.S. state or Canadian province with French reciprocity, it's relatively straightforward to surrender the license to French authorities before the one-year period is up, along with necessary documents and payment, and you will be granted a French license (a 15-year license from date of issuance). If you wait until after the one-year period, you fall into the category described in the next paragraph.

If, however, one is a resident of France and is not from a state or province with reciprocity, then one has to successfully pass a written and driving test in France to obtain a French license. That's the path I had to take, as the state that issued my American driver's license did not have reciprocity with France. It's not particularly difficult for an experienced driver, but you have to know le Code de la Route and you have to practice their tests (repeatedly) so you know what the questions are getting at -- they can be pretty obscure at times.

Hope that helps.

I would fly into Amsterdam, do your two days, then train to Paris or directly to St Malo. either way, get to St Malo then back to Paris and fly home from there (most efficient use of time). It might be best to train to Paris and rent a car, drive to Malo and tour the area for a few days, then drive back to Paris, drop the car and enjoy the city. Renting at airport gives you more car options and open times for pickup and drop off. Train runs to/from CDG airport. I would consider a stop in Bruges if you have the time, Brussels may be easier but I did not like it as much, both have historic city centers.