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Need tour info - Normandy and Loire Valley

Posted by (Belle Mead, NJ, USA) on

Hi, all. My husband and I are traveling to France in October. After several days in Paris, we want to travel to Bayeaux, two days seeing Normandy beach sites, overnight on Mont St. Michel, then head to the Loire Valley for three days seeing chateaus and enjoying wine before returning to Paris and return home.

As seniors, we will not drive, and have successfully used public transportation on previous trips. This trip we thought it would be more time efficient to use small local tours. I've located a couple in Normandy, but none include an overnight on Mont St Michel. I have not found a "reasonably" priced tour of Loire Valley.

Any advice on tour companies or on planning?

Thanks!!

Posted by
700 posts

In regard to planning, years ago I stayed in Amboise for two nights and booked a local mini-van tour to several of the local chateaux. Amboise was , and I assume still is, the base that RS recommends for visiting the Loire Valley. It is a compact, fully walkable town, and I was able to rent a bike to visit the chateau that was nearby. So I would look at the RS guidebook for recommended tour organizations. Amboise has easy rail access to Paris as well.

Posted by
3122 posts

The chateaux of the Loire region are very spread out and there's a fair amount to see in each one, so the distances and waiting time for tour buses are going to reflect this in their prices. The good news, though, is that there are tours, because you really can't do it on public transportation.

There are lots of Normandy D-Day beach tours. I haven't done one, but did visit the American Cemetery and highly recommend it, so if you choose a tour I would make sure it includes a couple of hours there.

If you want a tour that will take you around the D-Day coast and then onward to Mont St.-Michel, this may be harder to find. According to Rome2Rio there are connections from Bayeux via Caen to the Mont by bus and by train, each taking about 3-4 hours.

https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Bayeux-Normandy-France/Mont-Saint-Michel-Abbey

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