Normandy Day Trip From Paris

I apologize if you know this, but Viator is not a tour company -- they are a web site that works with tour companies to sell their services. Viator supposedly checks to verify that the services are valid and legitimate and of sufficient quality to offer them on their site. Sometimes you can get a better deal by booking through Viator, and sometimes you'll do better searching for and booking with the tour companies directly. So shop around.

That said, I would bet that every tour on Viator has some negative reviews. If you see an excessive number of negative reviews, or multiple negative reviews that mention the same problem, that could be a red flag. But if you just see a few random negative reviews among a lot of positive ones, don't necessarily let that scare you off.

I can't offer you any advice on selecting a day tour from Paris to Normandy, but I'm sure someone else here can help. And keep doing your research.

I've had several good experiences with Viator. As was said above, they are a 3rd party who arranges with local tours to do your tour. In my experience their pricing has been very competititve.

There are two kinds of tour experiences for the Normandy Beaches: 1) those that pick up and drop off in Paris, and 2) those that start from and drop off in Caen or Bayeux, which means you have to get to Caen or Bayeux on your own and in the morning early enough to catch the tour.

From what you've said in your original post, it sounds as if you would prefer the kind of tour that picks up/drops off in Paris.

Thank you for that information! I didn't realize they weren't the tour company. I have obviously just gotten started on my research.

Doing that as a daytrip is going to be awfully long and tiring. Normandy and the D-Day beaches and tours should be given more time than just a daytrip.

If by Normandy, you mean the D-Day beaches, I agree with the responder who suggests that it should given more than a day trip. If you want to do it as a day trip, I suggest that you take an early morning train to Bayeux or Caen and pick up one the tours that operate from there. If you are committed to leaving from Paris, take a look at pariscityvision.com. I have heard good things about their tour from Paris although the person who did it and liked it also mentioned how long a day it was and said that she realized after the fact that she should have allocated more time.

Thanks for the input. I realize that it will be a long day, but I do not have a lot of time in Paris and I would like to at least get out to the D-day beaches while I'm there on this trip.

Can anyone recommend a tour company that picks up at the Bayeux or Caen train station?

To aebutler:
Re your last question: it's been frequently discussed on this site and you may find multiple discussion threads by using the Search function (top left of this page).

Many of the tours starting from Bayeux or Caen don't try to accommodate train travelers arriving from Paris the morning of the tour, preferring that you sleep overnight in Bayeux or Caen--those won't be for you.

Try http://www.bayeuxshuttle.com/dday-tour-half-day.htm. They have a good half day afternoon tour that leaves from a hotel about a 15-minute walk from the train station. The morning half day tour starts at 9:15, which is probably before the first train from Paris arrives. A person I know, who is a a very well-traveled and gives great advice, did the Dale Booth tour that is coordinated with trains from Paris and loved it. You can google Dale Booth Normandy tours to find it.

Thank you all for the advice!

Today I took a day tour to D-Day beaches from Paris. I had limited time and my plan worked perfectly. I went with Bayeux Shuttle which met the train from Paris in Bayeux about 9:30 and ended back at the train station in time for the 6:37 train back to Paris. The website tells you exactly what trains to use. The guide was excellent. The pace is pretty fast as it covers a wide area. I saw everything I really wanted to see and am very pleased. The train from Paris and this full day tour works only on weekdays as trains don't go early enough on weekends. The half day tours offered from the various tour companies would have left me wishing for more.

Thanks, Mary! I really appreciate your advice.

We recently toured the beaches with a private guide that I would highly recommend. Super easy to work with, speaks perfect English and very responsive to your interests. He picked us up at the train station in Bayeaux. With that said, and not knowing your budget, it would be expensive for a solo traveler. The guide is Sylvain Kast and website is below:
http://www.d-day-experience-tours.com/

I had a fantastic day trip to Normandy booked through ParisCityVision. The guide picked me up at my hotel and returned me to the same location following the tour. So simple. It was a small group tour -- only four of us plus the guide. The guide was exceptional. She drove and talked much of the way to Normandy and provided accurate historical information and insights regarding what it was like to be a French citizen during the invasion. We visited the American graveyard and a number of sites associated with D Day. I am a female and was traveling alone. My companions on the day trip were men and they were very nice and interested in what the guide had to share with us. I booked the tour on-line and presented a copy of the voucher to the guide. It was all very easy. (I'm with you re: renting a car. No way.)

I was also going to mention Paris City Vision, which you may also be able to book through Viatour. I've never used them but they seem to get decent ratings on Trip Advisor.

The best way to see the historic sites is to spend a few nights in Bayeux and take some of the excellent local tours. However, if you don't have time for that, a day trip from Paris will suffice and will provide a look at the important sites. It will be a LONG day though.

We did a Normandy day trip in June. Yes, it was a long day, but not terrible and we were back in Paris in time for a nice dinner on our last night in the city. I would very strongly suggest taking a train, as it's much faster than a bus or van from Paris. We took a direct train from Saint Lazare to Bayeux, arriving around 11 a.m. or so. We had time to (quickly) walk into town to see the Bayeux tapestry and walk back with time for a fast lunch before our afternoon tour.

We used Normandy Landing Tours: http://www.normandy-landing-tours.com/#_=_

The tours leave from Hotel de la Gare, almost directly across the street from the train station, where we grabbed lunch. Not a fancy website and a well-used van, but very hospitable, and our guide, Ramon, was extremely knowledgeable. It definitely was a fast-paced, "hit the highlights" tour, but that's what we had time for. It fit the bill perfectly. We even had time after the tour to (quickly) stroll around the Bayeux cathedral and have an ice cream before walking back to catch our train.

Would it be great to camp in Bayeux for a couple of nights and explore the D-Day sights in-depth? Sure. But if you have one day and one day only, this trip is definitely feasible.

janetroberson1 and stoutfella, thank you for the suggestions! I am planning to take the train to Bayeux and take a tour from there. I'm glad to know you have both done it and recommend it. I know it will be a long day, but I don't have a lot of time and want to get out to see the D-day beaches.