Normandy - public transport logistics

First, I can't imagine going to this part of the world counting on only public transportation. There is very little available, and depending on it to see all the things you want to see would be difficult at best.

Secondly, going from Rouen to Bayeux and then back Honfleur involves backtracking. It would be easier to go from Rouen to Honfleur en route to Bayeux.

As for your knee/ankle issues, only you can be sure if you can do MSM. But there is a lot of walking on either long uphills or lots of stairs (there are several floors of stairs either way). Can you walk up several stories of a building without any issues? I absolutely love MSM, but it isn't a walk in a flat park.

I hadn’t thought of Rouen to Honfleur, and appreciate the suggestion. Many online sites indicate it’s possible to do Normandy by public transit. One can only hope they’re right. I did Puglia, Italy last year - many ppl say a car is necessary but really it’s not, it’s just more convenient. I don't own a car here at home, & will not drive in Normandy. Last time I drove was 2008 in the Dordogne area of France. While it was fine, I have no desire to drive after all this time. Thanks again for the input.

Having been to every place you have mentioned on a trip last spring, I can't imagine relying on public transportation for this. Are you sure you won't consider a rental car?

Also, you've got a lot of backtracking...Rouen then back to Giverny...Bayuex then Caen then Honfleur. Rouen to Honfleur would seem to make more sense.

I will say that everyplace you mention is lovely.

Gail,
The above comments regarding backtracking are spot on. I recommend taking a look at a regular map of Normandy to choose your route. About needing a car. Public buses, etc. will not get you where and when you want to go. Either rent a car or take a tour. The tours are not cheap, but are highly popular with many posters here. e.g. Overlord all day tours are about $150.00+ per person. Try putting something like "visiting DDay sights in Normandy" in the search bar above, and filter for Travel Forum, then 1 year or less, to find comments about such a trip.
Definitely rework the route of your trip to save time and money and aggravation. I always start with a map to see the big picture. It really helps!
Best of luck!

Gail....You can generally get by with public transport between towns. I was referring to the DDay beaches, etc. when I said you really needed a car (or tour).

Hi & thanks for all the replies. About car rental - I’m going solo haven’t driven for 17 years, so that’s out of the question & I’m not in any rush. I understand/see about backtracking, & now realize departing Normandy region from Le Havre is a bad idea.
Seems Giverny is best reached from Rouen for a day trip. Rouen is also where Flixbus arrives from CDG. (Another option is CDG to Vernon but requires an overnight there as the bus is an evening arrival. Might consider that but my tentative flight arrives CDG @ 8am so hours to wait for that option.). At least if I get the earlier bus CDG to Rouen I can sleep. It’s a long, long flight from Vancouver Island!
Per everyone’s recommendation, best routing is Rouen>Honfleur>Bayeux>Caen for departure.
Flixbus departs for Lille from Caen, Rouen, Le Havre, or Vernon, somCaen seems best for my final few nights before departure.
I always planned to book a tour to the beaches from Bayeux & looked at Overlord very briefly a couple weeks ago. Not sure they have a trip to the Canadian beaches.
I’m still unsure about MSM as I think it’ll be a challenge.

Again, thanks for all the help.

To me from Rouen the most obvious way to Honfleur is the train to Le Havre, then the bus across the bridge. There are a handful of buses from Rouen to Le Havre, but unless determined to be bus only I'm not sure I see the point.
Last summer NOMAD did run a comprehensive bus network around the beaches. It was the first year of such an operation, and was posted on here - not sure how easy it would be to find it again, or if the exercise is even being repeated this year.
The new service probably didn't make it to the RS guides.
I must admit I'm used to the NOMAD website but really struggle with it - not very intuitive.
EDIT - Was just looking at the Juno Beach Centre website - if you arrive there by public transit you get a 'Low Carbon Rate' entry price. I know 3 or 4 euros off is nothing at all in the overall trip cost, but at least exists.

When we spent several days in Normandy two years ago we stayed in Le Havre for 4 days and Caen for 3 days. We took the train from Paris to Le Havre and the train back from Caen. We used the Nomad bus system to get to Honfleur from Le Havre and to get to Caen from Le Havre. The system worked quite well. We did a private day tour from Caen to tour the Canadian DDay sites.

Gail - I'm another who can recommend Overlord tours. There is a British/Canadian Tour: https://www.overlordtour.com/product/tour-4-british-canadian-sectors-tour-fdt/

Overlord does sell out - I would consider booking upon making the decision.

Overlord also has a tour of MSM from Bayeux. I didn't take that - but two couples on my beaches tour had taken it and thought it was good.

I was in Normandy last fall, 2024, no car. I wanted to comment on trains. First, I understand your concern about strikes and add weekend rail works to that concern - it does happen. I had Flixbus and Nomad apps on my phone as back-up! There is warning if train strikes are expected.

Some trains in the area can be very convenient and you may wish to compare with the bus schedule. For instance, Bayeux is only a 15 minute commuter-like train ride from Caen. Many departures. If there is a strike, there will be some trains that will run. I downloaded SNCF and purchased tickets as I needed them - literally as I walked to the Caen station for my return to Bayeux. But, this is your trip, not mine. If you are more comfortable considering only bus routes - I do understand. The whole strike threat is quite unsettling!

Hi again and thanks for more replies!

I am not opposed to taking local trains if best option. Where I hesitate is for the most crucial train trips. On arrival in Italy, last Sept, I had reserved train ticket for Roma>Bari only to have the train breakdown in Caserta. I was put on a decrepit bus taking hours to finally reach Foggia where they put me on a train. What was supposed to be a 3.5 hour train ride was over 8.5 hours!

Later in my trip, after leaving Sorrento, I stayed 1 ngt in Ercolano Scavi for a Herculaneum tour. I had a reserved train ticket from there to Naples the following morning & from Naples a reserved Flixbus ticket direct to FCO for my flight home that night. I woke to to learn all trains were on strike! Had to hire a driver to take me from Ercolano Scavi to Naples & luckily made the connection! It was pandemonium at Napoli Termini - people begging to get on the bus for their flights.

I've taken many European trains in the past (UK, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Czech) without a hitch, but have been told these strikes are the new "norm" especially in Italy & France.
As for the Nomad site - given it is so difficult to use, I emailed them last week. Their response confused me more than it helped. And Flixbus from Rouen to Honfleur is ridiculous - you go back to Paris La Defense & then onto Le Havre!

I will definitely book a tour to the beaches in advance and will also take a look at the MSM tour kindly pointed out on the Overlord site.
Again, grateful for everyone's replies.

Gail,

We are in France now, spending 4 nights in Bayeux before heading to Amboise this week. We opted not to drive and take trains and tours to get to the places we wanted to travel. I liked Bayeux and we wished we had stayed the extra night to explore more of the region. To get to Bayeux from CDG, it was much easier than I thought. Take a taxi to St. Lazare train station and then the train to Bayeux (~2hrs 15 minutes), then taxi to your hotel. I booked my tickets through SCNF online and then used the App throughout the trip and the app is really good, providing notifications on your trips, track numbers, etc. Since we didn’t know if we could get an earlier train to Bayeux, I booked a train ticket that allowed changes. We got to the train station early and it was easy to exchange the tickets.

For MSM, I we took the Churchill Shuttle. It was comfortable ride and 3 hours was about the maximum we wanted to stay on MSM, so it worked well for us. If you decide to do the DDay tours, we also used Overload (recommended by many on this forum and it was wonderful tour).

Bayeux to Caen is 15 minute train ride, just make sure you book the train that goes directly to Caen, not the one with stops. There are plenty of trains per day. If there was an issue with a train, there are also local buses or it is close enough to get a taxi.

I'm going to Bayeux later this year and using only public transportation & taking tours. This is an ideal option for most tourists coming from Paris who just want to see a few major attractions for 2-3 days.

I'm taking the train from Paris. Hotel in Bayeux (3 nights). Will walk around the town and go to the Bayeux military museum in the afternoon of my arrival day. Then have 2 full days of Overlord Tours--one to see the D-Day sites and the 2nd day to MSM. Then train back to Paris. This is all I want to do in Normandy.

I'm traveling solo and the idea of driving for hours by myself isn't relaxing or appealing to me. There isn't anyone to share the driving and i can't really enjoy the scenery when I'm driving. I'm a very strong walker and prefer walking everywhere. When I travel, I don't try to cover every town and tourist attraction. I've learned to hit some highlights and be happy with that. Europe is fantastic for public transportation.

I don't understand the US reliance on cars in Europe. It's just not the way many Europeans live. I traveled extensively in Slovakia, Poland and Hungary one year and used buses and trains everywhere. Many people in Europe don't have their own cars. Amsterdam has a fantastic public transportation system as well. To me, renting a car is just extra cost and stress.

I don't need to see every town and village in Normandy to feel that I've seen the area. I will see enough scenery while on the 2 days of tours to D-Day sites and MSM.

Not everyone wants to travel the way I do and that's okay. I'm older and don't want 3 week trips anymore. I try to do 9-10 days total and that's enough for me. I will go back somewhere if I didn't see everything. I was in Paris in March and didn't see everything so I'm going back later this year after my 3 nights in Normandy and hope to get into Notre Dame this time.

I don't understand the US reliance on cars in Europe. It's just not
the way many Europeans live.

It is certainly the way the majority of those living in Normandy live. And I would guess most other rural areas that have limited public transportation as well. In fact, you will rely heavily on a car on your two days of tours there. Believe me, you won't be walking or taking a train to Mont Saint-Michel...

PharmerPhil,
D'accord! Our cousins who live in a suburb of Paris and in Brittany would be very hampered without their car, especially in Bretagne! Likewise the family in Bandol. Not everyone lives in the center of town or reasonably close to a bus route. Those in their 70's and 80's are very happy to bring their groceries home in a car and not have to tote several bags on a bus, with a 1 mile or more walk to their home.

The last two responses are totally right on about the need for a car. If you don't live in a city or a large town you will need a car as most Europeans know. Yes they have good transportation but not enough to cover the majority of the countries in Europe. We have traveled extensively the last forty years by a rental car and also public transportation and both have worked well depending on what we were doing. To each their own style of travel.

Hi Gail—
Like you, we don’t rent cars when we travel. We prefer the train system and some local bus connections. I have had Flixbus trips cancelled on me, though, so I’m a little wary of Flixbus now. Also, Flixbus was very disorganized in Chamonix, without signage, so some people missed their bus. But you’re not going there. Maybe a Flixbus trip with plenty of passengers from CDG would be reliable.

I took a roundtrip train from Rouen to Honfleur for a short day trip, which included a bus transfer from Le Havre. Also took the train from Rouen to Bayeux, stayed one night (did a half day Overlord tour), then took the train to Mt. St. Michel. It’s a walk to the train station, though. The way back to Rouen routed us by train through Paris. That was a long day. There was a Flixbus option direct to Rouen, but left late in the day.

Mt. St. Michel was a little difficult for me because I was having some knee problems. There are lots of stairs.

Thank you to everyone who replied, but unfortunately, driving is not an option. After further research, I've decided to pass on Normandy all together and thank you for your time. Merci bien!

We will be traveling in that area in July and again in September and are planning on using the train. I'm going with a friend and we are staying in Vernon to see Monet's House and Gardens and the next day taking the train to Rouen (it's less than an hour ride). In September we are taking the train to Rouen then to Bayeux (we will be there in time for lunch by my estimate with train schedules) to do a Bayeux Shuttle day tour the next day then three days in Ouistreham for the Normandy Beach races. We will see the Caen Memorial museum on the way. Then back to Paris for a few days - we will be in Paris for lunch. A car would enable us to see more off the beaten track sights but our primary focus is easy to do by train. Our only wrinkle is getting to Ouistreham as there is no train there and we will have to take a local bus. Not a big deal as having a car when attending a car event means traffic and parking are difficult. Traveling by train you do have to be willing to adapt to that schedule, but that's not always bad. Enjoy your trip (I would second that Giverny - Rouen - Hornfleur - Bayeau makes good sense.)