We will be traveling by train from Paris to the Normandy area in early September, and I've been having trouble being able to see rental car options in Bayeaux on Saturday, returning the car on Monday. What is the best way to find office hours for pick up and drop off? Is Caen a better choice for rental options? It seems the best option to rent a car to see the WWII sights on our own, but I'm open to ideas. Thanks for any comments and advice! First time tripper here.
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
4883 posts
Have you checked AutoEurope? If Bayeux doesn't work, try Caen. There are multiple agencies close to the train station, and it's only a 30 min (ish) drive to Bayeux.
Posted by
14 posts
We rented a car from Turo.com (like Airbnb for cars), but found the best prices and availability in Caen. So, we will train to Caen, pick up the car, and continue to Bayeux. As far as standard car rental sites, I've found the best prices on Momondo.com
Posted by
Not otherwise specified
135 posts
Minimal rental options in Bayeux. Caen is not the best bet it’s the only reasonable choice. Hours are limited on Saturday for most of the agencies across from the station in Caen. Carpiquet Airport has some rental outlets open on limited hours on Saturday. Get to Caen early on Saturday and reserve in advance. My favorite choice there has been Enterprise who almost always has an English speaking staff member on duty.
If you are well read and have a good battlefield guidebook, self drive works well and you could drive the length of the invasion beaches in a day.
Good Luck!
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thank you everyone! I appreciate the advice.
Posted by
Upland, California
17 posts
We are working with Bessen Car Rental in Bayeux for our upcoming visit...they have been extremely accommodating when we explained our travel timeline issues (arriving later than planned on a Saturday due to limited train availability from Paris). You might contact them directly (email worked).
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thank you fabb4lvr for this info! I wasn't coming up with any agencies in Bayeaux. I will email them; I'm also wondering if it's too early to reserve a car/buy train tickets- our trip is early September. Thanks again!
Posted by
248 posts
Last week, we took the train from Paris to Rennes. Picked up our rental car through Enterprise and drove to Mont St Michel for one night. From there we went to Bayeux for a few nights, then Rouen. Dropped off the car there. But you could drop it off in Caen as well, depending on where your last day is. Not a huge fee to drop off in a different location as long as it’s still in France.
Definitely not too early to reserve a car. You should consider downloading the SNCF app for the train.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
KD; great idea about adding the app now. Thanks for the car info as well.