Has anyone traveled from Saint-Malo to Cambridge (UK) by either train, plane or a combination of both (not driving)?
I think I've looked at pretty much every possible combination and now would like to hear people's experiences. Did some things work, and others didn't (anyone have a scary/frustrating experience flying into Stamsted on Ryannair, for example?!)?
If anyone has traveled this route would love to hear about it.
There is no airline service at either St. Malo or Cambridge.
Three suggestions....
Train the entire way...St. malo to Rennes to Lille to London to Cambridge.
train from St. Malo to Rennes, Easy Jet flight to London, then either coach or train to Cambridge.
or
Take a ferry from St. Malo to Portsmouth and then a series of trains to Cambridge.
There is no airline service at either St. Malo or Cambridge. Three suggestions....
Have you done any of your suggestions?
No, because I've never traveled between St. Malo and Cambridge.
Getting from somewhere in France to somewhere else by train almost always involves passing via Paris. So you would take a TGV from St. Malo to Paris, then transfer to Gare du Nord and take the Eurostar to London, and then take a train to Cambridge from London...
The ferry however looks attractive, as sometimes it sails overnight, and you can just sleep the way. But check the schedule. It is not fixed as St. Malo has a 13m tidal range, and the ferry can not dock at low tide...
The flights from Rennes go into Gatwick, so there is a through train every 30 minutes from Gatwick to Cambridge.
There is an hourly bus from the centre of Rennes to the airport.
No I have never used Rennes airport, although I have been to the city.
My own route of choice would be ferry to Portsmouth, which I am very familiar with.
National Express run direct from the port, but only to London Victoria (the route I am familiar with). You would then have to use the tube across London to one of many stations for the train to Cambridge.I
Or taxi or local bus port to central Portsmouth for train to Victoria or Waterloo, far more frequent than the bus.
If I had to do this I would take the ferry from St. Malo. I have not taken this one, but last June I did take the ferry from Portsmouth to Cherbourg. What a wonderful way to travel and arrive in another country. When I look at fares for next April I see it costing £44 per person (the English language site shows prices in pounds). I can't imagine you'd save much money using trains.
The St Malo ferry normally leaves at 1045 am and takes 8-9 hours. There are occasional overnight sailings, where you really want to book a cabin. These are big ships, a bit like a smallish cruise ship, and very comfortable.
I wouldn't combine those two locations on one vacation. You might use the search box top center (desktop view), because ferries come up from time to time here. Here's one two-year old discussion:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/england-to-france
