Travel between Paris CDG and Normandy coast

Any reason why you wouldn't rent the car and return it at the airport? October 15th is a Sunday and rail schedules may be limited.

This awkward connection is often discussed in this forum. Sleeping in Paris or closer to the airport would be less stressful. Picking up and returning a rental car at CDG means you can skip a couple of train connections each way, including moving between different stations in the city of Paris. But driving directly after your trans-Atlantic flight will not be very fun or safe if the driver doesn't sleep on the plane. [edited] Current Sunday train schedules from Bayeux or Caen definitely don't get you to the airport in time. Driving is not much faster, so you still have to leave very early and you'll probably want to pre-pay for them to refill the fuel. Driving and train estimates from Rouen are an hour shorter. Remember that CDG is huge and can require a lot of walking.

There are no direct trains between CDG and Normandy. If you look at SNCF.com, you will see crazy routings because SNCF does not include the RER trains in its routings between CDG and Normandy. You will have to get into Paris to get the train to Normandy. I suggest taxing a taxi to Gare St. Lazare for 50€ for up to four people and their luggage but you could take mass transit. To do that, take the RER from CDG to Gare de Nord and connect to RER E at Magenta and take that to Haussmann-Saint-Lazare (too much walking with luggage IMO but others disagree). No doubt, you are very seasoned travelers and have accepted the risks but I would not plan on catching a train to Paris on the day that I had a 12:30 PM flight from CDG. I'd drop my rental car off in Paris or at CDG and arrive in Paris the day before my flight.

I agree with the others that you could drive and be in Normandy from CDG before the train even leaves the St. Lazare station. IYou don't have to go far after the flight but could stop an hour away, Giverny, for example, and spend the night before moving on. Then you should come back the night before, return the car and spend the night an airport hotel before the flight to Casablanca. The train adds layers of complications in this case.

I agree too with avoiding driving not too far after a long distance flight, a stop at Giverny sounds like a good idea. Just a suggestion: Instead of driving through the busy suburbs of Paris to Giverny you can take the N104 freeway just north of CDG to the A15 freeway near Cergy-Pontoise to Magny-en-Vexin. The last bit is a drive through lovely country side with places like Ambleville and La Roche-Guyon, you can look for a hotel or a B&B in the neighbourhood.

The suggested route is toll free, more relaxing and no longer as the much used A13 to Normandy. If van Gogh is of interest too, Auvers-sur-Oise requires just a little detour from the N104 (renamed in N184 there).

Hello!

I can't speak to train schedule from Normandy to CDG in October, but since you have six days...I thought I would share that we have done the Paris to Normandy trip twice, both times by train from Paris. Easy, very doable. Both trips we hired a driver guide who took us for a full day of all the sights (8 to 9 hours). Our first visit to Normandy was a day trip from Paris, and second visit we stayed two nights in Bayeux. Both times we met guide in Normandy.

Highly recommend using trains over renting a car (could you return to CDG on the 14th and overnight near airport?) Here is why I suggest train travel:

1) The WWII sights are spread all over, from St. Mere Eglise to the landing beaches to the museums, etc. We drive a lot here in the States, and we are great with Nav. However, a lot of what we saw in the countryside we NEVER would have found without a guide. For example, here is a little church used as a hospital, out in the country...we never would have seen this without a guide to find it (and I am not saying others who rent a car would never have found it, I am simply referring to our family). This little church was so cool:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g1967109-d8379632-Reviews-Church_of_Angoville_Au_Plain-Angoville_Au_Plain_Carentan_les_Marais_Manche_Basse.html

2) Remember, you have to park that car somewhere at each sight and then at hotel. We were dropped right at the front of the sights, saved time and hassle.

3) Local guides know more than me about an area (with all due respect to Rick Steves, his books are - of course - the best!) We got a non-stop narrative for hours on the area, the WWII history - so amazing!

First time we trained to Caen and met a driver our hotel arranged. Second trip, we trained from Paris to Bayeux, and stayed overnight in Bayeux two nights. This guest house was an easy walk from the Bayeaux train station and I highly recommend:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187181-d603119-Reviews-Hotel_Tardif_Noble_Guesthouse-Bayeux_Calvados_Basse_Normandie_Normandy.html

The tour guide we used for our second trip is with Normandyours: She grew up in the area, lived in Texas for some part of her life and she knew all the little back areas. Our family still speaks of our tour with her. It was that good (she told us she even drove for Spielberg when he was scouting for Saving Private Ryan).

http://normandyours.pagesperso-orange.fr/

Happy travels!

Typically there are direct trains to both from Saint Lazare, in Paris. I've trained to Normandie twice (one to Rouen and the other to Le Havre) but never from CDG, always from downtown.

I think there is some track maintenance before Bayeux. I'm not sure if that affects Caen too. It may be easier to get to Caen to rent a car. If Caen is affected too, it might be worth going direct to Rouen and renting there depending on how many connections and/or bus rides you need to get around the maintenance.

When you're renting, be careful about scheduling a pick up in the middle of the day. Many places close for a long lunch. If you try to schedule a noon pickup, for example, it may say nothing is available. If you include before 11 and after two pickup times, however, it will show more options.