Hi everyone. I am working on a trip to the UK but might try and hit Normandy as well. Is there a way to go from the London area to Normandy without going to Paris or to get from Normandy to London without returning to Paris ? There seems to be a ferry but I wanted expert advice on logistics. How realistic is adding a few days in France to a Uk trip without backtracking? Thanks.
Posted by
Paris
7304 posts
Hi!
UK-Normandy is a surprisingly tricky travel combination. Most travellers will find that going through Paris is the most efficient way. Otherwise:
- Pre-Covid, there used to be flights from Southend (East of London) to Caen, but the airline that operated them is no longer around... no sign of these resuming in 2022. In any case, Southend Airport was especially inconvenient for most people.
- There are ferries from Portsmouth to Le Havre, Caen & Cherbourg, as well as from Poole (near Bornemouth) to Cherbourg. Covid / Brexit might have affected some routes. Some of the routes are overnight and can be time effective. Poole to Cherbourg also has a fast ferry (~4 hours), at least in warm seasons, but Poole is not very convenient to reach.
- Going to Saint Malo in neighboring Brittany, either directly or via Jersey (no idea about currently available options), is also an option. Convenient for Mont Saint Michel.
Posted by
OP
6 posts
Thank you for the quick response. I thought it seemed tricky too but should be easier. Was hoping I was missing something. Thank you for the advice. Appreciate it.
Posted by
Moncton NB
1117 posts
I did this by taking Eurostar to Lille and renting a car from there.
Posted by
Middletown, RI
1229 posts
There are ferries from both Poole and Portsmouth to either Cherbourg or Ouistreham (near Caen). But there are all sorts of things to conspire against you on this route (weather being the biggest challenge). I once was booked on a Ferry out of Poole to Cherbourg, but when I got to the U.K. terminal, they informed me the French fishermen were on strike (surprise) and blocking the harbor. So the ferry company put me in a taxi to Portsmouth where they had re-booked me on a ferry to Ouistreham. It worked, but it was a hassle.
Posted by
Freedonia
16303 posts
I did this three weeks ago....
Eurostar to Paris Nord.
Taxi to Gare St. Lazare.
Train to Bayeux.
Not really difficult.
I was booked on that flight from London to Caen but the Covid hit.
Since I was in London, taking the ferry seemed like more of a hassle.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7892 posts
Posted by
OP
6 posts
Thanks everyone
Posted by
Used to be Steilacoom, now it’s Las Vegas
2297 posts
We’ve gone to Normandy twice from the UK, using Eurostar and ferry route. The Eurostar was definitely the better option of the two. I thought the fast ferry made more sense, but not a good option on a Sunday when there were limited taxis on both ends. We went from Cherbourg to Portsmouth, had to overnight in Portsmouth and train in the London in the morning. It was a hassle, plus I had wicked seasickness.
Posted by
3123 posts
I'll just chime in about the ferries being risky. Our ferry from Caen to Portsmouth was canceled on less than 12 hours' notice. I had called to confirm and all was well, then about an hour later we got a text message saying it was canceled.
Luckily the ferry booking company told us we could catch one from Cherbourg to Poole several hours earlier, but we had to race like crazy to get to Cherbourg and use the ferry terminal's "red box" to turn in our car keys instead of returning the car to the actual rental company garage. We would have missed that boat if it had left on time. Or, if we had already turned in our rental car in Caen, we would have been just plain stuck. We didn't find out the reason for the cancellation until later -- it was a strike by French port workers.