In September we will be traveling from London to France, where our first destination is Normandy. I was planning to take the Eurostar to Paris, rent a car there and drive the rest of the way. We will be staying in Bayeux. Today I was talking to a friend, and she asked why we weren't taking a ferry. Frankly I hadn't even considered it. Would that be better than the train?
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
Your initial idea is a two and a half hour train ride and about the same amount of driving. Add logistic time and call it six hours.
The new idea is a couple hours on the train to Portsmouth, a six or seven hour ferry, and a thirty minute bus ride. Throw in gravy and it's ten at best. A potential advantage is that you can make the ferry run at night and sleep a few hours.
Posted by
OP
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10587 posts
Thanks Ed! I think we will go with the train. My friend said the ferry only took about 3 hours.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
I might have slipped a brain cog or they've brought the hydrofoils back or something. Brittany Ferries runs the route.
Posted by
OP
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10587 posts
I checked the time for the ferry and it just takes too long.
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9436 posts
Ferry takes 7 hrs.
Posted by
San Francisco
14927 posts
Hi,
If you want to retrace almost literally the route taken in 1944, you could take the ferry from Portsmouth to St Malo. The closest I did was taking the ferry from Folkestone to Boulogne. I didn't know about the Portsmouth route back then.