renting car in St. Malo

I haven't done it exactly that way. I think your plan is good. St. Malo is big enough to have car rental agent choices. Just don't search for picking up at noon, they take long lunches (even in bigger cities) and a search at noon might show no, or at least fewer, options. Search mid afternoon or mid morning for best results.

It's about an hour drive from St. Malo to MSM parking. Possibly a little less. From MSM to Honfleur I'd guess is about another 2 1/2 hours, maybe a little more. Not too much driving for one day but there is plenty to see in both St. Malo and MSM to take up a good part of a day.

I don't like driving either in or out of Paris, so I plan strategies to avoid it. In your case, I think it's best to drop your car in Giverny or Vernon, then train into Paris when you are done seeing Monet's gardens. Again remember the agents will be closed from roughly 11:00 to 1:30.

April 2 is a little early for gardens, but Giverny is an important art history site anyway. Having driven from Bayeux to outside Paris, I'd caution you that any stops will be a substantial distance off the highway, at least 15 minutes each way. So plan the whole day's schedule in advance for the best chance of success. We didn't see Honfleur, so I can't confirm that as the overnight. Evidently Normandy Beaches are not on your itinerary.

Your plan is fine, I'll just note that Giverny can be done by public transportation from Paris, although the train station is too far to walk. Since others may tell you to spend the night on MSM, I can tell you that we didn't see any need to. It is a time-consuming expedition, however. We settled for pre-made sandwiches at lunch to save time.

We did that exact thing in 2012. Took the overnight ferry from Portsmouth, arriving early in the morning at St. Malo. Car rental office and parking lot is not far after you clear immigration/customs. So you walk off the ferry, go through the checkpoint, then walk to car rental.

One thing I'd advise is if you do get there early in the morning, make sure to get your bearings and secure breakfast/coffee BEFORE hitting the road to MSM. We jumped right off the ferry and into our car, figuring we'd just pop into someplace for breakfast. Found out the hard way that it doesn't really work that way in rural Brittany.

Coffee-addicted wife was growling at me the whole time. Ironically, after getting a bit lost off the main road, we stumbled into a small town, found a bakery, grabbed some of the best pastries and donuts (yes, donuts!) we ever had. No coffee thogh, so we made our way back to the route to MSM, where my wife was finally able to get some coffee.

We ended the day returning the car in Paris, which I don't recommend. Look into dropping the car off in Giverny and then take the train into Paris. Much less stress!

Thank you for the input! Especially about getting coffee before leaving St. Malo! LOL!! Ok so we are arriving early morning on Tuesday in St. Malo, will pick up car (still need to reserve)- do MSM in the morning/early afternoon hopefully before it gets crowded. Then drive to our B and B (bandbnormandie) that was a recommendation on another thread- its a central location in a small town on a farm so we are excited about that. Then Wednesday do a D-day beach (recommendations?) in the morning then maybe Bayeux. Thursday drive to Honfleur perhaps(morning), then Giverny (my daughter loves art/Monet I think she would enjoy it even if the gardens aren't blooming yet) in the afternoon (need to see if I can drop the car there, don't want to have to navigate Paris!). Check in to our location in Paris that eve. Thank you for your help!!