Best ferries to France

Dover to Calais by ferry was the standard way to travel to France when I first went in 1969. The channel is narrow on this route. It will require transportation on each end if traveling from London to Paris.

It's a three-hour drive from Calais to Caen/Bayeux - - not much time to look around, even if such a tour exists. How much are you looking to spend for a place to stay?

Your best ferry route is Southampton-Caen on Brittany Ferries. You can travel during the day or overnight. Take a very short train ride to Bayeux and stay there. Most D-Day tours depart from Bayeux.

Thank you all for the helpful info. As for places to stay we are looking for moderate accommodations.

We arrived at Heathrow and were met by www.aquacars.co.uk and quickly taken to our hotel in Portsmouth where we spent the night. The car hire was less money than two train tickets to Portsmouth and was much less of a hassle, in fact, no hassle at all, being delivered door to door. We took the morning ferry to Caen, about 5-6 hours, then easily took the bus from the ferry port at Ouistreham to the Caen railroad station. We picked up our reserved rental car from one of the 3 rental agencies right across the street from the RR station and drove about 20 miles to Bayeux. you can also catch a train to Bayeux if you forego a car. We stayed the first night at the Churchill Hotel in Bayeux since our D Day tour left from right behind the hotel. I recommend renting a car we used AutoEurope since it gives you the freedom to go where and when you want and driving in rural France is a true delight.