Bayeux Driving Question

"Would it be easy to travel to WW II sights in the area with a car? Would I be better off taking a bus/cab, would this even work?"

A rental car works just fine in that area and will give you the flexibility to spend more time where you want to, as you mention you'd like to do.

Public transportation in that area is limited. Technically, there's a bus, but it's not going to give you the experience you say you're looking for.

And because the distances between places you want to see can be significant, taxis don't sound like a good option, either.

It's possible to get an automatic--but if you really, really need an automatic, don't make the mistake of assuming that it's like renting here and that all you need to do is check the "automatic" box on the rental car's website, people who do that have been disappointed. Automatics are the exception to the rule there--so in addition to checking the "automatic" box on the car rental website, if you really need to have an automatic, you'll want to follow up by phoning the rental company a week, or a few days, before your arrival date--reminding them that you're serious about needing an automatic. Even that is no guarantee, the problem being that manual shift rental cars are the norm there.

Traveling independently, a rental car is essential. That, and a good map. Having a GPS would be even better. Signage along the Normandy coast is terrible. It's like they still want to confuse invaders.

Gary,

You could certainly rent a car in Bayeux, as there's at least one rental agency there (might have been Hertz, but my memory is not too clear on that). You might want to arrange the rental via the net or have your Hotel take care of that, as I found that the staff at the rental agency didn't speak much (any?) English.

A GPS along with a good map for backup would be a really good idea. Using a rental car to tour the various sites is by far a better idea than Taxi or Bus. However, the sites are quite spread out and some are not well marked so you'll need to do some research to figure out which places you want to visit.

As usual, I'd highly recommend a BattleBus tour as the Guides provide an excellent tour and I've found that I learn far more (especially small but important details) with one of their tours than I do travelling on my own.

Happy travels!

I'll add another recommendation for the Battlebus tours. I took the two day American tour in October and it was probably one of the best tours that I have ever taken. I want to go back and take the Canadian and British tours they offer. I thought the guide was absolutely fantastic.

The original post says they've already done a tour with Overlord and seems to say (this isn't clear) that they'd now like advice on whether to rent a car and explore on their own. I don't see a problem with that, have done it myself. And that's why I didn't mention Battlebus, which would be a good recommendation if the OP has a strong preference to avoid a rental car.

Perhaps the OP could clarify this for us?

Gary: Thanks for getting back to us so quickly with the clarification.

"Can't drive a stick, that is the only thing that worries me."

I don't want to worry you more, but your concern on this point is understandable and has a basis in fact.

Here's the problem: Virtually all rental cars in the US are automatic. And if you check the box on the website for a GPS or other optional equipment, here the customer is always right and you virtually always get what you asked for.

But in Europe, on this Board a number of travelers have reported: I can't drive a stick, I checked the box for automatic, but when we got to the car rental lot, they said "So sorry but no automatic is available."

For someone who can drive a stick if they have to, they just suck it up and say "okay" and drive off in the stick. But if you or no one in your group can drive a stick, all of a sudden you're blind-sided by a huge problem.

I'm not implying there's anything defective about customer service in Europe. It's just that it's the opposite of here: 99% of rental cars in Europe are stick, the assumption there is that everyone knows how to drive a stick--and that's how these things sometimes happen.

I've only wanted an automatic when driving on the left side in the UK, and when I've rented a car there, on more than one occasion it was obvious that, even though I signed up for an automatic, I wouldn't have gotten one if I hadn't used the "call them 3 days before arriving method." One time, after I'd called and said I was serious about needing an automatic, and they said "uhhh, okay", they actually had a brand new automatic trained in to Bath the day before, the rental car person proudly pointed out that the odometer had 1 k on it, the distance from the train station to the rental car place.

If there's enough time before your trip, is it possible that you or someone in your group could take a few lessons in driving a stick shift, so that you have a Plan B, just in case?

We found that touring the area by car was very satisfactory and the local tourist offices in the various towns were very helpful, providing us with maps to WW II sites and cemeteries.

Sorry Kent ... since the original post said, "I really don't want to rent a car ..." I thought that the OP might be considering other options which is why I mentioned Battlebus. Sorry if this was viewed as off-topic. I also don't think there is anything wrong with wanting to rent a car.

As far as the taxi and car option, I have no personal experience. However, when I was at the Bayeux train station this fall, I noticed that there was a sign posted by one of the taxi companies with rates to various WWII sites. The prices were fairly high. A car rental would be more economical if you wanted to see more than 1 or 2 sites. I found their website and they list prices to some of the sites so you can get an idea. It is www.bayeux-taxis.com/tarifs-fr.html

Laura: No apology needed! I thought your reply was good. I was just trying to explain my reply. The OP was unclear, saying two different things about whether they want to rent a car.

We would rather not have to rent a car but that sounds like the best way to go. Can't drive a stick, that is the only thing that worries me.

When I posted my original reply, I did take note of the fact that the OP had already taken a tour with Overlord.

However I wanted to at least mention BattleBus as an option, as I've found they provide a more efficient method for visiting some of the significant sites without wasting a lot of time. The Guides live there and they know the area and best sites far better than I do! I wanted to provide a range of choices so that the OP could decide which information would be of most use for their circumstances.

On the question of auto or manual transmission, as Kent mentioned in his reply you could take a few lessons prior to the trip. Given that the trip won't be until summer, that would be a really good idea! Driving a stick shift isn't difficult to learn (I was fortunate to learn to drive on a stick shift in the '60s, so I'm quite comfortable with either "three on the tree" or "four on the floor"). If the OP has any friends who own cars with manual transmissions, I'd also suggest borrowing the car for a day or so to get some extra practise so that the skill becomes "second nature".

Renters can certainly request an automatic, but as others mentioned those are not too prevalent in Europe. It's a good idea to be prepared to drive a stick shift in case the agency doesn't have any automatics available.

Cheers!