Car rental in France

Assuming you are talking about 6 adults I would absolutely go with 2 cars. I personally would not put 2 adults in the 3rd back row of seats - too cramped even without luggage. I have no idea if the gas cost would be offset, but I can't imagine it would be, overall, so much of a difference that you wouldn't take comfort into consideration. It was very easy to drive from Paris to Normandy when we did it - 2 cars would be my suggestion.

We recently rented a Vauxhall for 7. We were 4 adults and 2 children (8 and 10) and we had one 27 inch case and three 21 inch carryons. We had to put a 21 inch case between the two adults in the back seat as it could not fit in the luggage space. The children fit in the third seat but adults would have to be tiny to fit. When they say 3 pieces of luggage, they mean it. The gas and price of two cars make no difference as it is not likely 6 adults and baggage will fit in the car for 7 people.

Katie, I rent from AutoEurope or Kemwel, an affiliate of AutoEurope. I would call them directly and ask about luggage space for the different vehicles. Online, when they show the number of pieces of luggage that can fit into the vehicle, it looks like they have two different sizes of luggage they display. From my experience, when we get a compact that is considered a "station wagon", then we can fit three carry-on size pieces of luggage in the trunk. Where are you picking up the car? Downtown or at the airport? The airport may have more types of cars to choose from.

Maybe you should reconsider the whole means of travel. You could take a no transfer train from St Lazare in Paris to Bayeax which takes 2 hours. Check into your hotel and then rent a car(s). With no luggage, one should do fine.

I rented a van - not the smallest minivan, but the next size up - several years ago when I did a similar trip with some extended family members. I think it was supposed to fit 8 or 9 people. We had 6-7, plus one piece of luggage (not huge suitcases) per person. Though not luxuriously roomy, no one was too crammed in. We had reserved some kind of Ford, I think, but they had a Mercedes available, so we were given that @ no extra charge. It was stick shift and diesel - got fantastic gas mileage, and the people plus luggage fit in with no problems. I think the key is for everyone to agree not to bring large or multiple pieces of luggage.

I think david's suggestion to take a train to Bayeux and rent a car there is excellent. Bayeux makes a great base and if you stay there you won't have to worry about luggage and it may be less expensive b/c you may need the car for a day less. We've rented cars in Bayeux (and Caen) many times, it's easy and the train ride is enjoyable.

Katie, I also agree with david. Given the circumstances, it would be much easier to take the train to Bayeux and drop the baggage before getting a rental car. There is at least one rental agency in Bayeux, but another option would be for the principal driver to travel to Caen and rent the car there. It's a bigger centre, so the selecttion will be better. Depending on how you want to arrange your touring of that area, you could (for example) spend a day or two in Bayeux without a car. If you're planning to tour any of the D-Day sites, I would highly recommend taking one of the excellent local tours. Rent a car for one day to see Mont St. Michel or other locations, and drop it off at the end of the day. You could then return to Paris by train either at the end of that day (I'm sure your Hotel would store your luggage) or the next morning. Happy travels!