Renting a Car in France or Using the Train?

That is true..but let's not split hairs, you can still basically take the train there with a short transfer from that station.

Yes, but the issue you might want to consider isn't the transfer time, but rather that there are only a few trains per day into Pontorson from Paris. Given your 3-day time constraint to cover Mt St Michel, the Dordogne, and get to Bordeaux, you can do it more efficiently by car.

For Mont St. Michel and the Dordogne, you definitely want a car.

For Mont St. Michel and the Dordogne, you definitely want a car.

It's really difficult to reach Mt St Michel by public transport, much much easier by car.

Caen to Perigueux takes six hours with one quick stop. The last fifty miles will be the slowest. What will slow you down, once you see what's along the route, will be a week of really good sights. The learning curve isn't that steep. Gas makes it go, brakes make it stop. All the town and city names are written in english. Arrows mean go this-a-way.

Any tips on renting a car in France? It's all new to me. I've rented plenty of cars here in the US, how is it different?

One thing you should know is that you will find better deals reserving before you go than you could expect to find on the ground. Another things is to expect driving times to be a little longer for equivalent distances just because you will be learning as you go. This is a lot of driving. Are you sure it is worthwhile? Are your 3 days in the Dordogne independent of the day (at least) it will take to drive from MSM, and the day to travel from there to Lyon? If not, I would rethink.

Ed is right, but I should add one small detail about car rental in Europe. It is difficult ,not impossible, but difficult to get an automatic trans car in France. If you can drive a stick shift, no problem. If you can't......well, trip check the car rental guys to be sure it's an automatic, and think about renting at a major airport where they are used to strange foreigners demanding automatics.

You are really short on time and a car is the only way to go. You don't want to be spending your precious time standing around waiting for the next train muchless the time you will fritter away getting to MSM. Also a GPS with a european map card would be a very good idea. You don't have the time to get lost. I have no idea how we got from CDG to Giverny but I did what Ms. Garmin told me to do and we got there in good time altough she did lead me on some funny roads around Bayeau later on but she never failed. As for renting a car, reserve before you go especially if you need an automatic transmission. We went through that in 2004 with Hertz. If you have the reservation for an automatic, the have to supply it when you show upeven if it means giving you a free upgrade.

Car.

Car, mandatory GPS, and use your camera to record any dings, scratches, scrapes before and after the rental. Do make a firm plan, reserve the car before you leave the states, & realize if you change anything on the rental you may pay a higher rate. It's easy to drive with a good navigator!

If you go through a US agency and pay in dollars, you avoid some of the taxes, which makes a big difference in price. AutoEurope or Europe by Car. These agencies also reserve automatics if that's an issue.

What about buying a drive and ride train/car rental pass. I could use the train portion for my 2nd week in Italy.