Best travel mode for beginning in Amsterdam and ending in Paris

If it starts in Amsterdam and ends in Paris it makes sense to do an open jaw ticket into Amsterdam home from Paris. Don't understand the part about two one way flights. Are you trying to fly between Paris and Bayeux. Just take the train from Paris to Bayeux. Take the train to Caen and arrange for an all day tour of the beaches. The beach area is massive over 50 miles long very difficult to see on your own without a car. Let me know what I misunderstood about your question so I can adjust my answer.

Sally, We trained from Paris to Amsterdam via Brussels and even made a little side trip to Bruges (well worth it) for a couple days. Its a very easy train ride overall. I would just price out the single tickets honestly as you will still need seat reservations with your pass as I remember. As for the beaches, you are really going to want a rental car for that in my opinion. While the trains reach Bayeux it is really hard to get to all the little spots you may want to stop except of course by bus. The driving here is really simple though. We made a nice little trip of it and stopped in Honfleur on the way, visited the Caen Memorial, and One other note, you could always do what is called a multi-city (or open jaw) flight. Every site has a little option for it (just look next to round-trip and one way for a link) and the price is usually the same as round trip. Then you could fly into Paris and out of Amsterdam for the same as a round-trip. I would then: -Fly into Paris and have a few days there -Drive through Normandy and back to Paris (taking a couple days.) -Train from Paris to Amsterdam via Brussels (1 day) -Enjoy Amsterdam
-Fly home from Amsterdam It all depends how long you have of course. Hope that helps!

3rd party rail passes for Belgium and the Netherlands are never a good deal, because 2nd class tickets are relatively cheap. And the national rail companies sell their own passes that are much better bargain.

Do NOT purchase 2 one-way airline tickets; do as mentioned above and search for fares using the "Multi-city" function. Round-trip is not 2 one-way tickets put together. Even if the savings are so great that you want to fly round-trip in/out of Paris, you should purchase your train ticket from Paris to Amsterdam about 3 months in advance; you'll save a bunch of money. Now, you have to give yourself several hours of cushion between the time you're SUPPOSED to land in Paris and your train departure time - the advance-purchase tickets are non-refundable, or have lots of restrictions on them you wouldn't want to deal with...But chances are the savings won't be so great to cancel out the added expense, stress, and time involved training from Paris to Amsterdam; your time costs money, too. So, now your 'train time' is limited to Paris>Bayeux>Paris. In second class (only a 2-hour trip) the full-fare is only €35,10. If you purchase in advance, you can spend as little as €15,00 (and first-class for €35,00!). So, your entire train ticket total is MAXIMUM €70.20. If you decide to fly R/T to Paris, then your full fare train ticket to Amsterdam should be €130,00 max, 2nd class, 3h18m. That ticket could be as low as €45,00/€79,00 (2nd/1st class) with advanced purchase. SO, your max 'walk-up/full-fare' for 2nd-class train tickets - Paris>Amsterdam, and Paris>Bayeux>Paris - would be €200,20. Less than that railpass+BIG reservation fee (min €26) b/n Paris and Amsterdam... NO to the railpass, YES to flying 'open jaws/multi-city'! Please come back if any of this makes no sense, or if you need help in where to find these fares, etc.

Sally, "As for the beaches, you are really going to want a rental car for that in my opinion." I'm not sure I agree with that assessment, however which mode of transport to use in Normandy will depend on the circumstances of your trip and what you want to see. The best way to see the beaches and other historical sites (IMHO) is to take the train to Bayeux and take one of the excellent local tours, which range from a half-day to several days. A one-day tour provides a good overview, and there are several firms in that area that offer outstanding tours! While you could certainly use a rental car to reach the beaches, it's important to remember that the invasion front covered a distance of about 50-miles and extended some distance inland. There are many historic sites throughout that area, and unless you do an enormous amount of research, you won't know where they are or even the significance or history of each site. The Guides that I've met are passionate about the history, and I've learned far more touring with them than I would have by simply using a rental car. Happy travels!

Since your tour begins in Amsterdam I would fly there and fly home from Paris. As others have said, look for the multi-city or whatever other airlines call it. It is generally less expensive than round trip. Not to mention the hassle of flying to Paris just to get on a train for Amsterdam would be a pain. The airport in Amsterdam is easier anyway. After your tour you can go to Normandy by regional train, then back to Paris to fly home. You may want a rental car while in Normandy.