London to Bayeux

Caren, yes AutoEurope is a consolidator. They will find you the best rate from among the companies with which they have contracts. In France that often is europcar. If you find a better rate on your own, AE promises to either match or beat it. You can also call their toll-free number and ask for specials that don't appear on the Web site.

I used some arbitrary dates in August and found a compact automatic for $283 (basic) and $350.37 (full). If your credit card provides insurance for car rental in France, take the basic rate and decline CDW coverage. Do you actually need a car with automatic transmission? Manual is a lot cheaper and gets better gas mileage. For example, I found a two-door compact with manual transmission for $168.80 (basic) and a four-door compact manual for $233.28 (full).

You would have fewer choices for London-Calais than for London-Lille on the Eurostar; but if the departure times work for you, you could rent a car in Calais. You would save 30 minutes on the train ride and at least that much on the drive to Bayeux. See the timetables at www.eurostar.com.

Thanks Kent and Tim! Do you know if the car rental companies are at the Lille Eurostar station? Do you know of names of car rental companies so I can make reservations in advance?

You can pick up a rental car at Lille or Calais. This websiteclick heregives you a choice of pick up locations.

Thanks Kent. Just rented a car from the website you gave me. But, man is it expensive to rent a car in France ($400/3 days). I am wondering if we should forego the car and just take the rails. Any opinion? I do like the freedom/convenience of the car-I guess we'll just go that route. Thanks again for your advice.

Unless you're booking a last-minute rental, AutoEurope has prices that are MUCH LESS than what you quoted. Did you book a Lille or a Calais pickup? Where will you drop off the car? What size of car did you choose? Manual or automatic? Base rate (declining CDW coverage) or full rate?

Since you're hooking up with one of the tours (BattleBus gets rave reviews here), you may be able to use rail exclusively and not need a car.

Hi Tim-
It was through Eurocar. The quote (I haven't put down any money yet) was a 3-day minimum, compact car, automatic w/pick-up in Lille and return to Caen. I think the one way rate and inclusive package (for insurance reasons, I thought that was the way to go, but I am not sure) are upping the price. The $400 was actually only for the car rental-there are more add-ons locally: environmental tax, railway station pick-up, etc. I think it's going to be over $450.

Maybe I'll call Eurocar directly and get another quote. This quote was through the website posted here and they seemed to be a broker. We'll see.

Hi Kent-
We are taking a BattleBus tour (as per a tripadvisor.com rec). Have you toured with them? I may look at rail options. I thought it would be nice to have a car to tour the Normandy countryside when we are not on the tour, but I am curious to see the price differences. Thanks. Caren

Caren, as you're taking a BattleBus tour, I'm assuming you're spending at least one night in Bayeux. The tours normallly depart at 08:00, so it's unlikely you'd be able to get there from London before that time. As far as having a car to "tour the Normandy countryside", the D-Day tours normally last a full day (the two tours I took with BattleBus were about nine hours each), so not sure how much you would need a Car?

Since you'll have to be in Bayeux the day prior to your tour, the method I'd use is EuroStar to Paris and then train to Bayeux. EuroStar departs London from St. Pancras station and I believe uses Gare du Nord in Paris. You'd have to take the Metro from there to Gare St. Lazare, which is where the Normandy trains depart from. You may have to change trains in Caen, depending on which train you choose (I used a direct train to Bayeux).

In Bayeux there are usually Taxis waiting at the station, so not hard to get to your Hotel. One tip though - when you're leaving Bayeux to return to Paris (especially early morning departures), have your Hotel pre-book a Cab.

If you have some extra time in Bayeux and want to do some extra touring (Mt. St. Michel?), you can always rent a car there for the day (that's what I did). Ask your Hotel to make the arrangements, as the staff at the rental firm may not speak much English (I'm still amazed that I got through the rental process with my "rusty" high school French!). Be sure to pack along some Michelin Maps or a portable GPS, as I found that to be very helpful. That will probably be your least expensive car rental option.

Good luck and happy travels!

Caren, we just returned from Normandy a couple of weeks ago. We took the Eurostar from London, spent a couple of nights in Paris, then took the direct train to Bayeux just as Ken suggests. We booked trains well in advance to get the lower 2nd class fare. We spent 4 great nights there at Hotel Churchill which is in the city center and perfect for meeting the Battlebus Tours, which we also booked months ago, a little after 8 each morning. We took the 2 day American Experience tour and the Band of Brothers Tour, both excellent. So many memorable stories and sites. We would never have seen all these sites if we had rented a car. Whatever you decide, just allow yourself extra time in Normandy; it is a special place, and you will regret rushing through it. Have a joyous trip.

Thank you Tim, Ken, and Sharon,
We are also staying at the Hotel Churchill. I wish we could stay longer, but we have 3 young kids at home who will be terrorizing my mom until our return so we only have 2 nights in Bayeux (along w/3 nights in London and 1 in Paris).
For now, I think I'll keep the Eurocar reservation and will definitely call my credit card to see if they provide insurance (Thanks for that tip Tim) to get the lower rate. The automatic is certainly adding to our price, but it's all I know how to drive.
Thanks again for your advice-It helped me book today. Take care. Caren