train travel vs air vs car rental

How long do you plan on having the car? Are you going from Normandy directly to London? Are your travel partners adults? If so, you may need a van to accommodate people and their luggage. Several companies, like AutoEurope, have a minimum of three days rental. You could do a price comparison and check AutoEurope prices online. It's a bit comfusing to me of when you will have 7 people and if you need a car to accommodate them. Or, are you going straight to London after you increase to 7 people. Use the DBahn website to check train prices and routes: http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/en

If you can rent a van for the 5 people, it might be more economical to rent for the first part of your trip. Driving is also a great way to see countryside and rural areas, like Normandy. But you don't want to be taking a rental from the continent to the UK. Ideally, you would drop off the van and pick up the Eurostar or take the ferry (ferry is way cheaper). You don't outline your schedule much, but hopefully you don't mean you need to go from Amsterdam to Normandy, tour Normandy, then get to London all in one day. You'll need 2-3 days for all that.

If by "Normandy", you mean sites associated with the D Day invasion, you may want to reconsider your priorities in December. Please explain exactly what you have in mind. Just to drive to Bayeux (without seeing any D-Day sites), much less do any exploring is about an 8 hour drive, but likely much longer with the inevitable traffic jams and necessary stops. Let's say you leave Amsterdam by 9 AM. At an absolute minimum, you will arrive in Caen at around 6 pm, by which time it will be dark. And I hope you aren't contemplating such a drive immediately after flying across the Atlantic! I don't know how long it takes to reach Normandy by train from Paris, but Amsterdam to Paris via the high speed Thalys line is about 3 hours. Once you reached Normandy, however, you would need a rental car to see anything. The other reason you may want to consider dropping Normandy- December weather and very short days. The coast at that time of year is cold, damp, windy and foggy. Full daylight doesn't begin until after 8:30 in the morning, and it starts to get dark again at around 4 pm. So, the odds are that you would travel a long distance and will see very little.

Meri, I most definitely agree with Tom. Travelling from Amsterdam to Normandy for "a day" is not a feasible plan, mainly due to the travel times involved. That applies whether going by train or in a rental car. Travel by air from Amsterdam to Paris and then by train will not be any faster, given the usual "hassles" (getting to and from the airports, security, check-in, etc.). Again as mentioned, in late December the days will be short and many of the Museums and other historic sites will likely be closed and local tours not operating. The invasion area covers a front of 50 miles and extends some distance inland, so unless you really know the area it will take some time to find the places you want to see. While you may be able to get from Amsterdam to Normandy in one day, getting to London on the same day will be extremely difficult. In the same situation, I'd meet the two from Normandy at Gare du Nord in Paris, and then all seven can take the EuroStar to London St. Pancras. I'd suggest planning a visit to Normandy for a future visit at another time of year, when you'll be able to spend more time there and see the area properly. Happy travels!