Travel from Brugge to Normandy Juno Beach Area

C'mon, Donna, put a little more effort into your question if you want a useful response. What mode of transport (train, car, etc.)? What budget? What time of year? What part of Normandy?

We are travelling Europe in May. We would like to spend two days in the Normandy Juno Beach area but not sure what is the best way to get there from Brugge by train. Also wondering if there is a way to see MOnt St. Michel from the Juno Beach area by tour without having to rent a car.

hi, this is just a gut feeling considering the geography. but im thinking you may want to look at flights from Brugge/ghent to Caen or something close to the area. Im guessing trains my take along time if you try to go directly. I do know that a train from Paris to Bayeux/Caen is about 2 hours. im not sure if or how long a train ride from Brugge to Paris is or if there are other hubs/links to the Cean/Bayeux area. afa lodging in the Juno area, i dont remember seeing anything there but who knows. if no one chimes in, you can try booking.com for places to stay. the way i made it to Mont St Michel was by shuttle from Bayeux. It picks up/drops off behind the Churhill hotel. The cost of me last march was 65 USD. Its just about an all day trip too. there are car rentals in both Bayeux and Caen. Just a note tho, Manuals are way more popular over there so if you cant drive one, try to reserve an auto ASAP. happy trails.

Caen and Brugge/Ostend have only small airports with little service. So let's talk about the train. The main route is Bruges-Brussels on a local train; Brussels-Paris on the Thalys high-speed (and price) service; and Paris-Bayeux or Caen on an SNCF intercity service. There are two speed-bumps here. The transfer in Brussels is easy, in the Bruxelles-Midi station. However, in Paris, it is necessary to go from Gare du Nord to Gare St-Lazare on the RER commuter train, similar to the subway. Fortunately all these services are frequent. Because two countries are involved, ordering the tickets in advance is intricate. I would book on the Belgian train service to Paris, remembering to spell your departure 'Brugge"': http://www.b-europe.com/Travel Between the two Paris statons: http://www.ratp.fr/itineraires/en/ratp/resultat-detaille/start/Gare+Du+Nord+%28RER%29%2C+Paris/end/Gare+St-Lazare+%28SNCF%29%2C+Paris/is_date_start/1/date/2013-04-26/time/00%3A35%3A00/mode/ferretram/route_type/plus_rapide To buy the fare onward to Normandy: http://en.voyages-sncf.com/en/ Buy early to save money.
I strongly support taking a guided tour of the Normandy beaches, especially for Canadians who should see the locations of the ferocious tank battles around Caen as well as the Juno Beach landing. A guide paints the pictures around the historical plaques.

Donna, Travel by air from Belgium to the Normandy area is not a good idea. I've looked at connections to Carpiquet (Caen) in the past, and they've been horrendously expensive. Although it means a bit of an "early morning", the quickest and easiest trip will likely be a departure from Bruges at 06:25, arriving Bayeux at 12:20 (time 5H:55M, one change at Gare du Nord and then RER to Gare St. Lazare, reservations compulsory on the first leg). I used Bayeux as the destination, since it's a convenient "home base" for touring that area, including Juno Beach. It's also a beautiful smaller town, has a great WW-II Museum and of course the famous Bayeux Tapestry. Were you planning to take one of the local D-Day tours? If you're interested in the history, I'd highly recommend a one day Canadian Highlights tour, which covers the sights that Southam described. The tour will also likely visit the Abbaye d'Ardenne and the Canadian Cemetery at Beny sur Mer, both of which I found to be very moving. If you have the interest, time and money, an American Highlights tour is also very interesting. Happy travels!

I would take a train, connecting in Lille.