janjanjan47

We are planning a week between Amsterdam and Versailles before our apartment rental in Paris the second week of September. We're mobile seniors who enjoy touring, eating, and meeting people.

We want to spend time in Brugges, so thought we'd take the train there from Amsterdam. No problem with that leg.

But we then want to go from Brugges to Bayeux. We'd assumed we would take a train, but that looks cumbersome based on the hub and spoke system which takes us from Brugges, through Brussels into Paris. The train from Bayeux to Versailles looks a bit tricky, but not a big problem.

We then decided to investigate renting a car in Brugges and returning it in Versailles. We've always rented cars for parts of our European trips and have never had a problem. We knew there would be a drop fee, but the added convenience and ability to stop along the way seemed that it might come out a bit ahead.

Now that I've fully investigated, I've discovered that the additional cost is about $300 for the inter-country drop fee and associated taxes. The cost is one thing, but when adding in the extra effort of all that driving, we're back to wanting to take a train.

I tried to run a trial booking for the Brugges to Bayeux part of the trip, and the system says I need to book that by phone. In the meantime, I really need some advice.

There is a transfer between Paris Nord and St. Lazare that is shown as done walking. Are both stations basically in the same location? Or is this a problem?

We're strictly English speakers. How difficult will we find it to navigate the road system if we do decide to drive?

Is there a better place to drop the car rather than in Versailles on our drive from Bayeux? Maybe Caen or Rouen? My husband is an excellent driver and adept at city driving, but we're both worried about the language.

Any and all advice will be appreciated.

PalenQ

Train stuff: There are two routes from Bruges to Paris - one via Lille Flandres and then TGV to Paris (www.voyages-sncf.com or www.capitainetrain.com - same trains and fares but easier it seems to get to work for foreigners and via Brussels and then Thalys to Paris - each take about 2.5 hours all told - Thalys trains need to be booked REALLY far in advance to get say 29 euro Brussels to Paris fares (plus with the ABS - All Belgian Stations add-on fare of about 5 euros you can take any train from Bruges to Brussels within 24 hours of your Thalys train - that would be the cheapest but if you can't get a deep discounted ticket then the Lille route may be cheaper as though there are discounts regular fare is not that much - not such a dramatic difference as with Thalys.

Amsterdam to Bruges - same thing - two possibilities - IC trains with no possible reservations and a flat fare to Antwerp then change to similar IC trains to Bruges - takes about 3.5 hours I think or Thalys train to Antwerp then ABS fare that lets you go on any train to Bruges without extra charge.

Paris to Bayeux leavbes from Gare Saint-Lazare whilst trains from Belgium come into Gare du Nord but there is a direct RER line between the two - takes about an hour all told if not familiar with the system especially.

SLazare to Caen and Bayeux is again a non-TGV train with a fairly flat fare structure with walk-up tickets not that much but there are minor discounts as well for advance booking.

Advance bookings cannot be changed nor refunded I believe so don't miss the train.

If you wanted to rent a car without drop-off fee just take the train from Bruges to Lille Flandres - again a flat fare no reservations possible and cheap - just buy that in Bruges and rent a car in Lille, in France and you should have no exorbitant cross-country drop-off fee.

Driving is a piece of cake and it would be nice to have a car in the D-Day beaches area - easy drive also to Mont-Saint-Michel from there. But trains can easily get you to Bayeux and then there are several mini-bus tours that are affordable that pick you up at your hotel and take you to the key D-day beaches area.

For lots of great info on trains check www.seat61.com - good info on discounted tickets; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Oh Thalys train via Antwerp to Bruges is about an hour faster than the IC trains.

Michael

From Bruges, take the train to Lille and rent the car there.

I consider Versailles to be a day trip from Paris. Perhaps the Loire valley or Chartres would be a better stop until you get to the Paris apartment.

nytraveler

When pricing car versus train consider what you will do when you get to Bayeux. If you want to visit the various WWII sights you will either have to do a tour (at what price?) or have a rental car, since seeing this area by train or local bus is not a realistic option for tourists.

Perhaps if you deduct the cost of a tour from the car drop off charge it won't look so large. Then you can balance the inconvenience of trains with multiple changes versus a car going exactly where you want.

We did part of this in reverse, from Brugge to Bayeux by car and found the drive easy. Our only complaint was that along some of the smaller roads the farmers seemed to have just manured their fields (in the fall) and we had to drive with the outer air turned off for some miles.

cfc

bookmarking

janisj

Take Michael's advice. Definitely take the train to somewhere in France and then drive - and Lille probably makes most sense. Don't traipse through Paris. You will want a car for Normandy to really explore -- though it isn't totally necessary.

So train to Lille, collect car (no drop off fee so you can either drop it somewhere in Normandy or drive to Paris). And I also agree Versailles is such an easy day trip from Paris I wouldn't go there separately.

Michael

For things to see between Lille and Bayeux, I wrote a trip report that starts in Ghent and does cover part of Normandy; click on my name to find it.

janjanjan47

Thank all of you for the advice.

The reason we're doing Versailles separately is that I want to burn Hilton points and the two nights there will allow us to do that while having a great opportunity to see Versailles, especially the gardens which are of special interest to me.

If driving is easy, then that is definitely our preference, especially since it seems that train travel will involve a lot of transfers.

After trying to price out the train, it seems that the prices are fairly comparable, anyway.

What I'm understanding is that Lille Flanders and Lille France are basically the same city and that we can then rent a car on the French side and avoid high drop fees? I need to research this further, but I really appreciate the information. Any tips about navigating between the Lille Flanders train station and car rentals?

I really appreciate all this help. We're always independent travelers, but sometimes there are daunting issues. The biggest problem for me is that all the travel sites assume basic knowledge that I've found it difficult to find.

Michael, thanks for the help. We'll have two nights to explore before our reservation in Bayeux.

PalenQ

Lille Flandres is the main train station in the center of Lille, France - Lille Europa (your Lille France) is a short walk away from Lille Flandres with a dedicated pathway between them - I would think Lille Flandres would be best as trains from Bruges come in there.

Bayeux to Versailles would require but one change of train optimally - at Gare Saint-Lazare in Paris - trains from there trundle to Versalles Rive Gauche station. You may want to return you car before Paris at some station on the Bayeux/Caen rail line to Paris or of course Versailles is fairly easy to drive to from the west.

A slight detour to Versailles by car could easily take you to Giverny and Monet's home and famous garden.

janjanjan47

I do want to see Giverny, and we should have enough time to make a good stop. We have two nights in Versailles, so no need to get there early.

Thanks for the clarification about Lille. That sounds very doable, and we would save enough money to make it very worthwhile. Apologies for the misnomer about the city names.

I'm glad to hear that the drive to Versailles is relatively easy, and driving definitely gives us the most flexibility. We do have a Beaches tour arranged in Bayeux, but might like to visit Mont St Michel. We have 2 nights between Brugges and Bayeux, so thought we'd stop in Honfleur since I love picturesque coastal towns.

These boards are fantastic and the help given is invaluable. Thank you.

PalenQ

check out Trouville-Deauville too - venerable seaside resorts that used to be hopping as much as any beach area in France, being so close to Paris but now many folks take planes to Spain or drive south - yet some really neet old architecture here redolent of its days as a hotspot seaside area.

Folks like Rouen too - can do a nice sideroads drive from there to Giverny.

Bonne Route!

PalenQ

Thanks for the clarification about Lille> thanks - Lille-Europa is the Eurostar and Thalys station but domestic trains go mainly from Lille-Flandres - again trains from Bruges will go only to Lille Flandres - both are in the city centre and Lille has a fair amount of traffic and if you find better rentals at Lille-Europa again it is just a short stroll - 1/2 km or so from Lille Flandres which though should also have all the major car rentals.

janjanjan47

I've gone ahead and booked the train from Amsterdam to Brugge and the clarification above from PalenQ made it easier to figure out what I could/should reserve in advance, so we have that booked. I've also reserved a car through AugoEurope; EuropeCar is the provider. They were the only choice for a one way from Lille Europe ending in Versailles. No drop fee, or if there is one, it's built into their price. We decided to keep the car all the way to Versailles since it seems there are several possible stopping points that we'll enjoy.

Michael, I did look at your trip reports. You have several and I'm not totally sure I found the right one, but I did find reports that cover some of the area we'll be driving through.

Even after figuring in the train fare from Brugge to Lille Flanders, we'll save over $200 by taking the train rather than driving that short leg.

Bit by bit, we're figuring this out. Thanks all.

Michael

The most relevant one starts in Ghent.

janisj

Michael:

Instead of making her hunt - since you have TONS of TRs, why not give the link . . .

Is it maybe this one? (it was three pages back and five years old)

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...d-brittany.cfm

Michael

I give the link when the title is not descriptive enough, which would be the case for my second report on Brittany.

PalenQ

You may want to spend a few hours looking around Lille before driving away - a really nice city often overlooked - Flandres station is in the heart of town. You could leave bags in car or in station locker before picking up car.

Cheers!

janisj

>>I give the link when the title is not descriptive enough, <<

That's fine/understandable. But when the TR is so far back in the list and so old - and it takes maybe 4 extra key strokes.

(it isn't like someone who has 4 or 5 TRs - you've posted nearly 60. Just saying it would be nice/helpful )

Michael

It might take me as long to find the trip report because they are not listed alphabetically, and can't be, to my knowledge. So it's upto the reader to decide if they are interested in searching ornot.

PalenQ

I've gone ahead and booked the train from Amsterdam to Brugge>

So you've booked a Thalys train - assumedly because there are no advance reservations TMK on IC trains - curious as to what you paid on Thalys?

Cheers!