Illyria

Hello everyone!

I'm planning a trip to France in April - mine and my friend's first trip to mainland Europe - and I'm looking for some help in the realm of transportation. The majority of our 8 days there (I know, its a short trip) will be spent in Paris, but we want to do a short trip out to Normandy to see the D-Day beaches and Mont Saint Michel (and ideally the Bayeux Tapestries... but that's probably pushing it).

Here's the plan so far: We'll be arriving Tuesday, April 23 in the morning and want to get out to Normandy as soon as we arrive: transportation method undecided - that's where you come in! We plan on spending the night of the 23rd in Mont Saint Michel and then heading back to Paris the evening on the following day (April 24).

However, I'm finding for such a short trip transportation costs could add up pretty fast. When I priced out a round trip from Paris to Rennes (one of the closest major cities in the area, right...? if there's a better one I should be checking - i.e. Bayeux - please let me know) it seems it'd come to about $140 EUROS in total per person.

Yikes!

Plus, if we took the train then how would we get to the beaches? I know that there's a bus that goes from Rennes to Mont Saint Michel for about $10 EUROS, but then we wouldn't get to see the D-Day sites.

So, then I priced out rental cars. So far the cheapest one I've been able to find is $178.80 USD (tax included) on AutoEurope.

Do these rates sound like a bargain...? Am I just unused to traveling in Europe and thus the rates seem high to me, but really are pretty normal? Are there other options I haven't considered that might work? Do you have any suggestions on what sites I should be looking at for train tickets? I've only checked RailEurope - should I be looking elsewhere?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions/advice/ideas!

~
Illyria

StCirq

Well, yes, you can take the train to Bayeux or Caen for less than the train to Rennes, but then you've got to get yourself to le MSM, which is no piece of cake. If you take the train to Rennes you can begin your trip with a visit to le MSM and then backtrack through the D-Day beaches and Bayeux. But no matter how to tackle it, there's no easy 2-day itinerary here because neither le MSM or the D-Day beaches is easy to get to.

I'd rent the car. Then at least you know you can see all these things. Otherwise you're going to be putting in a fair bit of logistical planning (trains, buses, tour operators, etc.) for just 2 days of vacation.

RonZ

Book train tickets on SNCF. Indicate ticket pickup in France, delcine the insurance, and print your tickets:

http://www.voyages-sncf.com/dynamic/...mp;_AGENCY=VSC