jcall

I am planning a driving tour of English country side, followed by 5 days in Normandy, France, returning then to London for 5 days. I will rent a separate car in Normandy. What is the best way to cross the channel-the Chunnel, a flight to Cherburg, or a ferry. Or would it be better to do all of England and London and fly open jaw into London and out of Paris?

justshootme

I'd fly on an open jaw ticket to London and returning from Paris or vv. This will save you $ and time in both destinations. For getting from England to France, consider the Eurostar, assuming your plans include sightseeing in London and Paris.

janisj

"<i>Or would it be better to do all of England and London and fly open jaw into London and out of Paris? </i>"

That would be generally the easiest way -- and possibly cheaper too. But it partly depends on where you will be touring in England

Departure taxes are much lower out of France than out of the UK so flying in to England and home from Paris will usually cost less.

You can rent a car right from CDG since you won't be dealing w/ jetlag.

That is the way I'd do it anyway . . .

alanRow

For London to Normandy or vv I'd check Ryanair from Stansted to Dinard or Luton to Brest - just remember when they say something they mean it TO THE LETTER and the maximum checked luggage is 20kg if you want to avoid punitive excess baggage fees

ParisAmsterdam

The problem with flying is you'd land near Paris and then have to drive to Normandy. Ditto taking the Eurostar... you'd arrive in either Paris or Lille.

In your case, since visiting Paris does not seem to be a priority I'd look into dropping the car at a channel port and taking a ferry to Calais or Le Havre or Ouistreham to pick up your French car...

jwj

jcall
I will gladly share with you what I have learned while planning our trip in October. We will be flying into London, in England for 10 days before going to Normandy for 4 days, flying home from CDG. We are taking a ferry from Portsmouth to Cherbourg. Leaves at 8:00 a.m., arrives at 12:00 noon. We will check all luggage except small tote or backpack so won't have that to deal with. Info at www.brittanyferries.com. Depending on when and where you want to go, there are many options. This was the fastest for us. My husband doesn't want to drive so we will be met at the ferry by a guide recommended by good friends. She will be our driver/guide while in Normandy and will take us into Paris the day before our flight out.

If any of you who are reading this have some other suggestions feel free to offer them or correct anything I've posted.

jcall

Thanks to all the replies. I think we will probably go with jwj plan and take the ferry. jwj,I would be interested in some info about your driver/guide in France as I might like to do that also. In addition, are you self-driving in England?

jwj

jcall
We will be in London first 3 nights then taking train to Oxford and will be there 3 nights. Have rented a car in Oxford that will be driven by the male of the couple we are traveling with. My husband refuses as we tried it years ago and found it difficult. I don't think our friend has a clue what he's in for but he's willing. Then 3 nights in southern England but don't know where. I got lots of advice about places in southern England from posters on this site. When we go to Normandy our friend will return the car to Heathrow. I will be happy to give you information on our guide. When are you traveling? I don't post very much and am not sure if they like us to post personal stuff. Why don't you e-mail me at [email protected] and I'll share info?