i want to know whether this particular plan can work out?

Day 1: Paris to bayeux or Caen, Normandy D-tour in the afternoon
Day 2. M-S-M and Mt salo
Day 3: Sailing or beach activity for a day near St malo or the britanny region

Can this be done? i will be travelling be "tours" from this region.


-Prashanthf

Mt salo "St Malo" if that helps

Looks good to me assuming you are not going back to Paris each evening.

Thanks for the correction.Nope i ll stay near St Malo.

Have you heard of the Reverend Spooner

Dinard is nice for a beach hotel, St Malo has some places. www.tripadvisor.com should help while Fougeres has a a fine castle and some nice B&Bs

I believe you would want to be in Bayeux for beach tours, at least of the American beaches. I think the Canadian/British beaches are closer to Caen. Doesn't sound like much time--maybe 2 beaches and the American Cemetery. There is also the Tapestry in Bayeux.
It all sounds very rushed. Where are you coming from?
I assume you mean "by" tours and not "be" tours.

Your going to find it extremely difficult to get from Bayeux to MSM by public transport. Your best option is to look into private shuttle services that do day trips from Bayeux to MSM. I know there is one offered by the Hotel Churchill in Bayeux and you don't have to be a guest to sign up for the shuttle. You can also ask the tourist office in Bayeux (or e-mail them or call them on the phone) about other shuttles that might operate this route.

Look on the official MSM website and there will be links there about the local bus companies that operate in the area. You should also learn how to use French train websites. You're going to need to understand both the train and bus systems to get around in this area. You should also know there will be a new shuttle bus system in place at MSM at the end of the April. You will now have to take a shuttle from the mainland to the Mont. I believe there will be some sort of facility to store luggage located near the shuttle stop. Here is the official website for MSM:

http://www.ot-montsaintmichel.com/en...int-michel.htm

Here is a link explaining how the new shuttle will operate:

http://accueilmontsaintmichel.fr/english/index.html

If you want a beach location then either Saint-Malo or Dinard is your best bet.

http://www.saint-malo-tourisme.com/

http://www.ot-dinard.com/?lg=_e&sect...b=&parent=&pj=

Sounds rushed to me too. Love St. Michael which I'd suggest you see and you can stay on the island. By the time you do that and Normandy (battle areas, museum, town, lunch, and the very moving visit to the cemetery), I don't think you'll have any time to go into Brittany (St. Malo). In Bayeau, we stayed at the nice and inexpensive Maltilda which was within walking distance to the tapestry and restaurants. When are you going?

I want to see the American cemetry , and The Pointe du Hoc. No definite plans ther. Want to drive/laze around. Next day would like to see Mont St Michael. and i ll have one more day which i am planning to spend either in St Malo or sailing around in the same area. I would rent a car from Caen/Bayeux railway station. My next destination will be tours. so i will either drop the car at Rennes/original point or tours itself. So i want a suggetion from you guys.

On day 1 , i will take a train from Paris. On Day 4th i should be in Tours.

How does this sound? this mode will be lot cheaper than taking a train or taking some guided tours.Suggest me a better itinerary.

In the same route suggest some good places to see, sail or relax, to stay and to eat

IS it safe to drive in these regions in the day time. I have been driving for 5 years in Manual transmission vehicles.

-Prashanth

Thanks for the reply.

I will think again. Renting a car is better than the Shuttle services rit? i can go wherever i want to travel isn't it ?

I've seen you post three different itineraries for your vacation in three different posts and all of them look very rushed. However, I've answered them because it's your vacation and not mine and you can do what you want with your vacation. But you should realize that you lose valuable vacation time when you rush from place to place. Any of the regions you mentioned (Normandy, Brittany, the Loire) has enough to keep you busy for a couple of weeks. But if you absolutely "must see this" and "must see that" then so be it.

It's a good idea to rent a car in Bayeux/Caen and drive to MSM and Saint-Malo. However, I would keep the car and drive to the Loire so you could explore at your leisure there instead of relying on bus and train schedules or mini-van tours from the Tours tourist office. Here's a schedule for you.

Day 1 - Take the earliest train you can from Paris to Bayeux. See the tapestry museum and visit the cathedral in Bayeux. You can also take one of the local buses to visit the American Cemetery.

Day 2 - Do your D-Day tour. I don't know if you are going to go on a guided tour or visit sites on your own. If you want to visit sites on your own you'll need a car.

Day 3 - Drive to MSM for your visit. Head to Saint-Malo for an overnight.

Day 4 - Drive to Tours.

You should also know that one day car rentals are generally expensive and you'll probably get a better daily rate if you rent for 3 or more days.

Here's another itinerary if you are visiting D-Day sites on your own:

Day 1 - Train to Bayeux, get a car, drive yourself to D-Day sites. At the end of the day drive somewhere near MSM to stay for the night so you are there first thing in the morning before tour buses arrive.

Day 2 - See MSM and the abbey first thing in the morning and then head to Saint-Malo.

Day 3 - Maybe you might actually try to relax this day and go sailing or spend time at the beach. You certainly haven't allowed days of relaxation anywhere else in any of your itineraries.

Day 4 - Drive to Tours.

Driving is easy in France anywhere outside of major cities like Paris, Lyon or Marseilles. No problem. But look on the web and find some sites about driving in France and familiarize yourself with road signs and basic rules of the road first.

@MSM
I am thankfull for your calm and kind replies.
Since its about different places/regions(here specifically about Normandy and Brittanny) , i thought its better to post in different places.i am new here , so i thought it works like that. I was really confused which place to choose,but now i have narrowed down. and now i am close to getting it right.

I know that these regions are rich in culture, history and will take lot of days exploring. But i have less number of days.I am not one of those who is interested in the minutest details or exploring all things in the city. Generally i read about regions i visit and select few of them to visit.

I am planning to do all travels in this region myself. So i won't be taking any guided tours.

Both of the itinerary you suggested looks fantastic . i am calculating the distances /routes. I will keep asking you in case i dont get things in web or if i get confused.

-Prashanth

Sorry. I typed it wrong
it was @FMT not @MSM

If you're not into the minutest of details, I'd delete Pointe du Hoc from your list. There are ever so many more interesting D-Day sites to explore in Normandy, and as far as I can tell, you've only got a single day to see them.

If I haven't mentioned it already you can go to the website viamichelin.com and get info on drive times and distances, toll and fuel costs and suggested routes (i.e. scenic route, fastest route etc.). The drive times given do not consider stops (fuel, food, bathrooms) nor do they consider bad weather and traffic.

If you are spending time outside Paris, as you seem to be, then I would consider having a rental car for that entire time period. It will give you the freedom to do what you want to do and see what you want to see on your own schedule. Let me give you some general advice that will help you plan your trip.

Get your hands on the Michelin maps. These are an absolute must if you are planning on driving in France. You want the ones of the scale 1:200,000 (regional maps) or 1:150,000 (departmental maps, more detailed, cover slightly less area) for whatever regions you visit. A nice feature of the 1:150,000 maps is they show the starred attractions in the corresponding Michelin Green guidebooks. The Michelin maps have icons for all kinds of historically/touristically interesting things such as châteaux, ruins, churches, abbeys, scenic view points, caves, Roman sites, megaliths, designated scenic roads and many other things. Usually when I'm exploring various regions in France I just look at the map and I am able to plan interesting and scenic drives just reading the map. For instance, I usually look for a designated scenic road, which are highlighted in green, and I especially look for towns with the historic church and/or château icon. I also try to make sure the route goes through as many small villages as possible. Usually putting all these things together I find interesting and scenic drives without even knowing where I am going and with no assistance from a guide book. Often these places are never mentioned in guidebooks and remain completely unknown to many tourists.

You can buy the Michelin maps from their website and here is a link to the page that shows all of the maps of France: http://tinyurl.com/4bt96ev

The above link takes you to the page showing the scale 1:200,000 maps but you can search the site for the 1:150,000 scale.

You could also buy them here but then you can't do research beforehand. The maps can be bought in many places such as bookstores, news stands, magazine stores, larger supermarkets, department stores, hypermarkets and in the full service rest areas on the autoroutes, just to name a few.

I would also suggest you bring a GPS with you.

Here is some other general advice for you. You should google some of the town/tourist office websites for any towns you may want to visit. You will find loads of info on these websites including hotel/accommodation and restaurant info as well as what to see and do in the area. Occasionally the websites have English versions. In doing a google search enter the name of your town followed by the words "site officiel" or "office de tourisme" and this will bring the town to the top of your search.

wow.. thats really a good info. This will really help me in planning. I will buy the book. Also i am planning to get the car with GPS. and i am looking in viamichelin.com about the routes.

Guided day trips or shorter 3-hour-or-so tours can give lots of information and cover lots of ground. With a short period of time, such tours are more efficient than driving yourself. Inevitably one gets lost at least once (miss a turn, must detour because of repair on main route, etc.) And then, once you arrive at a site, you must find parking and walk -- as opposed to being dropped off at the door.

i agree. but in this part of france driving will be more convenient for me.

i have a GPS device. where can i get the maps of normandy and brittany. how can i load these maps.

You buy them from the Michelin website.

If you are going to the Loire I would also get them for that region as well and also for anyplace else you might drive.