Le Harve to Rouen

[margord]

Does anyone know of a taxi service hireable to take us from Le Harve port to Rouen for the day (and back)? I am not thrilled with taking the train. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

[Hlitner]

We would assume that any taxi would jump at the opportunity for such a fare. You are talking about 55 miles (each way) and probably over 500 Euros. We have driven in this part of France and its actually a pretty easy drive (mostly on major Autostrade). On our last trip to LeHavre (last year) we actually did take the train to Rouen (nice trip) and got a nice senior fare.

 

Hank

[margord]

We would assume that any taxi would jump at the opportunity for such a fare. You are talking about 55 miles (each way) and probably over 500 Euros. We have driven in this part of France and its actually a pretty easy drive (mostly on major Autostrade). On our last trip to LeHavre (last year) we actually did take the train to Rouen (nice trip) and got a nice senior fare.

 

Hank

 

Thanks for the clarification. I did not know it was so far. Can you tell me about the train and how you went about it? Is it easy?

 

Marilee

[Hlitner]

Thanks for the clarification. I did not know it was so far. Can you tell me about the train and how you went about it? Is it easy?

 

Marilee

 

The train is relatively easy and its a pretty nice train. The French trains generally run on time unless there is some kind of strike (almost always annouced well in advance). It is a little more then 1 mile from the port to the LeHavre train station. Since DW and I love to walk we actually enjoyed walking to the station. But for most, it probably makes sense to get a taxi from the port and its usually pretty easy to find other passengers wanting to share a ride. Once at the station there is a large ticket office (on your right when you go inside) and you simply buy a ticket for the next train. If you are 60+ you should ask for a "Senior" ticket which gets you a nice discount. You do not actually get round trip tickets but rather a ticket for each way. As in most of Europe you do need to validate the ticket (only validate the ticket for that particular journey) by putting it in the validation machine located near or on the platform. These simply imprint a time/date stamp and the machines are normally yellow (we have also seen red). You can find the train schedule at raileurope.com or on the SNCF (French railroad) web site. Once you get to Rouen you can walk to the center of town (about a dozen blocks) or use local buses or taxis.

 

One warning about returning to LeHavre. When we got back (late afternoon) there were no taxis waiting at the train station (the taxi queue is actually behind the station). There were several locals waiting for taxis and since it was a gorgeous day we simply decided to walk all the way back to the port (about a 30 min walk if you are fast).

 

One other option for you would be to simply rent a car and drive yourselves (we have driven thousands of miles in France). As much as we like to rent cars in Europe it just seemed easier to take the train since it was cheaper and we did not have to be concerned with parking in Rouen.

 

Hank

[margord]

The train is relatively easy and its a pretty nice train. The French trains generally run on time unless there is some kind of strike (almost always annouced well in advance). It is a little more then 1 mile from the port to the LeHavre train station. Since DW and I love to walk we actually enjoyed walking to the station. But for most, it probably makes sense to get a taxi from the port and its usually pretty easy to find other passengers wanting to share a ride. Once at the station there is a large ticket office (on your right when you go inside) and you simply buy a ticket for the next train. If you are 60+ you should ask for a "Senior" ticket which gets you a nice discount. You do not actually get round trip tickets but rather a ticket for each way. As in most of Europe you do need to validate the ticket (only validate the ticket for that particular journey) by putting it in the validation machine located near or on the platform. These simply imprint a time/date stamp and the machines are normally yellow (we have also seen red). You can find the train schedule at raileurope.com or on the SNCF (French railroad) web site. Once you get to Rouen you can walk to the center of town (about a dozen blocks) or use local buses or taxis.

 

One warning about returning to LeHavre. When we got back (late afternoon) there were no taxis waiting at the train station (the taxi queue is actually behind the station). There were several locals waiting for taxis and since it was a gorgeous day we simply decided to walk all the way back to the port (about a 30 min walk if you are fast).

 

One other option for you would be to simply rent a car and drive yourselves (we have driven thousands of miles in France). As much as we like to rent cars in Europe it just seemed easier to take the train since it was cheaper and we did not have to be concerned with parking in Rouen.

 

Hank

 

 

Thanks Hank. I appreciate the information. We like walking also so if a nice day not a problem. I have copied this information in case we decide to give it a try.

[Wavesprite]

The Taxi fare would be crazy!! We were in LeHavre in June and rented a car right at the port. It was so easy! It was about $100 US for the day, and we actually were going to drive to Rouen but decided to head to Normandy Beaches instead. Then on the way back we had tons of time to explore Honfleur.