2014: Bus from le Havre to Honfleur

[etsdas]

There is much information here regarding bus travel from le Havre to Honfleur, as well as to other nearby locations. However, much of it is from 2013 and earlier.

Does anyone have experience with this more recently? We will be on Celebrity Infinity later this fall. We have two full days available, and are not interested in tours to Paris or Normandy, as we have done these before.

[Hlitner]

The bus service between Honfleur and Le Havre is simply awful with very few buses on the schedule. There are actually 3 different lines (20,50 and Prestobus) that run between the cities but it can be several hours between buses. So what to do? Personally, we think the best transportation in this region (and most rural regions of France) is to simply get yourself a rental car. Driving in France is similar to the USA or Canada, and with a GPS life is quite easy :). In Le Havre there is a single rental car company in the port (http://www.rentacar.fr) but we do not like this company because of their high prices. Instead, we prefer to simply walk out of the port and over to one of several agencies (i.e. Europcar, Sixt, et) that are located about a 20 min walk from the pier along the Quai Southampton. We can usually reserve a car from one of those agencies for about half the cost of rentacar.fr. With a car it is an easy drive over the Normandy Bridge to Honfleur, Deuville, or you could go the opposite direction and visit seaside towns like Etretat. A car gives you lots of flexibility. Otherwise, there are taxes (often vans) at the port who will take groups to Honfleur...but they usually want about 25 Euros per person.

 

If you really want to see the bus schedules you can Google "Toms Port Guides" where he has the link to the bus company and detailed instructions on how to find the actual schedules you want. The system is somewhat complex, but if you really want the info Tom has made it doable.

 

Hank

Edited September 7, 2014 by Hlitner

[etsdas]

Thank you, Hank. Car rental is not really an option for us - DH no longer cares to drive - and am not sure if rental companies still have age limits. Thanks for the link - we will check that out.

[Hlitner]

Thank you, Hank. Car rental is not really an option for us - DH no longer cares to drive - and am not sure if rental companies still have age limits. Thanks for the link - we will check that out.

 

I hear ya on the age limits :). We have noticed that several rental car agencies seem to have raised their maximum age to 75. Now we just have to get there :).

 

Hank

[villauk]

Hank,

 

Do you pre reserve or just go into the agencies once docked? Roughly, how much is it to hire a car for the day? We're a family of four (14 & 12 yr old) and unsure what to do in Le Havre in October.

 

Thanks :).

[spinner]

Is it possible to get a car with automatic transmission? I went on the Sixt website and don't see that as an option. I selected a mid priced car and in the details it says a manual transmission. Problem is that only DH can drive manual transmission and after driving in Italy one summer, I don't know that I will ever be able to get him to drive in Europe again!!

 

Thanks

[Hlitner]

Hank,

 

Do you pre reserve or just go into the agencies once docked? Roughly, how much is it to hire a car for the day? We're a family of four (14 & 12 yr old) and unsure what to do in Le Havre in October.

 

Thanks :).

 

You should always reserve in advance as there is generally no penalty for cancelling. But with two children in that age group you might want to consider taking a tour to some of the D-Day sites/beaches in Normandy. You could also do this on your own (with a rental car) with the drive being a little more then an hour each way. There is also an amazing museum in Caen called the Peace Museum. It is very educational and tells the story of the lead up to WWII and what happened in war torn France. Many school groups visit this museum..but not sure that is the best way to spend limited port time.

 

Hank

[Hlitner]

Is it possible to get a car with automatic transmission? I went on the Sixt website and don't see that as an option. I selected a mid priced car and in the details it says a manual transmission. Problem is that only DH can drive manual transmission and after driving in Italy one summer, I don't know that I will ever be able to get him to drive in Europe again!!

 

Thanks

 

We often warn about trying to get an automatic anywhere in Western Europe. The Europeans just do not like them...so most of the rental cars are smaller cars with manuals. I looked around on the web and its almost impossible to find any automatics. But Sixt does show a Renault Megane with Automatic (if its available your day). Personally, we would be a little uneasy about depending in a reservation for an automatic since rental car dealers are well known to not have the exact car reserved. But you can try.

 

Another idea is try to find a friend with a stick shift car and spend a coupe of hours learning :).. DW and I both love driving stick shifts so actually look forward to renting them in Europe.

 

Hank

[spinner]

We often warn about trying to get an automatic anywhere in Western Europe. The Europeans just do not like them...so most of the rental cars are smaller cars with manuals. I looked around on the web and its almost impossible to find any automatics. But Sixt does show a Renault Megane with Automatic (if its available your day). Personally, we would be a little uneasy about depending in a reservation for an automatic since rental car dealers are well known to not have the exact car reserved. But you can try.

 

Another idea is try to find a friend with a stick shift car and spend a coupe of hours learning :).. DW and I both love driving stick shifts so actually look forward to renting them in Europe.

 

Hank

 

 

Thanks Hank. I did take lessons on a stick shift before our Italy trip but once we got there and i saw how they drove, I didn't drive once. Whatever I learned in the lesson has total gone out the window, as i have never taken the opportunity again to at least practice at home on my husband's British car. I realize that it is risky thinking that you have booked an automatic and they switch it up on you without notice. But I might take my chances and book anyway.

 

Brenda

[villauk]

You should always reserve in advance as there is generally no penalty for cancelling. But with two children in that age group you might want to consider taking a tour to some of the D-Day sites/beaches in Normandy. You could also do this on your own (with a rental car) with the drive being a little more then an hour each way. There is also an amazing museum in Caen called the Peace Museum. It is very educational and tells the story of the lead up to WWII and what happened in war torn France. Many school groups visit this museum..but not sure that is the best way to spend limited port time.

 

Hank

 

Thanks :).

 

My DH really wanted a break from driving, but the local bus service to Honfleur doesn't appear to be very frequent, hence my mentioning the car hire :confused:. I did look at 'Tom's' website and he quoted €25 for up to 4 passengers by taxi to Honfleur. I take it this is a one-way fare? Still good value at roughly £40/US$65 (£10 each) - much cheaper than a ship tour.

Edited September 9, 2014 by villauk