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Taxi in Le Havre port


lianaks
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If you Google 'Le Havre taxi Honfleur' there is a lot of information from other people who have done it.

I personally don't know as we always have our own car when we're in that area.

Also note the correct spelling of these 2 places - it will help with internet searches.

 

LE  Havre and Honfleur,  not La Havre and Honfluer

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we will be taking one in April

LHCAB  gave us a flat rate  for the return trip  with some time in Honfleur

 I heard  other taxis  charge about 50-60 Euro one way  for the trip

we have 6 adults

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It's important to note that LHCAB is not the city taxi company, it is a private taxi company that aims to provide an alternative to taxis in Normandy, from what I can tell from their website. You can book them in advance, unlike a taxi. Also, your driver is guaranteed to speak English. There is no guarantee you will get the same if you travel in a regular taxi. Looks like they offer a visit to Honfleur, which I imagine will be for a flat rate. They say they can accommodate up to 6 people, so they should take 5 people and an infant!

 

Taxi Le Havre also offers a service to and from Honfleur for 150 euros but unlike LHCAB, their website is almost entirely in French and they don't seem to guarantee an English driver. You could also choose to take a one way service with them which is approx 60 euros (from the train station) if you leave in the daytime. The wording on their site leads me to believe that this service is metered as they used the word "approximately" rather than providing a flat rate.

 

LHCAB seems to be the better of the two options as they are guaranteed to give you an English driver. They also seem to be more of a chauffeur or private driving service whereas Taxi Le Havre is essentially the city taxi company.

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So here is how it has worked every time we have docked in Le Havre.  There will be a few taxis at the port which often includes a few that are small vans.  There will usually be at least one driver who will offer to take folks to Honfleur for 20-25 Euros per person (not using the meter).  But these drivers obviously prefer to fill their vehicles.  If a couple wants to grab an entire taxi for themselves they will likely have to negotiate a price.  Many French taxi drivers truly dislike using their meters (assuming they work).  

 

Some folks might want to consider just renting a car and driving themselves.  There is one rental car company located inside the port (rentacar.fr) and a couple of others about a 25 min walk from the pier (you have to walk outside the port).  An advantage to having a rental car is that you can expand your journey to include other places (such as Deuville), the tiny village of Buevron en Auge, or doubling back to go to Fecamp and Etretat.  There are actually quite a few options in the region...the more ambitious being to drive over to the D-Day Beach area and some of the local villages.  We always have a lot of fun in this port, especially when its a long port day (quite common because of excursions that go all the way to Paris).

 

Hank

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I have booked LHCAB (Sebastien) for myself and 3 others when we will be visiting Le Havre on a cruise this May.  Thanks very much to the posters who mentioned him in this thread!  Without you, we would have most likely just tried to find a cab instead.

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  • 1 month later...
On 3/12/2019 at 8:08 PM, Hlitner said:

So here is how it has worked every time we have docked in Le Havre.  There will be a few taxis at the port which often includes a few that are small vans.  There will usually be at least one driver who will offer to take folks to Honfleur for 20-25 Euros per person (not using the meter).  But these drivers obviously prefer to fill their vehicles.  If a couple wants to grab an entire taxi for themselves they will likely have to negotiate a price.  Many French taxi drivers truly dislike using their meters (assuming they work).  

 

Some folks might want to consider just renting a car and driving themselves.  There is one rental car company located inside the port (rentacar.fr) and a couple of others about a 25 min walk from the pier (you have to walk outside the port).  An advantage to having a rental car is that you can expand your journey to include other places (such as Deuville), the tiny village of Buevron en Auge, or doubling back to go to Fecamp and Etretat.  There are actually quite a few options in the region...the more ambitious being to drive over to the D-Day Beach area and some of the local villages.  We always have a lot of fun in this port, especially when its a long port day (quite common because of excursions that go all the way to Paris).

 

Hank

Hank is a seasoned Traveller and I always enjoy his notes and learn from him. This reply is to add an alternative idea if one is into an adventure:  

Ligne 20 (Bus 20)  from the Gare Routière in Le Havre to Gare Routière in Honfleur leaves at 8:40 am & if you can make that bus you will reach Honfleur within the half hour. It runs every day including holidays (jour des fêtes). The next bus is after 2:00.  

https://www.busverts.fr/fiches_horaires/L20S1.pdf

 On schedules also note jours scolaires ( which are school days)

The days of the work week are LUN/VEN meaning lundi (Mon) & vendredi  (Fri)

Sam is Samedi , Saturday.  Dim is Dimanche, or Sun.

Gare routière is bus station and almost always in the centre ville, a little to the side of the narrow streets part.

Fares are not noted but my guess is under 5€. Never cheat on tickets as the fines are harsh and transport is spot checked. Typically the d***med ticket machines, which take credit and debit cards, don’t work so after saying Bonjour, Monsieur ask a Frenchman for assistance. Normally with a shrug etc the bus driver or conductor will accept payment but bring only Euros and coins. Most are kind to tourists, especially if the tourist exhibits dismay or sorrow. Cheaters never get a break. 

If you take taxi from the port you want   GAR RU TEE YAY  Bus is Booos(purse your lips). See, it’s an adventure.

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I am repeating this topic because my edit on the information timed out.

 

THIS IS THE UPDATED INFO ON LE HAVRE TO HONFLEUR BY BUS

 

From the port take a taxi to the Gare Routière...GAR RU TEE YAY, which is on the port side of the train station (Gare).

THIS INFO APPLIES TO SPRING 2019

Ligne 20 (Bus 20)  from the Gare Routière in Le Havre to Gare Routière in Honfleur leaves at 8:40 am & if you can make that bus you will reach Honfleur within the half hour. It runs every day including holidays (jour des fêtes). The next bus is after 2:00.  

https://www.busverts.fr/fiches_horaires/L20S1.pdf

 

Thé return trip. from Honfleur Gare Routière/Départ is at 15:59 (3:59pm) or 17:52 (5:52pm) and arrives a half hour later.leave time to get to your ship before departure.

little French notes:

 On schedules also note jours scolaires ( which are school days )

The days of the work week are LUN/VEN meaning lundi (Mon) & vendredi  (Fri)

Sam is Samedi , Saturday.  Dim is Dimanche, or Sun.

Gare routière is bus station and almost always in the centre ville, a little to the side of the narrow streets part.

Fares are not noted but my guess is under 5€. Never cheat on tickets as the fines are harsh and transport is spot checked. People who appear to not have bought a ticket are carrying one of the passes sold to frequent travelers, pensioners, school children, etc. 

Typically the d***med ticket machines, which take credit and debit cards, don’t work: so after saying Bonjour, Monsieur ask a Frenchman for assistance. Normally with a shrug etc the bus driver or conductor will accept payment but bring only Euros and coins. Most are kind to tourists, especially if the tourist exhibits dismay or sorrow. Cheaters never get a break. 

Bus is pronounced BOOS sounds like booze with an s (purse your lips). 

See, it’s an adventure. Honfleur is really typique and although flogged by tourists, could be one of your most memorable glimpses of coastal France.

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I agree with MaisonRose about Honfleur being a wonderful place to visit, while docked in Le Havre.  There are generations of cruisers who know the frustration of finding decent public transportation from the port area to Honfleur.  But #20 is the best public transit option, and this option truly sucks!  The frequency  and schedule of this line does not suit most cruisers.  This leaves taxis, rental cars, or private tours as the better options for most folks.  (I am purposely ignoring overpriced cruise line excursions).  My own preference is a rental car or private tour...which opens up many more options then just to and from Honfleur.  With a car one can visit Honfleur for a period of time and then move on to other options such as nearby Deauville, or perhaps Beuvron-en-Auge which is a cute village bypassed by nearly all tours.   With a long port day and a rental car it would also be possible to couple Honfleur with a short visit to both Fecamp and Etretat...although these two seaside villages are the opposite direction from Le Havre (when compared to Honfleur).   Another good option from Le Havre is to simply grab a train to Rouen!  And finally there is the option of going all the way to Paris which involves at least 5 hours of travel (round trip).

 

Hank

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31 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

 

 

Hank

 

Hi Hank,

 

Totally off-topic, but you know your way round Normandy - d'you want to peruse https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2655943-visit-to-normandy-pre-cruise-advice-please/ and add  your four-penn'orth?. 

 

My apologies to the OP for my butting in on your thread

 

JB :classic_smile:

 

 

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On 4/18/2019 at 6:19 AM, MaisonRose said:

Gare routière is bus station and almost always in the centre ville, a little to the side of the narrow streets part.

 

In Le Havre, the bus station is right outside the gare (the train station). This is in the centre of the city, away from the cruise port - you can walk (about 30 mins) or take a taxi. Le Havre was bombed to smithereens during WWII, as it was the second largest port in Nazi-occupied France, rebuilt with large main streets. The streets around the gare are no exception, so it will be quite easy to find the bus station and the city is quite walkable.

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22 hours ago, simplyrubies said:

 

In Le Havre, the bus station is right outside the gare (the train station). This is in the centre of the city, away from the cruise port - you can walk (about 30 mins) or take a taxi. Le Havre was bombed to smithereens during WWII, as it was the second largest port in Nazi-occupied France, rebuilt with large main streets. The streets around the gare are no exception, so it will be quite easy to find the bus station and the city is quite walkable.

We have done that walk a few times and we agree that it can be done in about 30 minutes of the folks are fast walkers.  It is one of those strolls that is longer then you would think :(.   The last time we did it...was not by choice.  We had returned to Le Havre about 5pm after a long day in Rouen.  Our ship was not leaving until 10pm so time was not an issue.  We walked around the corner of the station to the taxi stand to find no taxis and about a dozen locals desperately trying to telephone taxis.  They were not having much luck.  It was getting close to cocktail/dinner time and the local taxis did not want to work.  There was also an important Football (soccer) match on TV which was another reason the taxi drivers did not want to work!    Fortunately the weather was good..so we made the long trek back to the port :(.   It took a long time until DW forgave me for that walk (she got a blister).  She had wanted to return to Le Havre an hour earlier (not sure this would have helped with the taxis) so it was my fault!

 

Hank

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