Honfleur and Etretat in one day?

[emarismom]

I would like to arrange a driver or find a tour to visit both Honfleur and Etretat in one day.  Is the possible?  What is the drive time to Honfleur?  And Etretat?  We will be in port from 7:00 AM until 8:00 PM, so we will have a lot of time to do this. 

[edinburgher]

12 hours ago, emarismom said:

would like to arrange a driver or find a tour to visit both Honfleur and Etretat in one day

We have visited both  but on different port days.  They lie in opposite directions from le Havre, but travel time to each from LH is only around 30-45 minutes or thereabouts so you probably would have time for both if you had a vehicle and driver meeting you at the port.

 

We taxi shared with fellow pax to  Honfleur, taking the public bus back when we were ready to leave , and used the public bus to get to and from Etretat. (I don't think you can visit by train)

 

Both days we had beautiful dry, bright and sunny weather, and this was especially good for Etretat as we didn't find much of interest in the town apart from the seafront and the Alabaster cliffs which looked stunning in the sunshine. We first walked uphill  then  took a long walk along the cliffs admiring the stunning views and the geological formations.before stopping  for a time at the small pebbly beachfront before returning to LH. Should you have an interest in aviation, On that cliff walk we also passed the monument to the "white bird/l'oiseau blanc" bi-plane which disappeared  after its last sighting whilst attempting the first non-stop transatlantic flight between Paris and NYC.

 

I would caution that, unless you have a good weather day, there may be little of interest for you in Etretat We had also planned to visit Fecamp from Etretat but using public buses, we ran out of time as we walked for longer and further  than intended at Etretat.

 

And if you are looking for a car, and driver waiting for you while you explore along the way,  and tour for a number of hours, you can expect  it to be costly.

[emarismom]

Thank you for the detailed response!!  I have sent some requests in to get a quote for a driver.  Do you know if there will be taxis at the port that can take us?  Maybe I can negotiate there for a driver for a day. If not we will just go to Honfleur and maybe wander around LeHarve for a while.

[edinburgher]

22 hours ago, emarismom said:

Do you know if there will be taxis at the port that can take us?  Maybe I can negotiate there for a driver for a day.

Whether or not there would be taxis, you could have some issues trying to hire one for the day and I recommend you pre-book a tour and/or a taxi and driver. for a number of reasons.

 

Firstly, you will know the cost ahead of time (most likely prepare to be shocked)

Secondly, you will have pre-aranged the route by communicationg with the operator and agreeing an itinerary., the stops you will have and for how long at each,

Thirdly, you may have requested someone with a working knowledge of english, which is helpful if  your french language skills are fairly basic.

 

By trying to choose a random driver at the port, you may not know where you are going, what you will see, and if the driver has no english, you won't be able to communicate. And even if quoted a price, you won't know if that price is good, bad or average.You would simply be getting into a vehicle to be driven around for a time.

 

I question whether you would need a driver with or without a "tour" element.  Both Honfleur and Etretat are "walk around" locations with the cliff walk at Etretat more suited to a good weather day and you won't know the weather until you are arrive. if a poor weather day, I personally would not want to go at all and that leaves Honfleur. The town itself is the "attraction" here, very pretty and perfect for strolling around and enjoying a nice lunch even should the weather be less than perfect. There are a number of travel options for getting there and back to le Havre without the need for any guide. I think you would find other passengers dockside who would be happy to share a taxi with you to get there, and you could always take one back on your own or the public bus.  You might even find fellow pax on your Roll Call who would be willing to share if you asked. ( If you have not already joined a Roll Call for your sailing, you should do that as it is where you andyour  fellow passengers can exchange info and ideas and sometimes arrange private tours). In this case, you might even arrange a mutually agreed time to meet in Honfleur for the return..

 

If  researching le Havre,(or anywhere else)  be aware that  correct spelling will bring you better results.  It is not LeHarve. It is le Havre.  Spelling is especially important when using the CC SEARCH tool for past threads as errors will bring you no results at all.  Here are le Havre search results for you to choose which to read.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=le havre&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=462

 

And for Honfleur

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=honfleur&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=462

 

And do read tourist information for le Havre, Honfleur and Etretat to help you decide, also Tripadvisor  for each for reviews and pictures..

 

Edited January 15 by edinburgher

[Hlitner]

We have done both, in a single day, with a rental car.  But keep in mind that they are in opposite directions from Le Havre, so you do spend some significant time driving back and forth.  If you have a rental car you might want to also take the short drive to Fecamp (from Etretat).  Speaking of driving in Normandy, if you drive to Honfleur you might want to consider a short visit to Beuvron-en-Auge, which is a small town that looks like it has been misplaced from Bavaria!  We sometimes stop there to browse a few of the shops and grab lunch or a snack.

 

Hank

[emarismom]

If I decide to go only to Honfleur, can that be done directly by taxi from the port?  It seems that many recommend going in La Havre and then using the Bee Le Havre buses.  What is the benefit in this as you are only given three hours in Honfleur with Bee Le Havre. 

Edited February 11 by emarismom

[Hlitner]

There will be taxis at the port that will take you to Honfleur.  The drivers normally try to organize groups (to fill their cabs) and the price used to be 25 Euros (one-way) per person.  These taxis are happy to arrange a time to pick you up for the return drive or you can take your chances on finding a taxi at Honfleur for a fair price.  

 

Hank