London to Normandy

[JMHappy]

DH and I will be transatlanticing (NCL Jewel) in May 2008 ending in London. My DH wants to visit Normandy post cruise. What is the best way to get there and where do you recommend we stay? Should we go to Paris and take a day trip to Normandy or rent a car?

 

Thanks,

Jeanne

[sailingkiwi]

Hi

 

There are a number of ways to do this, but my first question to you would be how long are you in London?

 

Whatever way you do it, you will need at least 2 days once you include travel.

 

I would be tempted to train from London to Dover, then take a ferry to Calais and hire a car from there and drive south, unless of course you wanted to visit Paris.

 

If you don't want to organise it yourself, I found this company - http://www.battlebus.fr/Tours.html

[JMHappy]

We are still in the planning stages. I thought we would stay in London 2 days and then head over to Normandy for 2 days then back to states. Not sure if we are better off going back to London or flying out of Paris. We are getting of the ship May 5th early in London. I need to be back to work on May 12.

 

Thanks for your help! I'm clueless just trying to reach via the boards.

 

Jeanne

[RHefley228]

I assume you are actually docking in Dover, which means if you go up to London first you will have to retrace your steps to get back to the Channel. If Dover, take the ferry to Calais. If you go to Southampton, you can take a ferry to Cherbourg or Le Havre, either of which is considerably closer to the Normandy beaches than Calais. A car will give you the most flexibility, but you could also do the train and join a tour.

[tom_uk]

The other option is to take the Eurostar train through the channel tunnel from London St Pancras, either all the way to Paris, or just to Lille in norther France. If you get off at Lille you can take a hire car from there to Normandy.

[JMHappy]

You are correct we are getting off the ship at Dover. I looked into the ferries but it appeared they were car transports, is that an option? Or should we ferry over and just hire guides?

 

Maybe we could do that (Dover to Normandy Beaches) spend a few nights. Then Paris for a few nights then Eurostar to London few more nights and fly out from there.

 

We are going to be using FF miles from US Airways. I'm not sure where the best "gateway" is. It seems I have to use the same number of miles for one-way as round trip so I may transatlantic in the Fall.