Le Havre Rental Car Tentative Plans

My DH and I have mapped out a potential plan for our day in Le Havre, and we’d like to see if it’s reasonable or crazy. Keep in mind we are efficient in our touring and go go go with travel.

Our port hours are 7:00 AM - 8:00 PM. The automatic car would be rented from Enterprise from 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM.

1) Drive to Etretat for a short climb atop the

Cliff

2) Drive to Fecamp to do a quick tour of the Benedictine Palace and Distillery

3) Drive to Monet’s House and Garden for an hour or so tour

4) Drive to Honfleur to explore for around 2 hours

5) Return car in Le Havre

Google Maps shows this plan as taking approx. 4 hours, 37 min. Does that sound right? We are calculating an extra hour beyond that in case of delays. About how much should we estimate for tolls? About how much should we estimate for gas?

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Your best option is to use Viamichelin (www.viamichelin.com) - not Google maps. It's what we always use here in Europe as Google maps tend to be somewhat optimistic!

Viamichelin will give you the cost of fuel - if you can enter the type of vehicle you'll be driving - as well as any tolls you may encounter on the autoroutes.

Just be aware that their driving times are just that - it doesn't allow for rest stops, photo taking or coffee break/meals en route.

Hope this helps:)

When I was a young man (about 2 centuries ago) this would have been the kind of day we would have done :). It is possible that your driving times will be somewhat longer then predicted and an hour at Giverny is simply not enough (for most folks). But I like that are saving Honfleur for your last stop since you can vary that part of your driving trip depending on what time you get in the vicinity.

But consider that you will not likely have your car by 8:30 (not sure why, but it always seems to take longer to get a car and be on one's way). So assume you really don't get going until 9 and assume that your driving time is about 5 hours. That leaves you a total of 4 hours to see all the sites. And remember, it can take some time to park, you will need to stop for gas, and you might actually want to stop at a rest room and perhaps for some food.

DW and I have enjoyed Giverny (we are serious Monet/Impressionist fans) but not sure we would recommend spending 3 + hours of a port day trying to get to Giverny for a "whistle stop" visit. But if you do it...please post a review of your day here on this thread :)/

Hank

Thank you both so much! We are going to use that website to do some more detailed research this weekend and will likely return with more questions. [emoji3] We probably will chop Giverny.

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How easy/difficult is driving in the Normandy region? We are also considering doing a self-guided tour of the D-Day locations.

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How easy/difficult is driving in the Normandy region? We are also considering doing a self-guided tour of the D-Day locations.

 

 

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It's very easy. :)

From both Le Havre & Cherbourg.

Cherbourg is the closer of the two ports for the US beaches & sights, Le Havre for Brit, equidistant for Canuk.

The bulk of the distance is on a fast divided highway & you're unlikely to take a wrong turning, there are no big towns (from Le Havre you use the Caen ring-road), traffic is tolerably light on the little coastal lanes though sometimes a little slow thro villages. Parking is easy at the sights, other than perhaps at Arromanches where its a matter of luck but usually OK.

You do need to plan your day.

Ideally start at the furthest point & work your way back with your eye on the clock, and a GPS is particularly useful for that - before you set off plumb into its memory the location of the rental agency, and at your various stops check the time to get back by the quickest route.

The American Cemetery overlooking Omaha at Colleville-sur-Mer is top of the list for most folk & an ideal first stop from either port. Allow at least 90 minutes - you'll probably want to spend longer, in which case you're likely to have to adjust your timings for the rest of the day.

There's excellent signage at all sights and English-speaking staff (most with English as their first language) but it's well worth reading-up before you go in order to know the background of the various places.

I suggest for Le Havre you allow an extra hour to get back, particularly if you're going to be on the Caen ring-road at commuter-time - it can be log-jammed til you've crossed the River Orne bridge & left the ring road, but then the traffic evaporates. The fishing / tourist village of Honfleur is just off the route about 30 minutes from Le Havre - if you've not used up that hour's wiggle-time you can drop in for a drink or snack at a harbourside bar or café before the last little leg back to Le Havre.

For Cherbourg your last sight is the excellent US airborne museum at Ste Mere-Eglise, about 27 easy miles / 30 minutes from Cherbourg. Plan a stop of about an hour - you can reduce that, or even drive straight past Ste Mere-Eglise, if the clock is against you.

Rental cars are normally shift-stick - if you require automatic you need to specify that.

A small car is better than a large car - easier on the coastal lanes, easier to park.

Check how late you can return a rental car - French agencies aren't open beyond the normal working day, but most have a facility for after-hours return.

Be aware that altho the main road is fast, there are speed-traps - so do keep to the limits

Come back with your port, your ship's arrival/departure times, the day-of-the-week, and your interests (particularly your nationality & especially if you have any particular interest in Utah beach, which because of time constraints generally gets left off a cruiser's itinerary) and we can help with a suggested route etc.

Whether you visit D-Day with a private tour or a ship's tour or DIY in a rented car, it's usually a highlight of the cruise itinerary.

JB :)

JB posts great info (as always) but we would emphasize that a majority of European rental cars have a standard (stick) shift. This has become an increasing problem for many North Americans who have never driven a car with stick shift. As one who loves driving a stick (as does DW) we would warn prospective renters that a rental car in Europe is not the appropriate place to try and teach yourself this skill :).

If you want to rent an automatic, make sure this is very clear when you make a reservation (we even think a follow-up e-mail is wise). In many cases you are going to pay a premium (sometimes a very big premium) to get an automatic. Some rental car offices may not even have automatics available...so take care. And by the way, the big challenge for most North Americans who do drive a stick...is doing so in the UK...where they drive on the Left. Their cars require one to shift with the left hand...which is a bit tricky for those used to shifting with their right. I will confess to having missed more then a few shifts when driving in England (perhaps JB was driving behind me). But fortunately, this is not a problem on the continent where all driving is done on the right.

Hank

Thank you both! We have an automatic reserved, thankfully. We are just deciding between doing Normandy DIY or as part of a tour. If I have more questions, I’ll return.

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