Walk off Ship Tours in Le Havre?

[txnfish]

Cruising in the Caribbean and Alaska, I could always walk off the ship and purchase an excursion/tour similar or better to what is on the ship for much less money. Is the same true for Le Havre? Specifically, for a tour to the D Day beaches?

[suspaul]

Having been in Le Havre about 10 days ago and also several years ago, I don’t think you can walk off the ship. The dock is in an industrial area and you’ll need a shuttle into the city so take that into consideration when looking at tours. Not saying this is always the case, we were on the Viking Sky and previously on a Princess ship. We had continuous shuttles each way throughout the day but I think they were thru Viking. Not sure if this helps you at all.

Enjoy your travels.

 

 

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[txnfish]

Ah. So are you saying that there are no vendors outside the ship selling tours and excursions?

[John Bull]

Ah. So are you saying that there are no vendors outside the ship selling tours and excursions?

 

That's broadly the situation.

No restrictions on walking out or back, but the docks are a long way from the city centre & transport options.

There will probably be taxi drivers available at the pier, but you're much better off to fix something up in advance.

And that's the situation with many other European ports - it's not like the Caribbean.

Public transport is very good in European ports, but not in Le Havre - the train station is a long hike or a taxi hop (and trains are only of any use for Rouen or Paris or- at a pinch - Giverny) & bus frequencies & routes are very limited & the bus station is by the train station.

Check out your RollCall for tour-shares, or consider renting a car.

 

JB :)

[txnfish]

Thanks for the information.

[lackcreativity]

Having been in Le Havre about 10 days ago and also several years ago, I don’t think you can walk off the ship. The dock is in an industrial area and you’ll need a shuttle into the city so take that into consideration when looking at tours. Not saying this is always the case, we were on the Viking Sky and previously on a Princess ship. We had continuous shuttles each way throughout the day but I think they were thru Viking. Not sure if this helps you at all.

Enjoy your travels.

 

 

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suspaul,

 

We will be in LeHavre on the Viking Sun in October. Where did the continuous shuttles go from LeHavre? The included excursion is to Paris, so do shuttles go somewhere closer?

[suspaul]

On our cruise the Viking shuttles only went from the port to Le Havre city center. We wanted to visit Honfleur so we took the free Viking shuttle from Le Havre port into the city. Where the shuttle stopped there was info on the HOHO bus in Le Havre or you could take a special bus to Honfleur for 25€ per person. We chose Honfleur as we had been before and very much enjoyed it - we weren’t interested in the short tour and time allowed by the ships optional tour.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

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[lackcreativity]

On our cruise the Viking shuttles only went from the port to Le Havre city center. We wanted to visit Honfleur so we took the free Viking shuttle from Le Havre port into the city. Where the shuttle stopped there was info on the HOHO bus in Le Havre or you could take a special bus to Honfleur for 25€ per person. We chose Honfleur as we had been before and very much enjoyed it - we weren’t interested in the short tour and time allowed by the ships optional tour.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

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Yes, thanks, this helps very much. We are also thinking of going to Honfleur, as we have been to Paris before (not that I wouldn't love to go again, but maybe not as a daytrip), and are looking for something new. I had found the Bee LeHavre, which might be the bus you were talking about, as the price is the same. Did you buy the ticket for the bus on the spot, or in advance online?

[suspaul]

You’re correct, it was the Bee and yes we bought our tickets on the spot. I don’t know if there is a difference since this was less than 2 weeks ago and probably still considered off season. If you can purchase prior to your travels I’d consider it. The bus we were on wasn’t a typical 50+ seat bus, you were seated at tables, quite odd. Honfleur is such a beautiful town. Enjoy.

 

 

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[lackcreativity]

You’re correct, it was the Bee and yes we bought our tickets on the spot. I don’t know if there is a difference since this was less than 2 weeks ago and probably still considered off season. If you can purchase prior to your travels I’d consider it. The bus we were on wasn’t a typical 50+ seat bus, you were seated at tables, quite odd. Honfleur is such a beautiful town. Enjoy.

 

 

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We will be there October 11, so not peak season, but I think I will book in advance anyway. Their website doesn't seem to sell tickets more than two weeks in advance, so I will have to wait a while yet.

 

Thanks for taking your time to answer my questions.

[suspaul]

You’re so welcome lackcreativity, enjoy your travels.

 

 

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[mimi7ccr]

I am also looking for information on the Bee bus that goes to Honfleur. Where exactly is the terminal for this bus, or where did you pick it up? Did you go to the end of the line for the shuttle into town, or did you get off at a stop prior to the end? I would also like information on their web site, as I cannot find it. What I did find was in French and I could not translate it. Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

[lackcreativity]

I am also looking for information on the Bee bus that goes to Honfleur. Where exactly is the terminal for this bus, or where did you pick it up? Did you go to the end of the line for the shuttle into town, or did you get off at a stop prior to the end? I would also like information on their web site, as I cannot find it. What I did find was in French and I could not translate it. Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

 

https://beelehavre.com/ This is in French, but on the right hand side, right at the top, click on the British flag icon for the English translation.

[mimi7ccr]

Thank you. I now see the flag for translation. Looks like it only accepts reservations about 10 days ahead of time, and that's OK.

I wonder if it would be possible to take the first bus at 11:45 but stay longer in Honfleur and come back on the later bus. Has anyone tried that? I doubt they will let you do that, but I will try and ask.

[sj-cruiser]

We were just in Le Havre this week. It was easy to walk from the dock to the city center but took about 20 to 25 minutes. One person said it took them 40 minutes. We didn't go to the information center, so I don't know how easy it is to get a tour from there. We did walk around between about 11:30 and 2:00. Be advised that many of the businesses close for lunch during this time. The big grocery stores were open during lunch but smaller specialty stores were closing including some of the pastry shops. We got some pastries from the shops and they far exceeded any dessert we got on the Royal Princess. I highly recommend this if you like desserts.

 

Princess was charging $8 each way to and from the city center per person. We definitely thought that would have been a rip off for what's there. The walk is reasonable.

Edited June 7, 2018 by sj-cruiser
Add info about shuttle

[Hlitner]

Having been to this part of France (and the port) many times, we think staying in Le Havre is the worst of many options. Le Havre is in an interesting location with places like the D-Day sites/beaches of Normandy, Honfleur, Fecamp, Rouen, Giverny, and even Paris all within range for most cruise days.

 

Hank

[carlmm]

Le Havre might not be your typical European port with many old buildings but it nevertheless an interesting City on ist own right. It is WORLD HERITAGE SITE thus it is sad that so many people diminish it.

 

There is a hop on hop off that takes you on a city but one can walk easily, too.

 

Having been vastly destroyed in world war II, much of the city centre was newly built to the plans by August Perret. The architecture is most interestingly, all in concrete but very different and much to the scale of humanity. A specific highlight is the Eglise St. Joseph.

 

Historic buildings to be visited are mainly the cathedrale and the Musée Maison de L'Armateur, a wealthy merchant home from 1790. The later is in a neigherborhood right next to the centre part with some more older buildings.

[alex_drew]

Carlmm, we will be in Le Havre the day before disembarking in Southampton and rather than a long day (10 hour ship excursions), we are interested in exploring Le Havre for a few hours and then having time to pack. I had thought we would just get a local tour guide at the port, but now that I am reading about it on this board, I see that this is not done in France. So now I am very interested in the HOHO bus as a way of seeing the city. We will be on Celebrity so I imagine if Princess has shuttles into Le Havre, Celebrity must also offer those as well. Where would we find the HOHO bus and would you have an idea of how much that would cost? Thank you so much for any information.

[tring]

We called into Le Havre on a mini cruise last year. Must admit we had been there before and not particularly impressed, but this time we found there was a "Tom's Port Guide" for Le Havre. We used that for a self guided walk around Le Havre and really enjoyed the day - I have put a link to his home page below, so you can click the 'port guides' tab at the top of the page and search for Le Havre, or wherever else you want. I keep the link saved in favorites.

 

https://www.tomsportguides.com/

[alex_drew]

We called into Le Havre on a mini cruise last year. Must admit we had been there before and not particularly impressed, but this time we found there was a "Tom's Port Guide" for Le Havre. We used that for a self guided walk around Le Havre and really enjoyed the day - I have put a link to his home page below, so you can click the 'port guides' tab at the top of the page and search for Le Havre, or wherever else you want. I keep the link saved in favorites.

 

https://www.tomsportguides.com/

 

Thank you so much! This will be very helpful.