Should You Rent a Car to Visit Normandy With a Family of 5 or 6?
Planning a Normandy trip with a family of five or six can be tricky. Renting a car sounds easy at first, but there are a few things travelers learn the hard way.
Here’s a complete look at when it makes sense to rent a car, what to watch out for, and what alternatives you should seriously consider.
1. Renting a Car Offers Freedom – Not Always Cheap
For families who want the freedom to move at their own pace, renting a car can be a game changer. You can leave early, avoid tourist crowds, and make spontaneous stops at small villages, museums, or beaches.
Normandy’s best sights, like the D-Day beaches, Mont-Saint-Michel, and quiet countryside towns, are spread out. Public transportation between them is often slow, infrequent, or nonexistent.
But renting a car in France isn’t always a budget-friendly choice. Especially when you’re renting a van or a large car big enough for six people plus luggage, the price climbs fast.
Typical quotes from big companies like Sixt can easily hit $1500 to $2000 for a week, even before adding fuel, tolls, or insurance.
Supermarket chains like Leclerc and Super U often rent vehicles much cheaper, but they’re usually outside city centers and require extra coordination.
Also, most larger vehicles available are manual transmission. If you can’t drive stick shift confidently, automatic options are much rarer and even more expensive.
2. Driving Lets You Dodge Heavy Tourist Crowds
Normandy’s most popular sites get absolutely packed with day-trippers, especially Mont-Saint-Michel. Tour buses from Paris start unloading crowds around late morning, and it doesn’t quiet down until late afternoon.
If you have your own car, you can visit early in the morning or in the evening when the Mont is almost empty.
Some travelers recommend staying overnight either on the Mont itself or in nearby Pontorson. That way, you get the peaceful experience most people miss.
Driving your own vehicle makes this possible, while tours and trains lock you into the busiest hours.
At the D-Day beaches, having a car also means you can explore at your own rhythm instead of rushing from one landmark to another on a strict schedule.
3. Renting Directly From Paris: A Hassle
Picking up a rental car in central Paris might seem logical, but it can quickly turn into a nightmare. Traffic around the city is stressful even for locals, and navigating out toward Normandy isn’t much fun after a transatlantic flight or several days on foot.
A better option for many travelers is to take a train from Paris to Caen or Bayeux first. Both towns have rental car options close to the station.
Caen is a little bigger but less scenic, while Bayeux is smaller, prettier, and closer to the main D-Day sites. Either way, you avoid the Paris traffic madness and shorten the amount of driving needed.
Train tickets from Paris to Caen or Bayeux are cheap if booked in advance. Once there, you can rent a regular car or van for the local portion of your trip.
4. Tours Are Easier for Some Families
If the idea of driving stresses you out, especially in a foreign country, tours from Paris are an alternative.
Companies on GetYourGuide and Viator run day trips to Mont-Saint-Michel and the Normandy beaches. These tours often include transportation, entrance fees, and a guide.
Tours remove the hassle of driving, parking, and logistics. They also make sense if you’re carrying a lot of luggage and don’t want to keep switching hotels.
However, they come with long days – expect 12 to 14 hours on the road with little flexibility. If you have young kids or if anyone in the group gets tired easily, it can be exhausting.
Another downside: you’re stuck to the group schedule. If you fall in love with a town or want extra time at a site, too bad. Buses leave exactly on time, and they won’t wait.
One traveler even shared how someone in their group missed the bus and had to Uber to catch up.
5. Where You Stay Matters More Than You Think
If you decide to rent a car, picking the right base makes everything easier.
Bayeux is the top choice for many travelers. It’s small, walkable, and full of history, with the famous Bayeux Tapestry, a beautiful cathedral, and a D-Day Museum all within the old center. You can drive to the beaches, museums, and countryside in under an hour.
Pontorson works as a base for visiting Mont-Saint-Michel, but it’s less charming than Bayeux. If you really want a special experience, book a hotel on Mont-Saint-Michel itself, even if it’s overpriced.
In Conclusion
If you want flexibility, have confident drivers, and can manage French roads and a manual transmission, renting a car is usually worth it for a family of five or six visiting Normandy.
It opens up early mornings at Mont-Saint-Michel, quiet moments on the beaches, and hidden spots no tour bus will ever reach.
If driving seems stressful, combining a train ride to Normandy with a local car rental, or booking structured day tours from Paris, are perfectly valid options too.
The best tip of all: whatever you choose, plan early, especially for accommodations near Mont-Saint-Michel.