Brittany / Normandy

[Spindelina]

I'm idly dreaming of holidays. We don't want to fly or drive. One possibility is to get the ferry to Brittany or Normandy. The bus services aren't great in either place, but we are used to that and happy to work round it.

I don't really know either area, and I'm particularly struggling to imagine going to the Normandy beaches with kids (9 and 4 or maybe 10 and 5 by the time we get to this!).

Can anyone tell me about Brittany and / or Normandy? Particularly the towns and cities that are likely to have bus/train services? Brest, Quimper, St Malo, Caen, Bayeux, Rennes, Rouen etc. We'd like a mix of beach (with facilities - we're not at the life stage where isolated rural works, even if there was a bus) and activities for kids - museums, theme parks, whatever.

It's a lovely part of the world, but I think that you will struggle massively without a car. Public transport in France (outside of the major cities) is a very different kettle of fish to what you may be used to in the UK.

Hopefully someone with a bit more knowledge will be along soon. I live in a different part of France, but we used to have a holiday house in Normandy. Public transport other than trains was non-existent.

If you don’t want to drive St Malo is a good bet. The ferry port is literally within the town so easy to get around. There is a sandy beach and lots of cute streets to explore as it’s a walled town. There’s also a big aquarium which I’m sure you could get to via public transport/taxi - it’s only just out of the main town.

Is there a reason you don’t want to drive? Driving in France is very easy and will give you much more flexibility. If you were to, I’d suggest staying somewhere either on the Normandy coast near Ouistreham (the ferry port) or a multi-location trip. The strip of WW2 beaches runs from here right up to Cherbourg - you could even go out on one route and come back the other. There is absolutely loads to see on that route plus more towards Caen including Pegasus Bridge, the Caen memorial museum (good for rainy days) and a small theme park called Festyland on the outskirts of Caen. You can also get to Bayeux easily then. Plus bring back plenty of French goodies in the car!

Are you considering staying in a mobile home on a campsite at all? There is one on the Normandy coast that the uk companies have pitches on and campsites are brilliant for kids of your age.

I don't want to drive because we don't own a car (for reasons of sustainability), my DH doesn't drive, and previous hire car holidays have descended into me being cross about being the driver.

There are other holiday options, so if this part of France without a car is a non starter then we'll go somewhere else. But we've done public transport in other places where you "need a car" and it is different - you have to pick and choose where you try to go - but we're very used to that being the way we operate. Start from the train / bus route and explore what's there, rather than picking where you want to go and then trying to work out how to get there.

I had identified St Malo as the most likely - good to hear I'm not way out.

Ideal accommodation is self-catering of some description with a shop easily accessible - we want to buy (not pack) supplies. Definitely linen and preferably towels provided. Hotel also an option.

We went to Houlgate by train. We took the Eurostar to Paris and then the train to Deauville (about 2.5 hours). In high season, TER regional trains run regularly from Trouville-Deauville to the station in the centre of Houlgate. From there, it’s a five-minute walk to the beach. There’s an aquarium in Trouville and a science museum in Deauville, but we stayed at a Eurocamp site with good swimming complex and didn’t need to entertain the kids much!

Ooo that all sounds interesting, Five. We often get the Eurostar to other places and part of this plan is the novelty of the ferry (even though it's slower and probably more expensive ). I've been looking at Granville as a resort with train station - will add Deauville and Houlgate to that (so far quite short!) list.

Another option that might work could be to stay in eg Cherbourg for a week or so, and hire a car just for a couple of days. I could grit my teeth at being the driver for that, and we'd get out to some beaches.

(Oh, and DH doesn't swim either, so "good swimming complex" also ends up as me doing all the work! All about sharing the load here . He does have some life skills, honest!)

I'd also advise St Malo. Ferry port is in the town. Nice beaches, town walls, very pretty. You could probably get to Dinan by public transport which us a nice town. I'm not sure about places to stay though.

We have stayed in Houlgate. We drove but stayed at a Eurocamp-type park. It was within walking distance of the town and beach. There is a train station in Houlgate so you travel to places nearby.