SELF-DRIVE FROM THE TUNNEL, GROUND-ONLY SINCE 1981
Tom Simpson laid this out above the estuary in 1929.
Normandy Coastal golf holidays
Drive off the Shuttle and you are on the heights of Mont-Canisy in an afternoon, playing the Barrière course at Deauville that Tom Simpson cut in 1929 and Henry Cotton later reworked. Add the cliff-top holes at Étretat from Dormy House, the apple country at Saint Gatien, and dinner back at the Hotel du Golf, and you start to wonder why you ever flew anywhere.
4.9 from real golfers
· 9 courses · from
Deauville sits about three hours from Calais by car, which makes the Normandy coast one of the easier French golf trips for a UK player to reach. The golf is spread between the smart seaside towns and the rolling country just inland, with cliffs, apple orchards and the old wartime beaches never far from the fairways.
We are Golf Planet Holidays, and we have been putting together tailored golf trips since 1981. For Normandy that means we plan the hotel, book your tee times, sort the transfers and line up every round, so the only thing you decide on the day is which club to hit.
Why play golf in Normandy Coastal
The golf here has a calm, parkland feel rather than the drama of a links, and the standout is Omaha Beach Golf Club. At 36 holes it gives you genuine variety on a single site, and the setting above the famous landing beaches gives a round there a weight that other courses do not have.
Saint Gatien at Deauville is the other one worth building a trip around. It runs to 27 holes at par 72, so it is a proper test with the flexibility of three nine-hole loops, and it sits close enough to the town hotels to make an easy base.
The courses you’ll play
Three courses anchor a trip here, and between them they cover most tastes. The largest is Omaha Beach Golf Club with 36 holes near the wartime coast. Saint Gatien Golf Club at Deauville plays 27 holes at par 72, while Caen Golf Club, laid out by Fred Hawtree, also runs to 27 holes a little further inland.
- Omaha Beach Golf Club, Normandy (36 holes)
- Saint Gatien Golf Club, Deauville (27 holes, par 72)
- Caen Golf Club, Normandy (27 holes, designed by Fred Hawtree)
The 27-hole layouts at Saint Gatien and Caen let us mix and match loops across a few days, so you can play three different nines without driving far between rounds.
Where you’ll stay
The choice ranges from a relaxed Honfleur base up to the grand hotels of Deauville, so we match the stay to the group.
- Auberge de la Source, Honfleur, from
£340 (≈ €385) (≈ $445) (≈ CA$625) (≈ AU$635) (≈ NZ$775) (≈ CHF 355) - Dormy House, Etretat, from
£440 (≈ €505) (≈ $575) (≈ CA$815) (≈ AU$825) (≈ NZ$1,005) (≈ CHF 465) - Hotel du Golf Barriere, Deauville, from
£725 (≈ €835) (≈ $955) (≈ CA$1,345) (≈ AU$1,365) (≈ NZ$1,655) (≈ CHF 765) - Normandy Barriere, Deauville, from
£845 (≈ €965) (≈ $1,115) (≈ CA$1,575) (≈ AU$1,585) (≈ NZ$1,935) (≈ CHF 895)
If pushed to pick one, the Hotel du Golf Barriere gives the most golf-focused stay for the money over four nights.
Best time to play golf in Normandy Coastal
Late spring through early autumn is the sensible window, roughly May to September, when the days are long and the courses are at their best. June and September tend to be the sweet spot, with warmer ground and fewer holiday crowds in the coastal towns.
Normandy faces the Channel, so the weather behaves much like a good summer at home: pleasant when it settles, but capable of a wet, breezy day at any time of year. Pack a waterproof and you will rarely be caught out.
Getting there
Plenty of UK golfers drive this one. From Calais it is roughly three hours to Deauville, so a ferry or the tunnel plus your own car is a genuine option, especially if you want clubs and a boot full of kit without the airline fuss.
If you would rather fly, we can book flights as an ATOL-protected add-on, and we never fold them into the headline price. However you arrive, we arrange the transfers between airport or port, your hotel and each course so you are not navigating French roads after a long day.
Good to know
One honest caveat: this is a compact region built around three courses, so it suits a focused three or four-night break more than a week of non-stop different layouts. The trade-off is that everything is close together, which keeps the driving short and the days easy. Tee times in Deauville can get busy in peak summer and during local events, so the earlier we book, the better the slots we can hold for you.
The courses you’ll play in Normandy Coastal
Golf resorts — stay & play on-site
Hotels — play the area’s courses
Ready to play Normandy Coastal?
Tell us your dates and group — we’ll build a tailored itinerary and hand-priced quote, usually within 15 minutes.
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Frequently asked questions
Golf holidays in Normandy Coastal — answers to the questions our golfers ask most.
How long is LeShuttle crossing time to France
The Eurotunnel LeShuttle from Folkestone to Calais takes about 35 minutes, which makes a self-drive trip genuinely easy for the Northern France golf resorts. Le Touquet, Hardelot and the courses around the Somme are roughly two to three hours on from Calais, so you can load the clubs, drive on and be on the first tee the same day, and on those breaks we can include the crossing in the price. For the south and southwest, such as Biarritz, the Riviera and Provence, most golfers fly into Nice, Marseille, Biarritz or Bordeaux and we arrange transfers on the ground.
How much does a golf holiday in France cost?
Golf holidays in France start from
When is the best time to play golf in France?
May, June, September and October are the best months, with comfortable temperatures and courses in peak condition. The south of France stays playable into late autumn.
Where should I play golf in France?
There are more than 700 golf courses in France. As first steps we would recommend Northern France. There are ten great courses here. Chat with us about the various choices if you wish to venture further afield.
How many golf courses are there in France?
We feature 130 courses and 102 resorts across France including Saint Malo Golf Club and Sept Tours Golf Club. Your specialist matches the courses to your group's standard and budget.
Is it easy to get around in France?
Getting around France is straightforward. Self-driving is the most popular option — if you've come via Le Shuttle, you already have your car. Trains are excellent for city-to-city travel, particularly from Paris to Bordeaux (2 hours on the TGV). Within golf regions like the Algarve or Brittany, a hire car gives you the freedom to explore at your own pace. We include all airport or station transfers in our packages and can arrange inter-course transfers, so you're never left without options.
Still have a question? Ask our golf travel team — a free, no-obligation quote, no call centre.