My daughters and I recently (May, 2022) took a WW II full day guided tour with Bertrand Saudrais (Executive D DayTours). We experienced an exceptional day which turned out in being one of the highlights of our trip to Paris/Normandy. Bertrand was knowledgeable in his facts, very personable and kept us all engaged through out the entire tour. His historical facts were spot on as we had a couple history buffs with us, and his war trivia was fun to hear and comment on. I think he questioned us as much as we questioned him. I mentioned a site I had seen on a previous tour and voila, we were there later that day. One of my daughter’s grandfather in law was a DDay Veteran and had a memorial flag hanging near Omaha Beach. During our visit to the beach, Bertrand found the hanging flag by looking at our picture and driving till we found it. We took pictures, she sent them on to her in laws and she was a superstar. This was my second tour of this area and I must say a far better experience because of the guide and his personable way of making history come alive.
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Southeast US
3495 posts
Thanks for sharing your good experience.
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1 posts
Chris Emery, of VisitDDay.com, is the absolute best guide I’ve ever had for a private tour.
After researching available guides for a private 3-day tour of the Normandy beaches and associated battlefields, skirmishes, and nearby towns, I narrowed my selection down to two – Chris, and another well-reviewed gentleman. I am glad we chose Chris for our tour.
Initial contact was made about 6 months prior to our tour dates, and Chris spent that time getting to know us via email and a video call. He asked about our backgrounds and spent time probing how much we already knew about the invasion. I am thankful for those conversations, because instead of the standard tour showcasing just the most well-known sites, he realized that we were well prepared for our visit to Normandy and took us on an epic adventure that included crazy stories of individual bravery & heroism, hidden trails to German fortifications & positions, and perfect vantage points for watching parachute drops. There were flybys & overflights of DC3s, conversations with locals, a meet/greet with an actor from HBOs Band of Brothers, and many other moments that just awed us - all shared with an enthusiasm that never waned over 3 full days of touring the countryside.
We saw the major sites of course, but also found ourselves on small country lanes, surrounded by original bocage, listening to amazing tale after tale of the battle recounted from conversations he’s had with the actual veterans who fought in early June ’44. We stood in trenches cut into the bluffs overlooking Omaha beach most tourists (and guides!) have no idea still exist. Chris has an incredible vault of encyclopedic knowledge about the area, battles, and soldiers – all of which is reinforced with photographic and video documentation he shares with you on his iPad. When we heard the phrase “stop just here”, we knew we were about to hear and see something amazing.
By the end of our time, we realized that we were very fortunate in finding and working with Chris to create a tour that will remain in our memories forever. Don’t bother with anyone else, contact Chris Emery of VisitDDay.com. I promise you will be glad that you did.