What is the best guide for a D-Day full day tour. We will be staying in Bayeux. We are going to visit the Bayeux tapestry and visit some museums on our own on our 1st day but our looking for recommendations for a tour.
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
5431 posts
Overlord tours are the one most often recommended on this forum. But there are many threads on this topic if you do a search for DDay tours: https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&date_range=1y&filter=Travel+Forum&query=D+day+tours&utf8=%E2%9C%93
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14732 posts
I have toured the DDay area twice and the guide who was excellent was Dale Booth.
https://dboothnormandytours.com/
When are you planning to visit? A friend was trying to book him for June and he told them none of the guides schedule tours for June 6 because it is so crowded but they were able to book another day.
If you had anyone in your family who landed in or jumped into Normandy, do a little research and find their unit information. From that Dale may be able to tell you about where they came ashore or landed.
Posted by
6 posts
You're going to love Bayeux! We just visited in December with our family including our daughter in law and her Mom that are not so much into war history and did a tour of American Battle sites in Normandy with Dale Booth, and even they loved it! He was absolutely fantastic and I highly recommend him!
To give you a flavor of his tours: at both Utah and Omaha beaches he draws the entire battle in the sand on the beach while pointing out the relevant landmarks...this after he has shown you German defenses and strategies on the way to the beaches; he takes you to a small church used as a make-shift medic area and relays a first-hand account of what actually happened there on the day of the battle - an account taken from an interview he personally conducted with the medics who were there.
It was a highlight of our 2-week trip and we enjoyed the tour and the area so much, we will go back and do another with him in the future! We were very fortunate that he was available! You couldn't ask for a better tour guide for this piece of history!
Posted by
Upstate New York
94 posts
Be sure to visit the US military cemeteries. They offer a very moving experience and should not be missed. Reading the headstones gives a reminder - so many of those soldiers were just teenagers. So sad and yet such a powerful example of heroism and patriotism.
Posted by
Freedonia
16278 posts
Another vote for Overlord Tours. Probably one of the best one day tours I've ever taken.
Posted by
15 posts
I second the Dale Booth Tours, Dale was already booked (he books up fast) for our dates but his wife came up with an alternative where she drove and they brought in another guide to do the same tour who was excellent. So we did two days with Dale Booth Tours and the second day was worth it.
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10601 posts
We enjoyed our Overlord tour last October and I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again.
Posted by
3 posts
In December, we had a private tour for our family (2 adults, 16-year old son) with Dale Booth. [dboothnormandytours.com]
Dale is fantiastically knowledgable, and his passion made the day fabulous for all of us. Our tour was from 8:30 AM to around 4 PM (we got a bit worn out and ended an hour or so early) with six or seven well-planned stops.
We will be booking with Dale on our next trip to Normandy.
10/10