Normandy self guide or private tour?

Tour - the company which I went on a tour with several years ago is no longer operating but you will learn much more, go to more interesting places and come to a much better understanding of the breadth and depth of the D-Day invasion with a guided tour.

We did the British and Candian beaches, museum on our own and took a guided tour of the American beaches, sites. Our hotel arranged the tour for us.

Tour. We used overlords, but there are many excellent ones out there.

roach,

Most definitely a tour with one of the excellent local guides. As you'll have a car, my suggestion would be to have a guide travel in the car with you, and THIS is a guide that I'd recommend. if you'd rather take one of the tours that provides transportation, you could look at Overlord Tours or one of the others. Whichever guide you decide on, it would be a really good idea to pre-book well in advance.

A few other points to mention. A GPS along with a good map would be prudent. Also, each driver registered on the rental form will require an International Driver's Permit (which is used in conjunction with your home D.L.) OR a certified translation of the terms of your home D.L. in French. That is compulsory!

If it fits your budget, there are many advantages to a tour guide with his/her own vehicle: (i) no navigation issues, you can sit back and enjoy the countryside between D-Day sites; (ii) no parking issues; (iii) unless you are a serious student of the subject, you'll likely find it far more educational/interesting than self-guided. The Forum has several earlier threads with recommendations. We used Bertrand Saudrais (Executive D-Day Tours): excellent all-day tour, customized to your particular interests; picks you up/delivers you back to your hotel; running commentary supplemented with photos, maps, anecdotes; charming, humorous and thoughtful (suggested a carry-out lunch from cafe in Sainte-Mère-Église that we enjoyed while riding to the next stop -- not a wasted moment, all day). His website: http://www.executived-daytours.com/ (includes a button/link to TripAdvisor reviews.)

Plus one for Ken's recommendation of Chris at Visit D Day. He hops in your rental car with you and navigates while you drive. All the benefits of a private tour at a much lower cost. He'll customize to your interests. And he's awesome. :)

Ditto what everyone said above re: hire a tour guide. It's worth the investment for what may be a once-in-a-lifetime trip. The private guides dedicate a full 8 hours to getting you efficiently to all the sites that are important to you, explaining the history in great detail, and providing a refined, comprehensive sense of the historical events. We used Paul Woodadge (he can be found via Google) and I think we paid about $600 for a full-day private tour. The next day, we took a half-day group tour with Overlord and paid $150. Respectfully, there's a reason why the private tour guides are preferred. If you can fit it into your budget, hire a guide. They do generally book up months in advance. Enjoy Normandy; it's a special place.