My wife and I will be staying in Bayeux 5 full days in late April and would like to book some tours to visit the Normandy areas. We are not planning to rent a car.
Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Posted by
Lewiston, Idaho, USA
2092 posts
Michael, Rick has several tours listed in his France 2014 guidebook. Last June we had a tour with Ellwood von Seibel which was absolutely outstanding. I can't say enough good things about Ellwood and his presentaiton. We stayed in Bayeux at Hotel Churchill so took the train to Carentan and back; in 2009 we stayed at l'Hotel d'Argouges and went with Battlebus tours which were also excellent.
Posted by
Used to be Steilacoom, now it’s Las Vegas
2296 posts
There is also Overlord, which seems to get consistently good reviews. Dale Booth ( I think he's going by Dale Booth Tours) is outstanding, but I suspect he is well-booked by now. But, worth as try.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32350 posts
Michael,
You might it helpful to read this recent Thread....
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/day-tours/tours-from-bayeux-to-normandy-sites
Posted by
Kingwood, Texas
2 posts
My wife and I used Victory Tours - http://lignerolles.homestead.com/ - in 2008 and some friends used it last year. Roel is an excellent guide, best we have ever had anywhere. We stayed at his chateau and were lucky enough to have a private tour because no one else had signed up. Tours are limited to 8 people. I found Victory on google and then in Rick's 2008 France Guidebook. I would not hesitate t book another tour with Roel (pronounced Rule in west Texan)
We were totally blown away by Roel's knowledge. Watched nazis mega weapons - the Atlantic wall - on PBS last week and it included several things Roel told us including the last German machine gunner firing at Omaha. Roel had actually met him several years ago in the American cemetery.
Posted by
Chicago
8550 posts
We spent two nights at the Churchill a year ago October and took an all day tour of the American beaches through Overlord Tours. It was a great experience and the launch point is is just around the corner from the hotel. We had a car but had done this 5 night Normandy trip at the last minute and didn't want to do the homework to put together our own car tour of the beaches. At that time of year it would have been easy to do as parking was not an issue in late October. The guide was knowledgeable and we visited Omaha, Iowa, the American Cemetery, Eglise sur Mer, the Airborne Museum, Pointe du Hoc, and Angoleme. I would definitely recommend this company. They also have tours of the British/Canadian landing sites and longer and shorter tours.
The Churchill also runs a day tour to Mont St. Michel in a small van. I understand this tour books up quickly so if you want to do that, do it as soon as you know your dates there. We had done MSM the day before coming to Bayeux, spending one night in the area. After Bayeux we did two nights in Honfleur and spent the full day on a side trip to Etretat which was pretty wonderful even in so so weather. You can see some pictures of some of these areas including Bayeux at www.janettravels.wordpress.com under the Normandy category. The Churchill and other hotels in that central area are also just steps from the fabulous Bayeux Tapestry and the Cathedral. The Tapestry is something I had heard of all my life and it totally lived up to its reputation -- which so many things don't.
If you can work in a trip to Honfleur or perhaps some of the nearby beach towns like Deauville and Troueville that would be worth doing. I don't know if there is good public transport to Etretat, but it is sucha wonderful spot that I would look into the possibility.