Hello! My husband and I will be arriving in a Paris next July and are planning a day or two there and then on to Normandy specifically to give tribute and adequate time to the history of the region before commuting to Southampton to board a cruise to Norway. We prefer private guides and would love any and all recommendations. Further—if you have tips for the transit to Southampton that would be great.
Posted by
Midway, UT
3249 posts
Regarding getting from Normandy to Southampton: consider taking the Brittany Ferry from Ouistreham (the port of Caen) over to Portsmouth and then a short taxi or Uber ride from there to your port of departure. We did it in reverse a couple of years ago and I can't imagine a more pleasant way to make the crossing. We sprang for one of their cabins and so were able to grab a nap during the 6 hour trip. The boats are quite nice - some very nice food options with plenty of room to wander around and stretch your legs.
Many here recommend booking a small group tour with Overlord Tours and we heartily agree. They have a number of day tours that focus on specific interests that you can choose from. Ours was their "Band of Brothers" tour and it was outstanding. The guide was extremely professional, knowledgeable, and engaging, and we covered more ground in our well-paced day than I could have over several days of independent driving. Can't recommend them highly enough. The size of our particular group was about 8 people as I recall.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you so much for this incredibly thoughtful response and information—it’s exactly what I was hoping to learn. Your experience with the ferry sounds just up our alley, and I’ll check out Overlord Tours. Many thanks!
Posted by
Middletown, RI
1623 posts
I just took the ferry the other direction last month—from Portsmouth to Cherbourg. I had a great experience and it covered of my nights instead of a hotel. I will say they have been notoriously unreliable, so you either should be flexible or have a plan B (my plan B was a ticket on the Eurostar, which I didn't need to use, and for which I got a refund).