Recommendation for D-Day Beaches minivan tour

Many folks have posted regarding positive experiences with overlord tours.

I can highly recommend Bayeux Shuttle. We used them as a day trip from Paris. Very good tour, knowledgeable guide, small group. Don’t know how they might fit your parameters, but check them out. We really enjoyed our day with them.

I was happy with my (full-day) Overlord Tour. I believe that company offers a half-day tour as well. However, I don't recommend doing that, and I don't understand your comment about choosing a half-day tour "to get more of the history of the region". Most of the tours depart from Bayeux (pretty town, good base), which is a significant drive from the key D-Day sights. That means that on a half-day tour, quite a lot of your time is spent just driving back and forth. A full-day tour allows you to see a great deal more--not twice as much, probably more like 3 or 3-1/2 times as much. Driving around by yourself is unlikely to be terribly informative. Honestly, unless you are a scholar of WW II, your reaction may be the same as mine: "Thank heavens for the driver/guide, because this just looks like a beach (or a hunk of concrete) to me."

There is indeed plenty related to the Normandy invasion for you to do on your own if you have an extra day. There are quite a few excellent museums--one on the outskirts of Bayeux, a huge one in Caen, one related to the civilian wartime experience (including the Resistance) in Falaise, plus others I did not see. Overlord's full-day tour allows just about enough time to see the Airborne Museum in St.-Mere-Eglise if you either pack your own lunch (recommended) or buy a sandwich and wolf it down. A sit-down lunch will pretty much consume all your free time there, meaning no museum for you.

I am not sure what to tell you about the need to book in advance. I don't know that the tours run as often in April as they do in high season. I waited until I was near Normandy before contacting Overlord and offered several days on which I was available. As a single traveler, I figured I had a good chance of being squeezed in somewhere. I think the company uses vans of at least two different sizes (maybe 9 passengers and 15?). I would select a company and send an email, asking for advice.

However, the weather in that area seemed quite changeable to me, and I'm not sure it's so critical to have the forecast in hand before booking a tour. I learned to head out every day with an umbrella and a hooded rain jacket, no matter what the weather forecast. I was there during the summer and it didn't often rain, but it looked threatening much of the time. The day I took the tour got quite hot in Bayeux (upper 80s, I think), but I wasn't aware of that at all, because it was overcast and breezy up near the beaches. We got sprinkled on for a few minutes that day.

There's a lot to enjoy in Normandy aside from the D-Day sites if you have the time, starting with Bayeux's tapestry, cathedral and old town. Then there are the picturesque coastal towns to the east, including Honfleur. Your car will be a big help there, freeing you from the tyranny of the train and bus schedules.

Another vote for Bayeux Shuttle. Our guide Lloyd was excellent! Dress warmly, it's windy on the beaches.

Karen,

One of the most consistently well rated tours is Overlord and as they offer both half and full day tours, that might be a good fit for you. I agree with comments in a previous post in that driving around on your own will not provide the same experience. Having an expert guide will make your visit so much more interesting and rewarding, and you'll learn far more about the history in a short period of time.

As you'll have a car, one other option would be to have a guide travel with you in your rental car. That would provide more of a "custom tour". You might contact Chris Emery at http://www.visitdday.com/about.html for details.

As April isn't far off, it would be prudent to book a tour as soon as you have your travel arrangements in place.

One final point to mention..... it would be a good idea for each driver to have an International Driver's Permit for driving in France, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. You may find this website helpful - https://us.france.fr/en/holiday-prep/renting-car-and-driving-france . Note the sentence which states "A valid driver’s license (permis de conduire) and passport are required to operate a motor vehicle." Be sure you don't leave your Passport in the hotel while you're driving.

I went with Overlord and they were excellent,our guide was very informative and they parked close to all of the sites that we visited.
Mike

Husband and I did a full day tour with Bayeux Shuttle Sept 2018. It was fantastic.
I'd think a half day tour would be far too short to cover much more than the drive to and from, it's a large area and sights are spread out.
Don't miss the sights in Bayeux itself.

Thanks so much for your replies! You have convinced me to take a full day tour of Normandy sights. Will work on booking that now.
Happy travels!
Karen