Small tours of Normandy Beaches

Try these as recommended in the Rick Steves' France guidebook: ddayhistorian.com dewintertours.com Normandy-sightseeing-tours.com. Normandypanorama.com

I used overlordtour.com in 2008 for two separate full day tours. They were very good.

If you rent a car, Chris at Visit D-Day (www.visitdday.com) gets in your car and navigates, while giving you a fantastic perspective on the area. We spent a day with him this June and it was worth every penny. Because you drive, his fee is reasonable for a private tour. You can let him know if you have specific interests or certain things you want to see and he will incorporate into the day. Very highly recommend. And if you need a place to stay, he and his lovely wife run a bed and breakfast, Navy & Co.

Steena,

I would not recommend just renting a car and wandering about Normandy on your own. The historic sights are spread out over about a 50 mile front and extend some distance inland. Unless you know where you're going and where each of the sights are located, you'll waste a lot of time and the experience won't be as interesting as with a guide. Some have used the self-guided approach but that requires a lot of research and pre-planning.

There are a couple of choices you could consider......

• as someone else suggested, you could rent a car and use Chris as your guide. He's ex-British military, lives in Normandy as is very familiar with the various locations.
• without a car you could take the train to Bayeux and spend a few nights there. Book a tour with one of the excellent local operators. Overlord Tour is very popular as they offer both full and half-day tours, and provide transportation. You could also look at D-Day Historian (Paul) or Dale Booth Normandy tours (Dale is also ex-British military, also lives in Normandy and also runs a B&B).

There is at least one car rental agency in Bayeux (Hertz, as I recall) operating out of a gas station, and many more rental firms in Caen.

There are numerous tour firms in Normandy, so there's no reason to take one of the impersonal big bus tours. Whichever route you decide to take, I would highly recommend booking the tour early! If staying in Bayeux, also make time to visit the WW-II Museum there and of course the famous Tapestry with depicts a much earlier battle.

Touring with a guide will provide a much more interesting, rewarding and memorable visit to Normandy.

I have visited Normandy a half-dozen times, including last June, and the 70th anniversary. Although I have never taken a tour, here is my take.
If you know a bit about the battle and the geography—and if you are comfortable driving in France, and if you have some time to truly immerse yourself in the area—you can tour the area yourself and see the places you want to see. I find driving around Normandy very easy and a good way to not only see the sights, but to get in touch with the area and the people. As has been mentioned, it is a large area (45 miles from Utah Beach to Sword as the crow flies), with too much to see in one trip no matter how much time you have. So having a good plan, a list of "must-see sights," and an independent spirit, you will do great touring and visiting on your own.
However, if you are not familiar with the battle and how it played out on the land, or if you aren't comfortable driving in France, or if you have a very limited time to visit, it would make sense to me to have someone "show you around." Again, I haven't taken a tour, but may of them come highly recommended. But I will add in closing that some of my most special moments on Normandy have been those that weren't planned, but were things that I stumbled upon while exploring the countryside on my own with a little time to spare. Either way will probably work out fine as long as you do your homework (either researching the area, or the tour guides). Enjoy it, and plan to come back if you can.

I used Overlord tours two years ago and they use a mini van so the tour is personalized and our guide was very knowledgeable,the pickup place was 300 feet from the Hotel Churchill which is a great hotel to stay and they have lots of WWII memoribilia .The tour and hotel are a great combo and the hotel is two blocks from the Tapestry Museum and the WWII museum is about 20-30 minute walk from the hotel.
Mike

I'm with Ken; a good guide will vastly enhance the experience. Although I know a fair amount about the invasion, I could never have appreciated the context and topography on my own as well as the guide did. The car rental offices in Caen are conveniently near the rail station. The city has more choices for accommodation and dining than Bayeux. The peace centre in Caen receives positive reviews and runs tours. William the Conquerer's fortress palace in the centre of Caen is worth a look too.

This response is going to sound schizophrenic - but here we go.

We've visited Normandy with a focus on the Invasion sites 3 times now and I found it very easy and preferable to drive around and see the sites at my own speed - BUT - I had read more than a dozen books about the invasion and had a pile of info piled up in my head prior to the first trip.

If you aren't a history buff I think a good guide would be invaluable - as mentioned there is much to see and it covers a lot of territory - depending on how deep you decide to dive into it.

A resource I would recommend that has every last detail you might want (including the history) is Major and Mrs Holt's Definitive Battlefield Guide for Normandy. If you have this book and their detailed map of the area you could easily pick out what it is you want to see and give your tour guide the list so he could really focus on what interests you.

Have fun!

We took a two day "American Experience" tour and a one day "Band of Brothers/101st Airborne" tour in 2010 out of Bayeux. Both of our guides were fantastic and are now in business for themselves. Sean Claxton with Normandy Insight provides tours using your vehicle. Jules Vernon with Military Might D Day tours provides transportation with his tours.

I would highly recommend hiring a guide, unless you are extremely knowledgeable about the Battle of Normandy and also familiar with the roads in the area.

I recommend both. I would do a full day tour 1st day, then tour on my own 2nd and third day, if you know a lot of the history. If you don't know the history well, a two day tour and one day on your own.

We know the history well and we toured on our own 6 times, for a week each time, but on our 7th visit we did a full day tour with Overlord (I believe) and it was well worth it. I did not feel we had enough time at each stop so we went back, on our own, for the remaining days we were there. Doing both a tour, and on our own, is ideal.

I agree that driving in Normandy is super easy. We especially love driving the two lane roads and exploring. It's a treat.

We've gotten to Bayeux, where we prefer staying, many different ways... the best for us was a train to Caen then a rental car right from the station.

As Ken mentioned, the WWII museum in Bayeux is worth your time... the best one of all imo.

Steena, This is from our post on a similar inquiry a few months ago:

Bertrand Saudrais (Executive D-Day Tours) offers an excellent all-day tour, customized to your particular interests. He picks you up at your hotel/accommodation, provides a top notch commentary supplemented with photos and maps, and is a charming, humorous and extremely well-informed guide.

Detailed reviews (ours is attributed to MandR818) at: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187181-d1788361-Reviews-Executive_D_Day_Private_Tours-Bayeux_Calvados_Basse_Normandie_Normandy.html

His website: http://www.executived-daytours.com/

"Bang for Buck?" It's not cheap, but when you factor in the quality of the tour; the advantages of not having to drive, navigate, park; and the overall convenience, we felt it was a worthwhile splurge.

If you rent a car I would highly recommend you either bring your own GPS or rent a vehicle with one supplied. The roads in the area are twisting and sometimes have confusing marking. Plus some of the most charming roads in tiny villages are barely wide enough for a car and bus to pass each other going in opposite directs. If you have time I also highly recommend Arromanches les Bains. This is Gold beach I believe. Driving in Normandy is still far, far easier than driving in England. It's just a question of how much you enjoy or hate driving. As an added note, we always take our American guests to this area, which would make it about once every year or two.