Accomodations for DDay Beaches

Many visitors to the D-Day Beaches sleep in Bayeux to make it easier to hook up with the best D-Day Beaches touring company, Battlebus. Possibly, because of your Dad's situation you would want to home-base out of there (Bayeux), that way you minimize the stress of changing accommodations and you're where Battlebus operates out of. I've got a feeling the Battlebus tours would be very meaningful to your Dad. Here's their website: Battlebus ToursLook at their "personal tours for WW2 veterans and their families" option. Every traveler reporting in here who has taken their tours give them outstanding reviews. Rick gives a detailed description of how to do what you want to do in the Normandy chapter of his France book. He also gives his recommendations for accommodations.What a great thing to do with your Dad! God bless and best wishes.

Thanks. I have tried a couple of places in Bayeux and they have no vacancies for Nov. 12-16. So, I was looking for suggestions. I have a 2002 RS France book but should probably buy a new one.

I would second Kent's suggestion of Bayeux. It is a beautiful little town and the people are very friendly. It makes a good base. Caen is not too far to drive to see the large WWII museum which is one of the best museums I've ever seen.
I know you are mainly interested in the D-Day beaches but take a couple of hours to see the tapestry in Bayeux. It is amazing and tells the story of William the Conqueror. It was fascinating.
Another good thing about Bayeux is that they get so many British, American and Canadian visitors that almost everyone speaks English.

Yes, I agree that it would be worth it to you to replace France 2002 with the 2008 or 2009 edition. France 2009 will be out on November 6, or you can buy France 2008 today at your bookstore. The 2008 edition gives 10 to 15 accommodations, not all in Bayeux but in the area. The accommodations situation has changed since 2002, which would have been based on 2001 info that's now almost 8 years old.

We stayed at the Hotel Churchill which was right in the middle of town. It was very comfortable - not fancy but the staff were all very nice. It is fairly small though so it might get booked up pretty far in advance.

Jean, I highly recommend the Hotel Churchill in Bayeux. We stayed there in May and really loved it. The people at the hotel were lovely, everyone spoke English, room was small but very clean. The hotel has parking and is centrally located. The only drawback for your Dad is that there is no elevator. We took the train but next time will rent a car. So many sights to see and a car would have been nice. We tried to get the Battlebus tour (I heard it was the best) but they were all booked up. The people at the hotel recommend the Overlord tour company. They did a good job but if you can try to get one of the Battlebus tours, book that asap. We also took the train to Caen and toured the war museum, really enjoyed that also. Have fun!

Hi Jean! We did a Battlebus tour this summer and absolutely loved it! I don't usually spend lots of money on things, but even at 80 euro per person, my wife and I felt it was well worth it! Our guide was wonderful and he talked about how he liked to personalize each place we went to, and talk about some of the individual soldiers who fought/served at that location. It made it a very special tour.

He also mentioned doing private tours a bit too, and talked about trying to research for veterans who he does tours for the places they actually were in during the Normandy campaign. He then likes to take them to those places and retrace their steps. Of course you could opt for the general tour, but your dad may be interested in this too. I can only imagine how powerful that could be, so it would be up to him to do that or not.

We stayed at the Hotel D'Argouges and loved it! Can't remember if they have an elevator or not, but it was a beautiful place! Hope you and your family have a wonderful trip!

Jed

I highly recommend the "Hotel D'Argouges" in Bayeux. It's in Rick's book and is a wonderful hotel. We just returned from our 4th stay there. The owner, Mme Ropartz, is warm, friendly, helpful and classsy. Her hotel is the same. It's more like a country estate, with beautiful gardens, public rooms, a great breakfast, parking, and really nice and extremely helpful staff. They obviously like their jobs because they, too, are very warm and friendly. It's in the heart of town and it's a joy to stay there. I agree with Battlebus Tours, they're very good Be sure to sign up as early as possible. My dad's a WWII vet also and Normandy is amazing. There's a lot written about the many museums, our favorite of them all is the WWII museum in Bayeux. Also, the French in Normandy are particularly nice and still very grateful for what the Americans/British/Canadians did for them. I hope you and your dad have a wonderful time.

Jean, it's wonderful that you have the opportunity to take this trip with both your father and son.

As the others have suggested, Bayeux is probably the best place to use as a "home base". The Hotel Churchill would be an excellent choice (if they have rooms available) as the BattleBus tours depart from their parking lot. You won't have time to wait for Rick's 2009 "France" book - go to your local Chapters or whatever and try and find a copy of the 2008 version. That will provide you with a list of Hotels, etc.

If you are planning on taking a BattleBus tour, I'd strongly suggest that you contact them ASAP (as soon as you've found a Hotel) and find out if they have any openings on the days you'll be there. Book the tour right away. Have a look at the tour descriptions to see which would be most suitable. The American Experience tour is a good choice, but depending on which Regiment your father was in, perhaps the Band of Brothers tour would be more appropriate.

Keep in mind these are a full day (about 9 hours). They're not overly strenuous, but be sure that your father can handle that. If I were in your position, I'd probably mention the circumstances of your trip when booking the tour.

Your father would also probably enjoy seeing the large Museum in Caen. As you'll have a rental Car, I'd suggest a GPS in addition to a good Map (so that you don't waste any time - I got lost briefly when I was driving in that area).

Good luck to all of you and happy travels!

Contact Battlebus as soon as possible and they can assist with hotel suggestions. Your time period is right after Veterans Day when a lot of people stationed in Europe like to go to Normandy. Battlebus really does like to have veterans come along and they go all out to honor and respect the service that these men did. We were absolutely impressed with this company.

Thank you so much for all the replies. I am so grateful. The Churchill has no vacancies. I have emailed your other suggestions. My father has some difficulty hearing, even with his hearing aids, especially soft-speaking people or non-American accents when speaking English. Would he be able to hear the tour guides?

Our guide Allan is British and spoke very clearly and loud enough for the group. If I'm not mistaken, Battlebus tour guides are all native English speakers(I think most, if not all, are British). The tours are all small too. Only 8 people, and all in a mini-van, so at the sites, it is very easy for everyone to be close to the guide while they talk.

My only "non-advice" is to skip the Caen Memorial Museum..Although WW2 is a focus it's not the whole story and i think it might be tiring. Hopefully you will be able to arrange a BattleBus tour..they DO take care of veterans (actually everyone..)My D-Day fAavorites (perhaps not quite the right word) are Arromanches , the American cemetary and Pointe du Hoc.

We stayed at a lovely place called Ferme de la Ranconniere (www.ranconniere.fr) in the tiny "village" of Crepon on the route to Arromanches. They have handicapped (ground floor) rooms available which would be easily accessible for your dad. The food in their restaurant is wonderful. It's an easy drive into Bayeux to the pick-up point for the Battlebus Tour (or the Overlord Tour also since they pick up at the same loation).

Another vote for the Ranconniere mentioned by Janis, been there and had same experience she did.

Here are a few more places to check:

http://www.hotel-de-sainte-croix.com/english/html/acces.html (we stayed here and it was absolutely lovely, but no elevator)

http://en.venere.com/bed_and_breakfasts_bayeux/ (this is a website with lots of listings in Bayeux)

I think if you contact Battlebus, they might be able to help you find a place with a ground floor room or with an elevator.

I would contact Paul and Myriam at Battlebus tours ASAP. Tell them about your dad's wishes, see if they have availability. They have recommendations for accommodations on their site. They would likely also be able to tell you of other places if necessary. We rode the train from Paris to Bayeux, stayed at the Churchill, and it was wonderful. You just cannot imagine how remarkable and moving the tours are, and they LOVE having veterans and often personalize tours for veterans...ours was Battlebus, and many others also highly recommend Overlord. You see so much more and hear so many wonderful stories when on these tours. Tell your father we say "thanks for his service." Have a wonderful trip.

I reserved a suite (2 bedrooms with adjoining bath) at Hotel D' Argouges in Bayeux. It is on the ground floor in the main house.
I am thinking of renting the VW Passatt from Andy at Europcar at GDC. He has given me the best price so far. Does anyone have suggestions or avoidances on car rentals? I have contacted battlebus but no answer yet.

Jean, I am so glad you chose Hotel D'Argouges...you will love it! No info on rentals, sorry, but I've rented a Passat before and it was a great car to drive and ride in.

You may want to call Battlebus. We had a problem with e-mail with them....they were very prompt with e-mail, but we have comcast.net and for some reason Comcast would block their e-mails to me. I ended up resorting to using my work e-mail as I couldn't figure out why they wouldn't reply. Maybe try an alternate e-mail or set one up with Yahoo. Based on our experience, they would e-mail back to let you know they didn't have room. Calling might be the best option. They speak English, so the hardest part would be the time change!

Also, the guides at Battlebus have no doubt been busy with the veterans who are at Normandy right now. I just read about the new monument dedicated yesterday at Utah Beach to the U.S. Navy for their part in D-Day. Don't give up on them. Call or write again.

Another vote for the Hotel D'Argouges. We stayed there the 15th-18th and loved it. They have private parking I believe. And just the most lovely and welcoming staff we experienced in France.

You were right about the email to Battlebus Tours. I tried from my work email and it was received and we were able to book a tour. Since my father is a WWII veteran, there is no charge for him to go on the tour. So glad to receive some good comments about our Hotel.

That's wonderful news Jean! I hope you have a wonderful trip! We've been going through our photos trying to put together a slide show for friends and was looking at our pictures from Hotel d Argouges and the Battlebus tour. Glad this all worked out!

Jed