Nomandy D-Day beache Tours

We took a 9 hour tour with Battle Bus Tours. We arrived one day - toured the next day and left on the 3rd day. It was well worth the price as the tour guide knew more about the landing than I did - which surprised me.

There are several tours to choose from.

http://www.battlebus.fr/

If it is a nice day you can actually stroll from the train station to your hotel.

John, the thing that we didn't realize (or maybe just had not thought about it) is now MASSIVE the beach areas are. Something like 50 miles from one end to the other and then the areas behind the beaches which was equally important. If you want a good appreciation of the beaches and the whole landing process, then the tour is the way to go. You can rent a car and do it on your own but I don't think it would be as meaningful

John, I most certainly agree with the others here - a tour is the best way to see the D-Day sites. To answer your question, yes the BattleBus Tours are worth €80! The Guides are incredibly knowledgeable and present an excellent description of the events, often with information obtained from veterans.

My experience was similar to that of JB - I thought I knew a lot about D-Day history, but the BattleBus Guides were much more knowledgeable. Given that you'll only be in Bayeux for two days, you might consider doing a tour one day and seeing the Tapestry and Bayeux on the second day.

Happy travels!

Yes, they are absolutely worth it!

The War Memorial Museum at Caen does a brilliant one-day tour and also a two-day tour.

Bon voyage!

My husband & I thought it was definitely worth it. The information you will get from the tour guide is so worth the money. You will leave with such a better understanding of strategy, etc. We did the Battlebus tour, and it was amazing. Wish we had had time for a 2-day tour!

I my add that the Battle Bus tours are in a 8-10 person van.

Also wish had the time for a 2nd day tour...I believe it was the Band of Brothers Tour.

YES. Battlebus is worth every Euro. We just took the two day American Experience tour in June with Paul Woodadge as our guide, as well as the Band of Brothers tour with Allen as guide...three days of REMARKABLE and poignant stories, drama, humor, beaches, churches, hedgerows, bridges, farmhouses, villages, memorials, museums, and more than anyone can ever explain. We saw FAR more than we ever would have trying to see Normandy on our own in our few days there. Memories for a lifetime. Small group...driver and 7 passengers. Just can't wait to share the stories with my history students... stories that just aren't in the books.

When I went last year, I did the half-day tour given by the Caen Museum. Having a guide is definitely worthwhile and makes the visit more meaningful. I was a little disappointed in the half-day tour, which isn't enough time and the guide wasn't the best. I had actually wanted to go on a full-day Battlebus tour but it was full on the day I was in the area. It's perfect if you're staying in Bayeux since the tour leaves from there.

With a car and a good guidebook, it's also do-able. Buses are too sparse. There is a bus route that drops you off at each major site in the summer, but it doesn't run on weekends.

Last week I took a tour out of Paris on something called Paris Tours...I think was the name. It was a one day tour and much more expensive than what I am reading about this one called Battlebus. I wish I would have known about it. Seeing these areas was wonderful. The villages, beaches and surrounding countryside are just magnificent. And that doesn't include how beautiful and moving was the experience of Omaha Beach and the American cemetery.

Also, we booked our 3 days of Battlebus tours MONTHS in advance for our June trip. From what I have read, Overlord and the other tours also fill up, so it's best to reserve well in advance of your arrival. They all use small vans. So if you decide on one of these tours, you should contact them very soon.

We did the Battle Bus 2 day American Experience tour for 120 euro per person. Well worth it and we were so glad we had 2 days to experience all of this and not just 1 day. We would like to go back and do the Canadian and British Experience too. The passion of the guides was wonderful. We had Sean for both days. Absolutely great. Bayeux itself is lovely too, with beautiful bed and breakfasts. Look online for the wide choice.