D-day tour is it worth 9 hours on the bus

[cruiser53]

We were initially interested in doing the D-day american cemetery tour in Normandy, but the tour is 9 hours long from Cherbourg where we will be docked, which is quite a long day.

Our other option is doing the Scenic drive down the country side of Normandy and a tour to Forbes Castle in Balleroy with a wine and cheese tasting, which is only 5 1/2 hours and looks beautiful.

I know these tours are both extremely opposite but I guess my question is whether the D-Day tour is something you should not miss and worth the 9 hours on the bus.

 

Your input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Tony

[John Bull]

We were initially interested in doing the D-day american cemetery tour in Normandy, but the tour is 9 hours long from Cherbourg where we will be docked, which is quite a long day.

Our other option is doing the Scenic drive down the country side of Normandy and a tour to Forbes Castle in Balleroy with a wine and cheese tasting, which is only 5 1/2 hours and looks beautiful.

I know these tours are both extremely opposite but I guess my question is whether the D-Day tour is something you should not miss and worth the 9 hours on the bus.

 

Your input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Tony

 

Only YOU can really decide.

But the D-Day tour will not be 9 hours on the bus. The very furthest you are likely to go is Arromanches, not much more than an hour from Cherbourg.

Whilst the cemetaries are very moving, unless you have connections with D-Day I doubt you'd want to spend the day touring cemetaries.

But I doubt whether this actually is a "cemetary" tour, I suspect it may visit just the major US cemetary near Colleville, plus the D-Day remnants, sights & museums of places like Ste Mere Eglise, Utah beach, Grandecamp Maisie, Pointe du Hoc, Arromanches, etc. Now they really do make for a very interesting & instructive day.

So it's worth checking out the itinerary of the D-Day tour before choosing.

 

Incidentally, the American involvement is concentrated at the Cherbourg end of the D-Day beaches, much closer & easier from Cherbourg than from Le Havre or any other port.

 

John Bull

[sddsddean]

How about doing it on your own and hiring a car? Then you can spend as long as you like at each place/museum. National Car will pick you up/drop off at the cruise terminal. We did it for €72 in November and got a free upgrade! Just a thought.

 

Simon

[John Bull]

How about doing it on your own and hiring a car? Then you can spend as long as you like at each place/museum. National Car will pick you up/drop off at the cruise terminal. We did it for €72 in November and got a free upgrade! Just a thought.

 

Simon

 

Yep, seen plenty of other such experiences on this site, and I've toured these sights by car no problem.

OP should be able to get plenty more info by searching previous threads, probably "Cherbourg" would be the ideal trigger word.

 

Unless "Sunday" :eek: is also appropriate, in which case finding a hire car may be hard work.

 

John Bull

[junglejane]

Let me explain why this question has no objective answer. Last summer I did the Normandy bus tour (from our Princess cruise) by myself. The wife and kids were not interested and wound up spending the day in Le Havre-- a nice day but not so memorable. On the other hand, I look back on my Normandy day as a highlight of the whole vacation.

 

The answer depends on how much of a nexus you have to the Normandy narrative based on your family history, plus your interest in politics and history, museums, movies, patriotic memorials, and so on. I am 47. My father was too young to serve in WW2 and grandparents were too old. But I'm a politics/history buff and know a fair bit about the war. Each stop is moving in its own way. It's weird to stand on Omaha beach, a pretty beach with lots of French kids building sandcastles, while a busload of American tourists is taking pictures as fast as they can.

 

Instead of a definitive, government-funded museum (as you see at many historical battlefields), Normandy has a bunch of little private "museums." This trade must have prospered in past decades as the WW2 generation came back; now they are in decline. The most professionally-curated museum is at the American cemetery. I was wistful to realize that, at 47, I was one of the youngest people on the bus. Nobody goes to WW1 memorials, I thought, and will D-Day fade away like that?

 

My tour did not drag. We worked our way west stop by stop--you only have an hour or so at each one, so you can't feel bored. The only long drive is back to Le Havre, which was 2 hours (?). But that was at day's end.

 

So, if you have no family link to the story and no historical interest, do something else. But I think it would be a mistake to miss the chance to visit these places once in your life.

[John Bull]

Hi JJ,

 

A couple of snippets that will probably be of interest to you, if nobody else.

 

The main govt-funded museum, the Memorial Museum, also known as the Peace Museum, is in Caen. Their web-site is poor, this one's better: http://www.aviationmuseum.eu/World/Europe/France/Caen/Memorial_de_Caen_Museum.htm

But because it's large and worthy of most of a day, & it's some distance from the American beaches, it doesn't really tie in with a one-day cruise call.

 

WW1 sites do receive a lot of visitors, including school trips from the UK, but of course they're in eastern France & Belgium & not in touristy areas, and the remnants are few. The cemetaries - and there are a frightening number of them - are beautifully maintained by the French & Belgian governments.

 

Believe me, neither war has been forgotten - even if some of the lessons have.

 

John Bull

[mazza]

My son and I went on a bus tour to Normandy from Paris some years ago (I had not discovered cruising then!), so it was a long day, but a good one.

 

Plenty of time to wander, look, explore, and stops for food etc. You do need to appreciate the historical side of things but at least here there are bunkers and some tangible relics you can see. The museum at Caan was good. I'm not a bit history buff (unlike my son) but I did enjoy the day a lot.

 

Link to my photos (sorry, quality not great because photos were scanned, and not all of them have captions - they were the landing beaches mainly): http://maree.smugmug.com/Travel/Europe/2000-France/1908793_FboxE#96406488_PdEHQ

[elphin]

The short answer to the question is a certain no!

Go to Chartes or Honfleur relax and enjoy France.

Yes the fields have a lot of significance but there really isn't much to see so unless you have a relative that lost his life there it is certainly not worth nine hours on a bus.

[mazza]

The short answer to the question is a certain no!

Go to Chartes or Honfleur relax and enjoy France.

Yes the fields have a lot of significance but there really isn't much to see so unless you have a relative that lost his life there it is certainly not worth nine hours on a bus.

 

Not sure about that - I knew no one who had fought there but it was a very interesting day, and I found lots to see, including some towns and lots of countryside. It really does depend on whether you like history. You would be much closer to the beaches than Paris where we started, and I didn't find the actual time to travel there all that onerous. Sure, it's a long day, but it really does depend on what you value most and whether that is worth a 9 hour tour - only you can make that decision.

[John Bull]

The short answer to the question is a certain no!

 

Go to Chartes or Honfleur relax and enjoy France.

 

Yes the fields have a lot of significance but there really isn't much to see so unless you have a relative that lost his life there it is certainly not worth nine hours on a bus.

 

Sorry, Elphin, but you simply don't know your stuff.

Fields? I think you were looking in the wrong places :D

 

OP would spend little more than 2 of his 9 hours on the D-Day bus.

 

Yet you're suggesting Chartres, 4 hours each-way from Cherbourg, that's EIGHT out of his 9 hours on the road :eek:

Same distance as Cherbourg-Paris ! ! ! !

How'd you come up with that one? :confused::confused:

 

Or Honfleur, a pleasant little town with a picturesque harbour. Popular for a lazy day from Le Havre, under 1/2 hr away.

But from Cherbourg? ? ? ? ?

2 hours of dual carriageway in each direction = FOUR hours on the road.:eek:

Yet just 20 mins out of Cherbourg that route passes Ste Mere Eglise (Airborne Museum etc) and over the next 30 mins it runs parallel to a host of sites, relics, cemetaries, museums etc strung along the coast as far as Arromanches, at the end of the US sector. But still way over an hour from Honfleur.:eek:

 

Most folk will go to the D-Day sights, on ship's tour, local tourguide, or independently by hire car.

Some will make the long slog to Mont St Michel, a fairly boring 2 hrs e/w, but quite a spectacular place.

OP's other thought was Balleroy - a place I don't know, about the same distance as Arromanches but south if it, and also something over an hour from Cherbourg, so time on coach would be about the same as D-Day beaches.

 

Time you checked a map, Elphin.

 

John Bull

[chezcarp]

Only YOU can really decide.

But the D-Day tour will not be 9 hours on the bus. The very furthest you are likely to go is Arromanches, not much more than an hour from Cherbourg.

Whilst the cemetaries are very moving, unless you have connections with D-Day I doubt you'd want to spend the day touring cemetaries.

But I doubt whether this actually is a "cemetary" tour, I suspect it may visit just the major US cemetary near Colleville, plus the D-Day remnants, sights & museums of places like Ste Mere Eglise, Utah beach, Grandecamp Maisie, Pointe du Hoc, Arromanches, etc. Now they really do make for a very interesting & instructive day.

So it's worth checking out the itinerary of the D-Day tour before choosing.

 

Incidentally, the American involvement is concentrated at the Cherbourg end of the D-Day beaches, much closer & easier from Cherbourg than from Le Havre or any other port.

 

John Bull

Mr. Bull, I have read with interest your comments on Cherbourg. We are in very early stages of planning a cruise with Cherbourg as a port of call. I really don't know how to communicate very well on CC but I just tried to make you a friend. My husband and I are VERY eager to see the Normandy Landing Beach areas, primarily where US was key component. I would like to correspond with you to get more information if agreeable with you. If so, please contact me at bcarpenter15@triad.rr.com. Thank you, Betty Carpenter

[diligaf51]

Normandy is the single most interesting excursion I have had while on a cruise. If you get a good guide, it will be unforgettable. Do not spend the entire day in LeHavre. Another decent side trip is to Rouen. But nothing like a tour of the Normandy beaches, cemetary, etc. We went from Cherbourg on a four hour trip and still was amazing. That may be another option for you.

[cristine]

Mr. Bull, I have read with interest your comments on Cherbourg. We are in very early stages of planning a cruise with Cherbourg as a port of call. I really don't know how to communicate very well on CC but I just tried to make you a friend. My husband and I are VERY eager to see the Normandy Landing Beach areas, primarily where US was key component. I would like to correspond with you to get more information if agreeable with you. If so, please contact me at bcarpenter15@triad.rr.com. Thank you, Betty Carpenter

I too would be very interested in more information. You can contact me at cristine56@aol.com

Thank you

[John Bull]

I too would be very interested in more information. You can contact me at...

 

Hi Christine,

E-mail sent, hope it was useful.

 

For others interested in a self-drive D-Day itinerary from Cherbourg, the relevant part of the info is:

 

Best to follow this on a map, mebbe google-maps.

 

Take the fast main N13 dual carriageway (divided highway) out of Cherbourg, it'll be signed variously Caen, Rouen, Paris.

In 48 miles, something under an hour, take the ramp & bridge to join the D517 northwards through Formigny to St Laurent (2 miles). Turn right in the village square, onto the D514 (prob signposted Port En Bassin) and in 1.5 miles the last exit at the roundabout (you call it traffic island?) leads to the main American Cemetery. Plenty of parking. Worthy of an hour or so.

The cemetary is close to Omaha Beach, though I'm not sure how you'd reach it from the cemetary either by vehicle or on foot - there have been some infrastructure changes. There are little lanes leading off the D514 to the beach just a few hundred yards further along in Colleville.

http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/no.php

 

If you are up with the clock, continue eastwards on the D514 through Colleville, Sainte Honorine, Port en Bassin, to Arromanches. (12 miles, quite slow country road).

This is where the "Mulberry harbour" was built in the few days after D-Day, some of the large caissons remain on the beach, and there's a decent little museum on the seafront http://www.musee-arromanches.fr/accueil/index.php?lang=uk

One-way traffic system. Parking can be tricky - always room in sidestreets but mebbe up to a 10 min walk. Worthy of an hour or so.

Eastwards from Arromanches to Ouistreham (Caen) are the British & Commonwealth beaches. Lots to see, good sites & museums, good to get the perspective that D-Day wasn't just an "American" thing. But of course of less interest to Americans, and it's not possible to include in a day-trip from Cherbourg.

 

From Arromanches, return same way past the American Cemetery, remaining on this road past where you joined it in St Laurent and after a further 6 miles you'll reach Pointe du Hoc. The clifftop is pock-marked with craters, must have been awesome, lots of fortifications & the remains of some guns. There's a museum-cum-cinema nearby. Worthy of an hour or so.

Lots of info on many websites, just google it.

 

2 miles further on, you drop down into Grandcamp-Maisy - little to do with D-Day, but a pleasant enough little french fishing port. So you may want to peel off to the right at the fork on the edge of the village & drive along the seafront & past the harbour. You can grab a coffee or a bite. It doesn't have "tourist" facilities, but how difficult can it be to ask for a coffee?

Beyond the harbour re-join the D514, which in 5 miles takes you back to the main N13 at Osmanville. NB No direct access west-bound, so at the roundabout before the road crosses over the N13 take the last exit (signed N13 Cherbourg) & follow the signs to join the N13.

 

After 10 miles on the N13, and 6 miles before Ste Mere Eglise, if time permits take the ramp for Saint Come du Mont/St Marie du Mont, & at the end of the ramp turn right onto the D913 through Ste Maire du Mont (D-Day associations and a museum, I've not visited it) & remain on this road to the eastern end of Utah Beach at La Madeleine, about 8 miles from where you left the N13. Large & interesting museum. Worth about an hour. http://www.utah-beach.com/

You can then drive along the beach-front road, quite desolate & featureless dunes, for about 5 miles to Ravenoville-Plage at the western end of Utah. Small museum in a gun emplacement, worth 10 to 15 mins maximum.

 

Then inland 2 miles on unclassified lane to Ravenoville & 4 miles on the D15 to Ste Mere Eglise. Pleasant little town, dummy of the Airborne parachutist on the church roof (google it for the full story), excellent Airborne Museum opposite the church http://www.musee-airborne.com/eng/home.php

Plenty of cafes etc. Parking can be a little troublesome but better than Arromanches. Worthy of an hour or more.

 

At St Mere Eglise you are just off the N13, 24 miles & 30 mins from your ship.

 

Total distances (its worth double-checking my arithmetic):

82 miles on the N13, at say 60mph/100kph (speed limit 130 kph dry/110 kph wet)

40 miles on minor roads & lanes at say 25mph/42kph

Total distance/ travelling time.122 miles, 3 hours

Plus total time at places of interest 5 hours, plus say one hour parking, etc. means 9 hours ship-to-ship

 

I suggest you trim to suit your preferences & time available, work out your timetable, then on the day add or subtract according to the time.

 

John Bull