Juno beach

[Deer230]

Our cruise will be docking at LeHavre and I want to go to Juno Beach. Any suggestions re bus, taxi or a tour.

 

Also how long does it take to get there? Thanks

[CruiserBruce]

Juno Beach is in France. The France Port board is here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=593

[Deer230]

We are on a British isles cruise that stops in Normandy. Hope that someone else has travelled from Le havre to the Normandy Beaches and can give advice

[LHT28]

If not too late I would rent a car & drive

We had a hard time getting a tour guide to go to the Canadian/British sites

Check the France forum there may be some info there but I would rent a car next time we go

[John Bull]

If not too late I would rent a car & drive

We had a hard time getting a tour guide to go to the Canadian/British sites

Check the France forum there may be some info there but I would rent a car next time we go

 

 

Hi, & welcome to Cruise Critic,

 

I'll echo number 28's suggestion that you rent a car (difficult if it's a sunday). 70 miles, mainly fast divided highway, about 90 mins. You should be able to recruit Canuks to share a car, either on the RollCall for your ship, or once on-board.

 

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=Le+Havre,+France&daddr=Rue+de+Ver%2FD514&hl=en&ll=49.409186,-0.32135&spn=0.7309,1.551819&sll=49.32736,-0.441513&sspn=0.045758,0.096989&geocode=FWI58wIdmaUBACl9iyGVIy_gRzESrzOveobBWw%3BFXDJ8AIdCPD4_w&doflg=ptm&mra=dme&mrsp=1&sz=13&t=m&z=9

There's a Canadian museum/centre at the beach, just across the harbour at Courseulles-sur-mer.

http://www.junobeach.org/centre/index.html

 

On your way out or back, stop off at the museum & bridge at Pegasus Bridge, near Caen. Also consider carrying on beyond Juno for about 15 miles to Arromanches, & a further 5 or 6 miles to Omaha beach & the American cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer.

 

And check out this thread

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1596313

 

To find your ship's RollCall, scroll to the bottom of this page & click on the arrow at "forum jump". This will bring up all the forums, then navigate RollCalls..... your cruiseline ..... your ship ..... your sailing date. Here you'll meet others on your cruise.

 

JB :)

[tully07]

Deer 230

 

I agree with John Bull -- if you have the time, don't limit your visit to Juno Beach . Last fall, I had the opportunity to visit Juno Beach, Arromanches, Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery, Pointe du Hoc and Pegasus Bridge -- really, they're all worth a visit. The D-Day landings involved the Canadians, British and Americans -- and each site acknowledges this in presentations and exhibits. I was particularly moved by the exhibits at the new presentation centre at the American Cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach.

[jwds]

You might try: http://www.taxis-le-havre.com/

 

They do not show a Juno tour but I suspect that they would negotiate one.

[paperclips]

I'm on the May 14th British Isles cruise ......... anyone have any suggestions other than rent a car to see Juno Beach , I'm exhausting all possibilities ....... too bad I'm not on the July 8th cruise, I'd join that couple who have 4 more seat left

[LHT28]

I'm on the May 14th British Isles cruise ......... anyone have any suggestions other than rent a car to see Juno Beach , I'm exhausting all possibilities ....... too bad I'm not on the July 8th cruise, I'd join that couple who have 4 more seat left

 

did you check with the company they are using?

 

Unless you you have a group of 4 + it is very expensive & some guide will not even come to the port to pick up up

I seem to recall some tours at the dock but by then we had just given up in seeing the Canadian sites

 

good luck

[paperclips]

Thanks ..... I'm on my own so this will be difficult. Looks like I'll have to visit Normandy again on another tour that goes to Juno Beach.

As I said the ships tour just concentrates on the American sites.

[LHT28]

Thanks ..... I'm on my own so this will be difficult. Looks like I'll have to visit Normandy again on another tour that goes to Juno Beach.

As I said the ships tour just concentrates on the American sites.

Yes it is too bad they do not do the Canadian/British sites for those passengers that are interested in them

[Green Recruit]

Yes it is too bad they do not do the Canadian/British sites for those passengers that are interested in them

 

This thread migrated to the Europe-France discussion and I posted some information about renting and driving to the Canadian sites. Go to that thread for some other details.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1597065

 

Unless you are totally uncomfortable with renting, driving and managing your own tour, I would suggest that since you are so close to seeing the Canadian and British sites that you take advantage of that possibility.

 

We are on the Independance of the Seas in late 2013 and although we have been to Normandy several times, we will be renting a car and visiting once again. In fact, we have two seperate cruises which dock at LeHavre as the last port of one cruise and the first of the next cruise and are planning a 3-4 day rental with leaving the car at the port for one day and picking it up on day 3. At present on the first trip, other than having lunch at the Cafe Gondree at Pegasus Bridge, the agenda is still open, but we wont venture beyond Bayeax. On the 2nd trip we plan to visit Dieppe and drive back along the coast highway to LeHavre.

 

The British and Canadian beaches are closer to LeHavre and that gains you extra time compared to traveling to Omaha, Pointe du Hoc and Ste Mere Eglise, which add at least 2-3 hours more time onou the road (there and back). We are from the US but have toured Normandy and have been to WWII sites from Caen to Cherbourg to Mont St Michel and Falaise-Argentan. I could answer most question about the sites and a historical perspective, but as I mentioned in another post, do some homework and decide if there are some areas that you would want to visit. A good reference on most of the sites and monuments to see is "Major and Mrs Holts Guide to the Normandy Battlefields".

 

http://www.guide-books.co.uk/normandy.html

 

Dion Osika

[Lynnees]

We've done it twice. You are better to rent a car and drive. It's a fair drive but you can easily do it in a day. The buses from the ship do not stop at Juno, they go on to the American beaches which are quite a bit farther down. If you drive yourself, you will also have time to stop in the Juno Beach Museum.

[paperclips]

thanks for the replies to my query.

Looks like I'll have to give up ......... maybe something will come about on the ship but I'm not holding out any hope.

I'll just have to visit Normandy again. Which I guess isn't the end of the world! :)

[bconley351]

Just noticed this thread. Last year our rollcall had 2 excursions going with Overlord Tours. I believe the 2 organizers sorted out the Americans and Canadians, which allowed 1 full minivan going to each set of beaches. Have you checked in with your rollcall?

[canuck.qc]

thanks for the replies to my query.

Looks like I'll have to give up ......... maybe something will come about on the ship but I'm not holding out any hope.

I'll just have to visit Normandy again. Which I guess isn't the end of the world! :)

Don't give up yet..I have recently booked a CdnD.Day beach drive thru Pierre Dublet at cabtourservice.com> His price is good and even if you were to go alone it is very affordable. There's always a last minute sprint for offers to share on your RollCall days before sailing.

[oakvilleshopper]

We are on a British Isles Carnival Legend cruise September 13 - 25 and want to visit Juno Beach while in port at Le Havre.The transfer rate (6 hrs with a minimum of 3 hrs on JUNO Beach) rate is 480.00 euros (80 euros pp) FD Guided tour rate is 650.00 (110 euros pp) up to 6 persons. If interested please email mbrichardsonatcogeo.ca

[giraffelt]

We will be docking in Le Havre on Oct 1st. In preparation I contacted 12 different Normandy Beach Tour companies. Some don't go to Juno concentrating instead on Omaha and Utah. A couple were already booked for that day and a few wouldn't do pick from Le Havre. I ultimately booked with normandyddaytours.net. Guillaume Marie the owner comes highly recommended on Trip Advisor.

I have driven in France before so that wasn't a concern but because there is so much to see and learn about Juno I really wanted a guide who could explain it and show us more than just the beach.

I always do research when visiting historical sites and have just finished reading Juno Beach - an excellent description of the military planning, execution and personal sacrifices made on that dreadful day. The military operations on June 6th were extremely complex so there will be a lot to see and absorb. A knowledgeable guide is worth the money to me.