Normandy Beach / Omaha Beach Tour June 5

[Travelbugs559]

Hi all,

I’m trying to book a tour from Le Havee to Omaha Beach / American Cemetary on June 5th 2019. Everything is booked .. any suggestions? 

 

[satxdiver]

We did the Normandy tour several years ago.  We booked a private tour from Bayeux Shuttle.  We did the American tour of course that visited Omaha beach, American graveyard etc and included lunch.  They picked us up at the ship and returned us for the 8 hour tour.  Our bus driver and our guide were very good and tailored the tour to those of us on the bus.   Price was reasonable for the area.

 

http://www.bayeuxshuttle.com

[TM]

This is the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings on June 6th.  So expect things to be very crowded.  Check with Overlord Tours.  While their private tours are probably full, you could possibly get on one of their large passenger bus tours.  You might also consider a ship's tour.  Good luck with whatever you are able to get.  It is supposed to be a very interesting and moving experience.  We will be doing a British Isles cruise in August and will actually get off the ship in LeHarve to spend a week in France.  While there we will do a full day tour from Bayeux which is much more extensive than what you can get from LeHarve due to the driving distance involved.

Tom

[georgiacat]

We did a tour last year with Spearhead Tours.  He is a one man operation, but he is very good.  There were 3 couples in his van.  We joined a group on our Roll Call.  He will tailor your tour as you wish.  I would recommend him.  Google him for contact info.

[Colo Cruiser]

12 hours ago, Travelbugs559 said:

Hi all,

I’m trying to book a tour from Le Havee to Omaha Beach / American Cemetary on June 5th 2019. Everything is booked .. any suggestions? 

 

Did you join the roll call for your cruise?

There is usually great info there.

[John Bull]

Because it's the anniversary, yes I'm not surprised that all tours are booked-out.

 

It's actually not too difficult to DIY with a rented car, lots of cruisers do.

I've driven the D-Day sights many many times, both as a coach driver and in my own car - no need for a guide, there's plenty of staff & signage at the sights, though a bit of reading-up in advance would help.

 

I've tried to link to threads with advice on the D-Day beaches by rental car, but this godawful new search facility is coming up with stax of irrelevant posts.

If you've got a lot of time on your hands, try scrolling through both this forum and the Britain / Western Europe forum.

 

JB 

[Hlitner]

Would echo JB's post.  Do what we do....simply rent a car.  If you are concerned about getting lost either rent a GPS or have a cell phone with data (that you can use for GPS).  rentacar.fr has a rental car counter right in the port and there are a couple of other agencies within a mile of the pier (but outside the port).   We have driven around Normandy on a previous major anniversary and it was fascinating.  We stumbled on a major festival in St Mere Eglise where there was a huge display of WWII era vehicles and a reenactment of the parachute jump (done by a combined group of the 101st and 82nd airborne).  What we found amusing was that there is a large German auto club that collects (and maintains in perfect condition) Allied WWII vehicles.   These Germans were driving their old jeeps and other vehicles all around Normandy and they even wore allied military uniforms.  Go figure.  I mention this because we noticed that there will again be a large vehicle display at St Mere Eglise this June 5.

 

Hank

 

 

[kctwinmommy]

Like others said, because it's barely 2 months away and it's the 75th anniversary, things are going to be sold out. You can check with Overlord tours, but they're probably booked up too. You may have to do it yourself. I'm assuming the cruise excursions are also booked?

[Travelbugs559]

11 hours ago, John Bull said:

Because it's the anniversary, yes I'm not surprised that all tours are booked-out.

 

It's actually not too difficult to DIY with a rented car, lots of cruisers do.

I've driven the D-Day sights many many times, both as a coach driver and in my own car - no need for a guide, there's plenty of staff & signage at the sights, though a bit of reading-up in advance would help.

 

I've tried to link to threads with advice on the D-Day beaches by rental car, but this godawful new search facility is coming up with stax of irrelevant posts.

If you've got a lot of time on your hands, try scrolling through both this forum and the Britain / Western Europe forum.

 

JB 

We will start planning a Car rental and reas up

as much as we can.. thanks for all

the help!!

[John Bull]

59 minutes ago, Travelbugs559 said:

We will start planning a Car rental and reas up

as much as we can.. thanks for all

the help!!

 

Best to rent from the agency at the quayside, to avoid delays.

If you need a car with automatic transmission do include that in your booking, otherwise you're likely to get a shift-stick.

 

Here's a typical route from Le Havre for an American

https://goo.gl/maps/MWHHDXdHMF52

 

Before you leave the rental agency, put its address in the GPS' memory - you'll need to refer to it from time to time.

Head to the furthest sight first, using the fast N13 divided highway. (Fast but keep to the limit, there are speed cameras.) 

First stop, after about 90 minutes, will be Omaha beach and the American cemetery which overlooks it, or a little further to  Pointe du Hoc if it interests you. About 20 - 30 minutes at Pointe du Hoc, a bare minimum of 90 minutes at the American cemetery / Omaha

When you arrive or before you leave the American Cemetery, check your GPS for how long it takes to get back to Le Havre, and add an hour for any delays.

The rest of the sights will depend on how long it takes to get back to the ship. There are a number of lanes that link the coastal lanes with the fast divided highway, so plenty of opportunities to abandon the sight-seeing & set your GPS to the rental agency.

Assuming you have the time, head back eastwards along the coast lanes to the battery at Longues sur mer (worth 10 - 15 minutes).

Check GPS for time back to Le Havre.

Next is Arromanches, where parts of the Mulberry Harbour remain in the sand and off-shore. Good little D-Day museum on the seafront and plenty of bars & cafes if you have the time. Excellent viewpoint at the top of the hill beyond the town.

Check GPS time.

You're now out of the American sector, remaining sights may be less-important to you.

Next is the Canadian Juno beach at Courseulles sur mer. There's an excellent museum but unless things have changed it's guided, thus difficult to rush or curtail - so sadly I advise you don't go in.

Last is Pegasus Bridge, taken by glider-borne Brits and the first objective achieved - around midnight at the start of D-Day. Good little museum there

To avoid any traffic snarl-ups on the N13 around Caen, cross Pegasus Bridge and 2 to 3 km east of the bridge the N13 will be signposted. By then, if it's not already on my wavelength, your GPS will also have figured my way to the N13.

Approaching the Pont de Normandie (which crosses the Seine) you're about 30 mins from the ship. Check your time - if you've still got that hour in hand you might want to peel off your route for a few km to the charming little fishing / tourist port of Honfleur, for a well-earned beer.

 

That's only a fraction of the sights, but other than Utah & Ste Mere Eglise (which are too far) they're the main US ones.

Google them, so that you have some background.

It's a long day, but most ships depart Le Havre mid-evening (check your ship's itinerary).

 

JB 

 

 

[simplyrubies]

17 hours ago, John Bull said:

 

Next is the Canadian Juno beach at Courseulles sur mer. There's an excellent museum but unless things have changed it's guided, thus difficult to rush or curtail - so sadly I advise you don't go in.

 

 

I was at the Juno Beach museum this summer. Unfortunately, we got there after the museum itself was closed but the park and beach was still open, as it is technically open to the public. It was a shame, but we saw some dead animals and trash by some of the bunkers, but perhaps we went on a day before the beach had been cleaned? 

 

Without a guide, you cannot visit some parts of the museum - in particular, you can't go down to see the German command post and observation bunker. The museum worker said it was for conservation purposes and simply because the area is quite small. However, you can still look at the outside and peek through the door. The rest of the beach has signs that you follow and you can pick up a map from the museum (even if the exhibitions themselves are not open), but of course with a guide, it would be a better experience. Not sure if the temporary and permanent exhibitions are guided or free, as we did not have a chance to see those. To my understanding, those are not guided but I'm not entirely sure.

 

However, if you're planning to go on June 5 or the 6, unfortunately the museum will be closed for the D-Day ceremonies. I'm not sure if this extends to the park and beach itself as well, but you need to register online if you plan to go.

Edited March 29, 2019 by simplyrubies

[caripoo]

My first response is Overlord. But this is late in the game, we were supposed to use a company called Chocolatine, they are based in Paris...a Virtuoso tour operator....but they had a HUGE issue the day we were supposed to be picked up, and they called in Overlord to the rescue....I would not ever suggest a company that we personally have not used, but we have used our travel agency for over 35 years, and they use high end people, and we have always had GREAT people.