Taking up to 5 people
(+ Guide / Driver) in our comfortable air-conditioned Citroën C8 minivan or rental vehicle we will explore the battlefields of Normandy on foot, by car, and through museums.

Your guide will be Dr Andrew Thomson, History Ph.D. (University of Kent). His topic was the experiences of U.S. troops in France in 1944-45 (you can consult an abstract of the thesis on this site).

This is a suggested itinerary only - on all our trips we are of course happy to accommodate specific requirements, and to adjust the schedule depending on weather and preferences.

Ask us for an individual quote today.

D-Day and the Battle of Normandy
A suggested 3-day / 2-night private tour for up to 5 people
Make your own party - do get in touch to discuss possible dates

 

Private groups (i.e. you & your friends);
dates by arrangement

  • Up to 4 people (exceptionally 5) travelling in our air-conditioned Citroën C8 or rental car
  • Start & finish:
    - at the Channel Tunnel (meeting you off the high-speed train down from London);
    - Canterbury (our base, and only one hour from London - short tour & one night in B&B);
    - Paris
  • 5-day joint theme tours possible, for example: Normandy & the Bulge; Dieppe & Normandy
  • Larger groups? Ask us for a quote for a private minibus (10-15 people) or coach (16-50 people)

Staying in the pretty town of Bayeux, here is a suggested 3-day (2-night) itinerary that covers not just the principal D-Day sights, but gives you a taste of Normandy itself, with its delightful countryside, coast, and local food. Naturally we can put together a family-specific tour, and tours of different durations.

Day One:
German 'Atlantic Wall' defences, Mulberry Harbour, British/Canadian beaches

- After a night in Canterbury, or a 40 minute train journey from London to Ashford - 35 minute Tunnel crossing in our car, then 3 hr 15 minute drive from Calais, arriving at Juno Beach around 2.30 p.m.
- Pickup from Paris - 3 hr drive, arriving for a snack lunch at Juno Beach at 12:30 p.m.

Tour taking in German 'Atlantic Wall' defences on Juno Beach (Canadian; the second hardest beach after Omaha) - surviving bunkers, machine gun positions - the remains of the 'Mulberry' artificial harbour on Gold Beach (British), a British cemetery inland, and three huge German coastal defence guns still in their bunkers covering Gold & Omaha Beaches.  Check-in to hotel in the nearby town of Bayeux.

Day Two:
U.S.A.: Omaha & Utah Beaches, US Cemetery, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mere Eglise
All-day tour of Omaha Beach - the beach itself, then up the bluffs to the US Cemetery above - Pointe du Hoc (where the Rangers scaled the cliffs), Utah Beach, and Sainte Mère Eglise and the US airborne landings.  Visit Easy Company 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment ('Band of Brothers')  memorial at Brécourt.  Back for free time in Bayeux.

Day Three:
Options
Two out of: Bayeux Tapestry, Battle of Normandy Museum (Bayeux), Pegasus Bridge & museum, 360-degree cinema  at Arromanches (excellent 20-minute film), Mémorial Museum (Caen), Sowrd Beach & Atlantic Wall Museum at Ouistreham, Caen visit. Leave after lunch, aiming to get you to your finishing point by 5.30 p.m.

- 3 hr drive to Channel Tunnel. Back in the UK we will put you on a high-speed train to London, arriving there around 7.20 p.m.
- Drop-off in Paris - 3 hr drive

Check out our prices here
Do get in touch to discuss details and possible dates.

See also:
World War II Tours
Photo Gallery: Normandy Beaches
Photo Gallery: Bayeux & Caen
A suggested 3-day itinerary: Dieppe 1942 & Normandy 1944
A suggested 5-day itinterary: Normandy & the Ardennes
A suggested 3-day itinerary: The Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge)

Above: Crossing the Pont de Normandie, which we go over to cross the River Seine at Le Havre
Below: Our favourite hotel in Bayeux, the Argouges

Above: The pock-marked landscape at Pointe du Hoc

Dr Thomson's Tours 37 The Crescent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7AW, England
All text, maps, photos, © Dr Thomson's Tours Telephone: 44-1227-455922; email: aat@drttours.co.uk

Add-ons before or after your tour

One of the key things that we offer is flexibility: we are keen to help you enhance your tour experience by offering you the chance to visit somewhere that you’ve always wanted to see (either just before or after your tour with us). And bear in mind the possibility to do this in the context of being dropped off somewhere interesting for the next leg of your vacation (or business trip). Starting the tour in one place and finishing in another is something we do often for clients.

Add-ons available on a Normandy tour:
A day in the county of Kent (+ a night in Canterbury), Paris, Mont St. Michel, Loire Valley chateaux; or combine it with the Ardennes or Dieppe.
See our add-ons page for more details.

Machine-gunners' view of Omaha Beach