Le Havre Tours to American D-Day Beaches/Cemetery

Hello, we are trying to find a tour from Le Havre focusing on the American D-Day sites because in particular we want to have a meaningful amount of time to spend at the Omaha Beach memorial museum. We really want the D-Day sites to be the focus of our day, so the group tour offered by Overlord isn't our first choice because more than half the time is spent on other locations. We are open to smaller or larger group sizes but are leaning away from trying to coordinate with a small group for a private Overlord tour because I have back problems and am concerned that I wouldn't manage with the maximum 8 people in a van, a larger bus actually works better for me from a personal comfort perspective. The Princess tour focusing on the American sites is our fallback but doesn't offer much time at Omaha Beach for the museum. I have done some searching here and have a few inquiries out but thought I would throw this out for any thoughts since I still haven't found a perfect fit and this is very important to us. Also open to a private tour but suspect that I may be too late to get a good tour guide, we are just over 3 months out. Thanks in advance!

It sounds to me like you really do not want a "tour" but rather a car/van and driver...where you can call the shots (plan the itinerary). Personally, when in Le Havre we prefer to rent our own car and drive ourselves to where we want to go...stay as long as we please....and move on to another place or perhaps stop for a long lunch, etc. So instead of trying to find a tour that fits your wants/needs, consider just hiring transportation and going to where you want, when you want!

Hank

Thanks Hank. My preference is actually to do a tour to get that information and because I recognize that those who work with this regularly will likely know better than me how to best plan out a meaningful day, I am just looking for options to see the best fit. It could be a private tour with a knowledgeable guide although the cost difference is obviously huge and since I am only 3 months out I am guessing the good ones are probably spoken for. I figured it was worth checking if anyone knew of other options, most of the tour companies I have found only run private tours out of Le Havre.

We will be there in September - and currently are leaning toward Cunard tour [LEH_016] of the American sector - probably the same route & vendor as the Princess tour.

For a first time visit, I would rather have someone else do the driving, even if renting a car [and trusting the GPS] is the experienced recommendation. ;-)

It sounds to me like you really do not want a "tour" but rather a car/van and driver...where you can call the shots (plan the itinerary). Personally, when in Le Havre we prefer to rent our own car and drive ourselves to where we want to go...stay as long as we please....and move on to another place or perhaps stop for a long lunch, etc. So instead of trying to find a tour that fits your wants/needs, consider just hiring transportation and going to where you want, when you want!

 

Hank

My thoughts exactly.

You say that "We really want the D-Day sites to be the focus of our day, so the group tour offered by Overlord isn't our first choice because more than half the time is spent on other locations."

But Overlord and the other D-Day tours are all about D-Day and D-Day sights - there's a whole lot more to D-Day than Omaha, including Utah, two British & one Canadian beaches, places like Ste Mere-Eglise and Pegasus Bridge assaulted by US and Brit airborne troops, etc etc ad infinitum.

There are so many D-Day sights that you could spend a week, even in just the American sector, with Omaha and the American cemetery taking at least a full day.

But cruisers only have one day and naturally most folk want to visit a number of sights in that day. So you'll not find a shared tour - be it ship's tour or local operator's tour - that spends more than a couple of hours at Omaha / American cemetery.

If you want to spend half a day or more at the American cemetery (in a couple of hours we only skimmed the surface of the new museum even though we'd visited the cemetery & beach before, so that time certainly wouldn't be excessive) you really need either a rented car or a car + driver. And I don't think, even if money were no object, that you'll find a knowledgeable guide who can assail you for hours with info about just Omaha.

Like other D-Day sights, there's plenty of signage about the events and the exhibits there, and knowledgeable staff.

But of course it always pays to research information about the day - and subsequent Normandy Campaign - before you travel. Even if you decide to take a guided tour.

You could post you plans on your ship's RollCall - even if you find just one like-minded couple it will halve your costs. Mebbe trim them even more if you don't want to self-drive but the other couple are willing to do so, or if you find more to share.

Just MHO

JB :)

OVERLORD TOURS the BEST!!!

You can do a private Overlord tour and plan what you want to see with their assistance...I think besides the 8 passenger private tour, they have tours for only 2 people....contact them and tell them what you are looking for. They were very responsive to me.

Great to see my ole pal, JB, jumping in on this topic. Too bad he does not live closer to Normandy because we are sure he could be a wonderful private tour guide :). JB raised an excellent point which is that when it comes to D-Day related options one could easily spend a week in Normandy. It took us a few trips (on cruises plus two extended driving vacations) to get to all the beaches and most of the better known sites and museums. And there is also the wonderful Peace Musuem (located in Caen...right off the highway) which is oft missed by most tours....but an amazing experience. One can learn a lot about what has been called our "Greatest Generation." I still get shivers when I think of those Rangers that scaled Pointe du Hoc. Seeing that area (overlooking Omaha Beach) and the nearby American Cemetery is something one cannot quickly forget...nor should we. On the other hand, going to Omaha Beach on a busy summer day and seeing them selling cotton candy, and a ferris wheel working in the parking lot, is not what we wanted to experience.

We like to tell a true story about our 2nd visit (when we spent a few days) to Normandy. We were in a small Normandy village (not far from St Lo) when an elderly French woman walked up to my wife and asked her (n French) if she was an American. When DW replied, "Oui," the lady simply smiled and said (in English) "Thank you." That lady had lived in that same village on D-Day!

Hank

Thanks very much for all of the information. I am very open to seeing more than solely the American beaches but Overlord told me that the itinerary for the group tour from Le Havre is as follows:

8am Le Havre drive to Omaha Beach (about 1h45mins.)

10.30am depart for the American Cemetery (about 10mins drive)

11.30am depart for Bayeux (about a 40mins drive) – Time for Lunch + visit

2pm Depart for Honfleur (about a 1h15min drive( – visit + free time

5pm Return to Le Havre for 5.30/6pm (about a 40mins drive)

Is this typical for the Overlord group tours? Bayeux and Honfleur sound lovely just wasn't how I was planning to spend the day, and comparatively the Princess tour is focused pretty much exclusively on D-Day sites (other than a lunch stop). This is all helpful, I think I need to regroup and decide whether one of the group tour options will work well enough for the way I am trying to connect to this history or whether I should bite the bullet and look at a private tour. Again, much appreciated!

But did you ask about a private tour? Tell them what you want to do...

On the other hand, going to Omaha Beach on a busy summer day and seeing them selling cotton candy, and a ferris wheel working in the parking lot, is not what we wanted to experience.

 

Hank

Hi, Hank,

Do bear in mind that although to Americans & Canadians & Brits it's all about D-Day, Normandy & especially its coast have always been a popular area for vacationers and weekenders - to them it's simply beach vacations, D-Day is co-incidental. And ferris wheels & cotton-candy are part of beach vacations. ;)

Overlord told me that the itinerary for the group tour from Le Havre is as follows:

8am Le Havre drive to Omaha Beach (about 1h45mins.)

10.30am depart for the American Cemetery (about 10mins drive)

11.30am depart for Bayeux (about a 40mins drive) – Time for Lunch + visit

2pm Depart for Honfleur (about a 1h15min drive( – visit + free time

5pm Return to Le Havre for 5.30/6pm (about a 40mins drive)

Is this typical for the Overlord group tours? Bayeux and Honfleur sound lovely just wasn't how I was planning to spend the day, and comparatively the Princess tour is focused pretty much exclusively on D-Day sites (other than a lunch stop). This is all helpful, I think I need to regroup and decide whether one of the group tour options will work well enough for the way I am trying to connect to this history or whether I should bite the bullet and look at a private tour. Again, much appreciated!

Hi, Ratfam

First of all my apologies - I'd misinterpreted your aims, and that Overlord itinerary does surprise me.

Including Honfleur doesn't surprise me - I actually recommend it as a last stop on a self-drive tour because it's only about 30 minutes from the ship and provides a buffer against missing a sailing. Rounding off the day with a pleasant 30 to 60 minutes in a bar / café-lined fishing harbour, but can be skipped if delayed returning from D-Day sights. But the time Overlord allows at Honfleur does surprise me.

And Bayeux surprises me - yes, a very attractive & historic place but not strategically important & therefore pretty-well by-passed during the Normandy Campaign by both Axis and Allied forces.

And I've always rated lunch-stops a waste of time when there's a lot to see in a limited time. I'm happy to just grab a snack at one of the sights, but I must be in a minority because the vast majority of tours throughout the world seem to include an hour or more sit-down lunch.

Added to that, large coaches and large coach groups make for very slow progress.

So effectively the D-Day sights are done by 11.30. :(

Yes, I'd be unhappy with that, and I'd have thought most others would feel the same way.

I'd actually rate it poorer than Princess' offering.

Overlord haven't offered seat-in-bus in the past - you book a van & put your own group together, usually via the Cruise Critic RollCalls. That's received some criticism in the past because it puts one cruiser at risk for the entire cost.

Selling "seat-in-bus" from the port, and in a 50-seat coach, is a new venture for Overlord and perhaps they wanted to spread the appeal by making it a more-mixed tour. Mebbe they've got it wrong or mebbe you and I have got it wrong, time will tell.

Their suggested van itineraries are focussed on D-Day, and of course you can set your own itinerary within the bounds of practicalities. But I rather suspect that 3 months out is too late to fix a guided van tour, let alone finding enough sharers.

Do give consideration to fixing a car and driver, or finding a sharer who's prepared to drive.

We can help out with providing a suggested itinerary & routing, or commenting on your own proposals.

JB :)

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We decided to try the ship's tour, Cunard likely offers the same tour as Princess.

The roll-call has not been active, so arranging a shared van tour would not have worked for us. Driving would not be an issue - except I almost define vacation as 'a time I don't need to drive' ;-)

Hopefully this will not be a 'once in a lifetime' trip, and some sort of extended land tour will be part of future transatlantics.

Hi, Hank,

 

Do bear in mind that although to Americans & Canadians & Brits it's all about D-Day, Normandy & especially its coast have always been a popular area for vacationers and weekenders - to them it's simply beach vacations, D-Day is co-incidental. And ferris wheels & cotton-candy are part of beach vacations. ;)

 

 

 

Hi, Ratfam

 

First of all my apologies - I'd misinterpreted your aims, and that Overlord itinerary does surprise me.

Including Honfleur doesn't surprise me - I actually recommend it as a last stop on a self-drive tour because it's only about 30 minutes from the ship and provides a buffer against missing a sailing. Rounding off the day with a pleasant 30 to 60 minutes in a bar / café-lined fishing harbour, but can be skipped if delayed returning from D-Day sights. But the time Overlord allows at Honfleur does surprise me.

And Bayeux surprises me - yes, a very attractive & historic place but not strategically important & therefore pretty-well by-passed during the Normandy Campaign by both Axis and Allied forces.

And I've always rated lunch-stops a waste of time when there's a lot to see in a limited time. I'm happy to just grab a snack at one of the sights, but I must be in a minority because the vast majority of tours throughout the world seem to include an hour or more sit-down lunch.

Added to that, large coaches and large coach groups make for very slow progress.

So effectively the D-Day sights are done by 11.30. :(

Yes, I'd be unhappy with that, and I'd have thought most others would feel the same way.

I'd actually rate it poorer than Princess' offering.

 

Overlord haven't offered seat-in-bus in the past - you book a van & put your own group together, usually via the Cruise Critic RollCalls. That's received some criticism in the past because it puts one cruiser at risk for the entire cost.

Selling "seat-in-bus" from the port, and in a 50-seat coach, is a new venture for Overlord and perhaps they wanted to spread the appeal by making it a more-mixed tour. Mebbe they've got it wrong or mebbe you and I have got it wrong, time will tell.

Their suggested van itineraries are focussed on D-Day, and of course you can set your own itinerary within the bounds of practicalities. But I rather suspect that 3 months out is too late to fix a guided van tour, let alone finding enough sharers.

 

Do give consideration to fixing a car and driver, or finding a sharer who's prepared to drive.

We can help out with providing a suggested itinerary & routing, or commenting on your own proposals.

 

JB :)

 

 

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Thanks this is very interesting, I hadn't realized that the Overlord bus tours are new and I suspect you are right, that they are trying to broaden the appeal to fill the extra seats. Since I can cancel the Princess tour for a while yet and since the itinerary is fairly good I am going to book that so that I know I have a decent option, and then I will further explore private tours. Again, I very much appreciate your help, it has all been good food for thought!

We created our OWN Overload tour...There we're 4 of us...design it the way YOU want.....FANTASTIC

We used Bayeux Shuttle last spring and they were great. It looks like they have changed their tour - and actually removed the short stop we had in Bayeux!

What you need is a van and driver. Patrick Spiess is not a guide (you will need your own history buff), but an excellent safe driver with a modern van that will hold 6 people comfortably. The cost for the day is about 600 Euros. He will take you where you wish, and can spend as much time as you like at the cemetary. You can find him by searching on cruise critic, We used him yesterday.

Patrick's English is excellent. his email is: spies.patrick@orange.Fr.

What you need is a van and driver. Patrick Spiess is not a guide (you will need your own history buff), but an excellent safe driver with a modern van that will hold 6 people comfortably. The cost for the day is about 600 Euros. He will take you where you wish, and can spend as much time as you like at the cemetary. You can find him by searching on cruise critic, We used him yesterday.

Just to add .............

Without a guide, your visit will be so much more worthwhile if you first research to understand the background, geography, and time-scale of D-Day and the subsequent Normandy campaign.

But the signage and staff at the sights are excellent - over the years we've visited all the sights and never found the need for a guide. :)

JB :)

May I suggest that you also research the Bayeux Tapestry --IMO the main reason for a stop in Bayeux.

We did a tour of Bayeux and the US beaches with Colin Mcgarry in August 2015, cost was about 500 euros for four people. Colin is a Britisher married to a French woman, has lived in Normandy for over 30 years and has an extensive knowledge of the DDay landings, we thoroughly enjoyed the day with him, You could email him to ask if he's free, as someone suggested finding just one couple will halve your costs, shouldn't be hard to do on your RC. Colin drives his own car and you can sit in the front next to him, with the other three in the back. You also get to decide your itinerary, we wanted to see the Bayeux tapestry and planned accordingly. Colin's email is cpmac61@gmail.com

Another good place to look is the Normandy forum on Trip Advisor, they list several tour guides. good luck, hope you're able to get what you want:)

We used Eva Ruttger for our D Day tour and she was excellent. She is very knowledgeable and I found her pricing quite reasonable in comparison to others at the time.

She will gear the day around your interests for sure.

On the way back, we stopped to see the Bayeux tapestry (my request) and it was truly a wonderful experience.

D Day sights are very moving and one of the most memorable days we have had.