From Ypres, The Christmas Truce to Passchendaele Ypres Based WW1 private tour
Description
This PRIVATE tour covers the Ypres Salient from Messines to Passchendaele spanning 1914 to 1918, we follow the Australian/Canadian/New Zealand/ South African/ British soldiers as they attacked towards Passchendaele in 1917, if you have ancestors that fell in the battle I will tailor the tour where possible to include them Minimum x 2 guests Max x 4 ** PLEASE NOTE** ( At least x2 to of the guests MUST be adults otherwise the tour is not economically viable ) This is a bespoke private tour For groups larger than 4 please contact me in advance
Tour Options
Itinerary
here we will here the story of the Battle of Messines & visit mine craters, visit the scene of the Christmas Truce, the crypt where Adolf Hitler was treated for his wounds
Here we will visit Pat Bugden VC the 20 year old recipient of the Victoria Cross also you'll be standing on the iconic Menin Road directly alongside where the Australian gun pits were for the assault on Passchendaele
This site is where the Australian HQ was in September 1917, you'll also learn about earlier actions on the very same ground in Nov 1914
Here will walk through the woods and visit concrete bunkers that were here when the Australian soldiers captured during the battle, we will visit the cemetery and the Australian 5th Division monument
Here you will here the story of Captain Woodward and the 1st Australian Tunnelling Coy place a massive mine here that was blown at 3.10am on the 7th June 1917, we will see that crater
Driving through following the line of the Australian advance
Here we will visit the worlds largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery 12,000 soldiers are buried here, only 3,000 have names, two Australian VC recipients are buried here
Here we will see the hospital site where Lt Col John McCrae composed the iconic poem 'In Flanders Fields'
Here you'll hear the story of the Menin Gate, how it came about and some of the stories behind the 55,000 names listed a missing here
Driving through Zonnebeke in the line of the Australian advance
Here we will see poignant original WW1 trenches and a quaint ww1 museum
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Ieper based pick up only, MINIMUM X 2 GUESTS please if you want to start in Lille, Arras or Bruges please see my other listings / min 2 people
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Wheelchair accessible
Reviews(30)
This is a great tour of the major significant sites related to the WWI battles for the Ypres salient. Soren is an enthusiastic, engaging and knowledgeable guide. We covered a tremendous amount of history in a short amount of time (a day) without feeling rushed. We saw the most we could reasonably see in a day with time to consider each site and its somber significance. A well paced tour with a great guide. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.
The tour was fantastic and Soren was an incredible guide giving us the history of the region before the war, how the war started and how Ypres became such a significant flashpoint in WW1. Before the tour even started, Soren messaged me a week prior asking if we had any relatives buried/ memorialised in any of the locations in Ypres. I told him we didn't but we had a member of our family who is memorialised in a village just outside of Arras in France. Despite not being connected to the Ypres tour experience, Soren was kind enough to still research into our relative and told us how he had won the military medal and the story of his regiment on the day he was killed. Soren even shared the war diaries. He truly went above and beyond to ensure we had the best experience throughout the day. I cannot thank him enough and I thoroughly recommend him as a guide for the Ypres battlefields.
5 out of 5. Can't thank Soren enough for a personalised tour. His knowledge was first rate, nothing was rushed or a worry, and he organised everything including a wreath to lay at the Menin Gate as well as booking a dinner reservation when we were running overtime. Thanks again Soren
Soren has a wealth of knowledge and tailed made the tour to meet our needs and our country of origin. A great day’s tour.
Fabulous day seeing the battlefields and cemeteries around Ypres. Soren was fabulous / highly recommend! Very personal tour - he will adjust to your interests.
If we had just driven to the famous sights ourselves, we would have missed so many fascinating details. Everything has been rebuilt since WW1 so one really needs a guide to open your eyes to how different areas would have looked and been experienced by the soldiers. A whole day may sound like a long tour, but we felt like it went really quickly because there was so much to see. Søren is a passionate guide who knows everything there is to know about WW1 history. He will customise the tour to your knowledge level and interest areas, and will even look up family members who died in the war. In our case, we wanted to see South African graves as part of a general tour. Søren also went the extra mile for us by going over time, and afterwards sent us links to specific areas we’d discussed (book, movies and podcasts).
The whole experience was brilliant. Soron’s attention to details on each person that was on the list was amazing. The battle fields, cemeteries and Brother’s in Arms Memorial were very special places. I can’t speak highly enough of our experience and would recommend this to anyone.
I have known this for a long time, is now suddenly in the spotlight because of the war tourism around Ypres. No cat used to come here. The nature around it is taken care of. There are some beautiful plants, trees and bushes. I sometimes stop there to walk the dog. You can take a little walk.
I've no idea, what this is about, this person is talking about plants????? Why is on my tour company listing? English translation: but it is now suddenly in the spotlight because of the war tourism around Ypres. In the past, no cat came here. The nature around it has been taken care of. There are some beautiful plants, trees and shrubs. I sometimes stop there to walk the dog. You can take a little walk
We booked the tour as a way of connecting with family who fought and died in the great war and visiting a region that was pivotal in world events It was a fabulous tour visiting the main sites and the particular cemetery where my ancestor is buried. Soren is an outstanding guide not only personable making one feel comfortable right away but clearly knows the region and history in depth and explains in a clear concise way I would absolutely recommend this tour to anyone wanting to visit the area. We have visited many places and I can honestly say this was one of the best if not the best tour I have had the privilege to go on
I booked this tour for my mum and aunt (in their 70s) who have always wanted to see the places on this tour including resting places of ancestors. I cannot praise Søren enough for how thrilled they were with the trip. They’ve told me that Søren went above and beyond for them, he was patient and thoughtful. This was a bucket list item for them and Søren’s tour exceeded all our expectations!
