Private D-Day Landing Beaches - Bayeux or Caen
Description
Marked by engraved headstones, battle-scarred landscapes and the memories of the fast-disappearing 'Greatest Generation', we will pay tribute to those young men that gave their lives for our freedom. We need to ensure that their story is passed on from present to future generations !!! We will cover different topics : the preparation of Overlord operation, the assault of the first Allied waves, the construction of the artificial ports, the set up of the decoy plan called Fortitude under the control of General Patton, the daily life under the German occupation and the relationships between the liberators and the French civilians, the involvement of the French resistance, the construction of the Atlantic wall, the German positions, the war effort, the role of the women, the war correspondants, minorities like code talkers, postal and balloon barage battalions … All historical facts are documented with detailed military maps, archives and pictures from the Allied and German armies.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Pay tribute to these brave men at the American cemetery where 10,000 American soldiers are buried or missing in action. Stop at Omaha beach to visit a strongpoint, part of the Atlantic wall.
Stop at the German battery La Pointe du Hoc, the only place where huge craters are still visible due to naval and aerial bombardments. 225 rangers bravely climbed up the 100 feet cliffs. For a good comprehension of the Atlantic Wall or the german defenses.
Stop at Utah Beach. Lunch at the Roosevelt cafe built on a bunker, the meeting place of the veterans. Visit of the site where the landing of the 4th Infantry Division with Brigadier-General Theodore Roosevelt Junior took place. Monuments dedicated to the US navy with a Higgins boat.
We will cross the famous hedges which caused so many difficulties to the American troops and will go along the coastline of Utah beach which connects Sainte-Marie-du-Mont to the first village liberated of Sainte-Mère-l'Eglise in the American sector.
Stop at Sainte-Mere Eglise. Sainte Mere Eglise is famous thanks to the movie The Longest Day because of his paratrooper John Steele of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment who landed on the church tower. In addition, two stained glass windows were created for the church to commemorate the liberation of the city by the 82nd Airborne Division on June 6, 1944.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- We provide for free wheelchair, canes or steps to get on/off the minibus.
Reviews(12)
Sarah Valentin was a very knowledgeable and accommodating guide. She is really passionate about the D-Day history and strategy and knew all the little details. I have mobility issues and in planning the itinerary she factored this in so that we could still maximize the sites. She also factored in the tides so that we could see Omaha Beach at low tide as well as the ceremony taking down the flag at the American cemetery at 4:00. We lucked out that we could see both. My husband is a WW2 nut and the two of them eagerly shared information. Highly recommend Sarah!
Every detail of our day was well planned and exactly what we wanted. Sarah customized our day by the tides to maximize what we could see at the beaches and was flexible with our stops based on what we were interested in. Our 21 year old daughter really enjoyed Sarah’s detailed historical knowledge, as did we. We are honored to spend our day seeing these important sites of world history.
Thank you so much Heather for taking the time to leave an excellent review of the visit I organized for you, your husband and your lovely, attentive daughter. I'm glad that, at the end of the day, I was able to give you as much detail as possible about D-Day and that you were able to appreciate the courage of these young soldiers who sacrificed themselves to liberate our countries and defend their homeland. In these troubled times, we must continue to honor these soldiers buried on our soil and so far from their families. We must ensure that our duty to remember lives on for future generations.
Seeing everything that we had read so much about was wonderful. Our guide Sarah was incredible! Her knowledge,explanations and all the visuals she provided were exceptional. We highly recommend this tour.
Hello Sandra, Thank you for taking the time to leave an excellent comment about your appreciation of my work, which I always try to improve every day by keeping informed of book or film releases relating to the Second World War in general. I had an excellent day with you and I would have liked to go much deeper into certain aspects if we had had the opportunity to spend more time together. I wish you a happy end to your stay in France and hope you continue your journey in other parts of Europe. perhaps we'll meet again in Michigan, as it's a state that's on my bucket list. Take care. Sarah, your local Normandy guide.
My husband had read a lot about DDay before we came. But seeing the beaches and landmarks is sobering. Plus Sara was a terrific guide as she knows the area and the history so well. Very knowledgeable. Don't skip it. We did full day tours and learned much.
Dear Marcia, Dear Michael, I thank you very much for this wonderful rating. I'm happy to have been your guide during these 3 days to show you the 5 sectors of the Normandy landing beaches and typical normandy with its local inhabitants. You took the time to leave a comment on the quality of my work and i thank you warmly. I hope to see you again next time to show you the north of france with the battlefields of the first and second world wars. have a great stay in Honfleur where you can live the french way of life for a good 3 weeks. Fondly Sarah
Beach day landing with Sarah Very pleasant, very documented with unusual anecdotes very professional Sarah did not count her time Thank you again very beautiful memory
Bonjour à tous, je vous remercie d'avoir pris le temps de partager votre avis avec la communauté TA. C'est toujours très important pour moi que mes clients portent un regard sur l'appréciation de mon travail. J'essaye en effet de m'améliorer chaque jour en prenant en compte leurs avis et commentaires. J'ai passé une très agréable journée en votre compagnie et j'espère que j'aurai l'occasion dans le futur de vous revoir pour vous montrer d'autres endroits de ma région. Sarah
Sarah was a fantastic tour guide. Our party of 6 (4 adults and 2 children) were able to see the American Cemetery, Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, and Utah Brach, with a fantastic lunch thrown in. We never would have made it to all those sights on our own. Our whole party learned so much. And enjoyed getting to know Sarah's personal connection to French History. Highly Recommend!
Dear Aimee, , Thank you so much for this great review about my work! I'm so glad you had a lovely day with me and you enjoyed a lot your lunch in that special place! Your family gave me the gift of so many good feelings and your children were fantastic! Thank you for your feedback. It's the best reward a guide can receive! Fondly, Sarah
Sarah was every history lover's dream! I cannot speak highly enough of her. Her thorough and detailed knowledge of both the D-Day Landings and the events of WWII as a whole are beyond compare. She went out of her way to fit a 2-3 day tour into the 9 hours we had. Even above her knowledge and professionalism, Sarah took such good care of us, texting with us in advance of our tour and helping us to arrange for dinner and taxi back to the station before our return train trip to Paris. By the time we got to Bayeax, I was quite frazzled because not only had our group tour (thru another Viator affiliate tour company) been cancelled twice, but Viator had also cancelled our private tour (for reasons no one could ever figure out). But Sarah assured me that she was expecting us and we would sort it all out later. (Viator finally confirmed that this private tour company had not inititated the cancel and then "un-cancelled" us.) Sarah was a rock--hospitable, professional and caring!
Thank you Jennifer for this excellent rating. it is very important for me to have feedback on my work and the quality of my interactions. Indeed, it took a long time for us to coordinate but it was worth it. I really enjoyed your company and was very moved by your family history. the presence of your daddy honored me a lot. I wish you all the best for your beautiful family.
Loved our guide and would recommend her to anyone. She was very informative and a lot of fun. Thank you for a great experience
Thank you Michael for taking the time to give your review and for appreciating the quality of my work. I am very happy that you enjoyed your visit, even though it had to be done in less time. Hope you had a safe return after your dinner in Bayeux !
Traveling with friends and family while learning about the history. We enjoyed it wholeheartedly! We especially enjoyed our guide’s personal connection to the local history.
Sarah was an amazing guide. Her knowledge of WWII events and D-Day was impressive. She also went out of her way to show local connection and connections to us in the places we visited. Could have done 2-3 days with her. Will do additional days next time. Merci Sarah
Dear Kirsten, It was such a joy to meet you and your nice family!! I’m very happy that everyone enjoyed that day and I thank you for your kind attitude and your appreciation of my job!! I hope to see you again in Normandy to share many more local connections and to show you hidden gems. Sincerely, Sarah
