Normandy Tours and Accommodations?

[stephenson]

We've got several trips in work ... sorry for asking so many questions.

My father was with the 82nd Airborne, so I would like to effectively tour Normany area this fall, combined with a few days in Bordeaux and San Sebastian.

There are specific tours designed for those interested in D Day history. However, I haven't been able to effectively sort them.

I would prefer to be a bit more immersed than a day tour - something like a small group 2 days with three nights at local B&Bs, all arranged and coordinated by one host company.

Has anyone done this?

 

[donheff]

I did a VBT bike tour in Normandy a couple of years ago and loved it. We were in Arromanches on D-Day. It was packed with British re-enactors. If you like cycling it is a great trip. I assume there are a lot of regular tours to choose from.

 

[OldShooter]

Try searching the International Travel News (https://www.intltravelnews.com/). Both "Normandy" and "airborne" produce multiple hits.

ITN is a quirky little magazine with content mostly written by readers (I have written several features for them.) No punches pulled and no warts papered over. Also, frequent mentions of good tour operators. Personally, I strongly prefer in-country operators. Someone in the USA, six or eight time zones away, is unlikely to be of much help if issues arise.

Edit: I see that roadscholar.org also offers a couple of D-Day oriented trips. We have taken several of their trips and have always been pleased.

 

[Souschef]

Try searching the International Travel News (https://www.intltravelnews.com/). Both "Normandy" and "airborne" produce multiple hits.

ITN is a quirky little magazine with content mostly written by readers (I have written several features for them.) No punches pulled and no warts papered over. Also, frequent mentions of good tour operators. Personally, I strongly prefer in-country operators. Someone in the USA, six or eight time zones away, is unlikely to be of much help if issues arise.

Edit: I see that roadscholar.org also offers a couple of D-Day oriented trips. We have taken several of their trips and have always been pleased.

+1 on ITN. I bought a life subscription as I enjoyed the magazine. I have also contributed some comments, photos, and small articles.

 

[savory]

I did a VBT bike tour in Normandy a couple of years ago and loved it. We were in Arromanches on D-Day. It was packed with British re-enactors. If you like cycling it is a great trip. I assume there are a lot of regular tours to choose from.

We will be cycling on our self-contained tour beginning in April. Our trip will go through Normandy. We were hoping to spend some time there but this is a special anniversary year. Getting tickets and perhaps getting into some areas might be difficult at the time we expect to arrive We think we missed the window as it relates to the timing of our bike trip. And while biking is a great way to go, it does lack flexibility at times.

OP I am sharing this as you may want to take a look sooner than later to see if our assessment is correct about the difficulty of touring the area. Obviously, the date you arrive will likely have a significant impact.

 

[audreyh1]

We've got several trips in work ... sorry for asking so many questions.

My father was with the 82nd Airborne, so I would like to effectively tour Normany area this fall, combined with a few days in Bordeaux and San Sebastian.

There are specific tours designed for those interested in D Day history. However, I haven't been able to effectively sort them.

I would prefer to be a bit more immersed than a day tour - something like a small group 2 days with three nights at local B&Bs, all arranged and coordinated by one host company.

Has anyone done this?

Wow - San Sebastian is pretty far from Normandy. Although French long distance trains are fast. For example, its two hours by train from Bordeaux to Paris.

I got the impression that renting a car would be very useful in Normandy unless you hire a tour guide.

 

[Scrapr]

2 years ago we hired a private guide for 2 days. We only did the American beaches. He grew up in Normandy so had stories about his Grandfather and family. The family had to house German soldiers. He offered to personalize the tour. Tell him the specific division of the 82nd and he would research it. Point du Hoc was fascinating. Omaha beach at low tide brought us to tears

We stayed in Bayeux and he picked us up & dropped us off. It's not an all inclusive like you want to do though.

 

[davebarnes]

This hotel is wonderful. Everything about our stay was great.
https://www.chateauxhotels.co.uk/chateau-de-sully-46

Don’t waste time traveling to Bordeaux and Donostia.

There is plenty to see and do in Normandie.
1. Be sure to visit the German cemetery https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Cambe_German_war_cemetery
2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayeux_Tapestry is a must see. The explanatory pre-viewing is excellent.
3. Another very good WW2 museum http://normandy.memorial-caen.com
4. My favorite inexpensive restaurant - https://www.viamichelin.com/web/Restaurant/Dives_sur_Mer-14160-Chez_le_Bougnat-290wcbb

 

[stephenson]

Sorry - bit of out of town delay for planning.

Thank you all for your thoughts and comments.

We want to be in Bayeux late September 2019 - will be flying into Heathrow and then visiting with friends near Crowborough south of London for a few days, then training to Bayeux - questions:

1. Friends will retrieve us at Gatwick - train or bus from Heathrow to Gatwick?
2. Would like to train to Bayeux same day when we leave Crowborough - this looks to be a matter of early train from Crowborough to London St Pancras (Intl station) and thence to Bayeux via Paris St Lazare (gotta get from du Nord to St Lazare). Anyone done this or portions of this route?
3. I've made a couple of backup resvs for BB in Bayeux - both near center of town where should be able to get picked up or close to pick up sites for tours to Normandy - one is called Maison Martens - reasonable and close to center. Other good accommodations you can recommend?
4. We set aside two full days for tours - or for half tours, etc. Any recommendations on tours? I have a special interest in the Airborne Museum. Would not mind mixing in local sites and wine and restaurants, etc.

As always - thanks!

 

[geeky_grrl]

This spring I went on a cider tour in Normandy and we had a guide take us to d-day sites. His company is Allied Victory Tours | Home | private guided D-Day tours and he did a fabulous job. He also runs a b&b with his wife who is also a wwii historian.

 

[stephenson]

OK - finally getting final plans in place - still don't have tours set up out of Bayeux. Mid September to early October.

We travel to visit friends in Crowborough (south of London) for a few days, then they will drop us at train for transit to Portsmouth. Spend the night there - any recommendations close to the ferry port?), grab ferry next morning around 8 am. Ferry to Oistreham port, and then a cab or car service to Bayeux. Staying at Maison Mertens near cathedral - walking distance for tour pickups.

So - we have two full days set aside for tours ... don't mind small group tours - sometimes fun because of who you meet. Recommendations for specific companies? Viator has their usual options, and some of you may have coordinated tours through them - they were good in Italy so no issues. Any company your really liked? Broad history interest and certainly want to have time to understand what we see and go to the appropriate museums.

Will need to get from Bayeux to Bordeaux - were planning on getting tour service to tour from Bayeux to Bordeaux ... anyone done this? Recommendations?

Meet our group - about 10 - in Bordeaux - day trips (incl Saint Emilion), night food and wine crawls, etc. Any recommendations for tours or things you found particularly worthwhile?

I'm talking to tour service called Basque Tours to have transport/tour from Bordeaux to San Sebastian ... about $150 a person with three stops between. Anyone know about them? Other recommendations to combine relocation between Bordeaux and San Sebastian with touring?

4-5 days in San Seb. Recommendations on tours? Don't want to go too coastal, as after we leave San Sebastian, we drive to Ribadesella - three days there - and then to Madrid for three days downtown. Any recommendations are always appreciated!

Thanks - getting excited!!

 

[Scrapr]

I think Viator is an aggregator. So you are not dealing with the company directly. Anything goes sideways and you can be in a world of hurt. The Dale Booth tours get good reviews. And since they are bigger probably can fit you in. I would book direct. TripAdvisor can send you in a general direction

We used a private guide in his own van in Normandy. It was fantastic. Downside is one party could book him solid. He can personalize the time. We spent 2 days with him. He was very good talking with our 21 y/o about strategy and movements. We saw a few places that were too small to get a big tour bus into. He was good about working around the bigger groups. Not getting into ea others way. w spent several hours at pointe du Hoc. It was fantastic seeing the inside of the bunker. Seeing what the Germans saw. The huge craters rom the bombing all around.

Home - ddayguidedtours

Bayeux is a long way from Bordeaux. Have you thought about train travel? There are several trains a day from Caen to Paris. I think about 2 hours. Then a fast train to Bordeaux. I think Paris to Bordeaux is about 3 hours. Don't quote me on that time. But IMO much more comfortable than a bus.

 

[stephenson]

Thanks, SCAPR,

I understand Viator is am aggregator - while we good luck with them doing this on other trips, one does have the feeling of too much separatiom between business deal and actual tour

I just sent Mathias Leclerc a note with dates, et al ... told him we were amenable to sharing a tour with another couple or a private tour.

Yeah - looking at options to get from Bayeux to Bordeaux ... may set up a tour to hit a few interesting spots on the way to Bordeaux ... way more expensive, but door to door might be worth it.

 

[audreyh1]

Bayeux is a long way from Bordeaux. Have you thought about train travel? There are several trains a day from Caen to Paris. I think about 2 hours. Then a fast train to Bordeaux. I think Paris to Bordeaux is about 3 hours. Don't quote me on that time. But IMO much more comfortable than a bus.

I think Paris to Bordeaux is now two hours. The obstacle, however, is the two train stations in Paris are pretty far apart, so you need plenty of time to get from one to the other via taxi or whatever. If it were me I’d just at least spend a night in Paris. Or avoid Paris altogether and change trains at CDG airport or some other more convenient location. Plus Paris is way east of a direct south route.

There is a direct Lille to Bordeaux TGV. It stops at CDG among other locations, so you might be able to connect to that one. Looks like Tours would be the best transfer location. But you are looking at over 6 hours by train.

We’re using that to get from Bordeaux to CDG, about 3 hours.

 

[Scrapr]

Thanks, SCAPR,

I understand Viator is am aggregator - while we good luck with them doing this on other trips, one does have the feeling of too much separatiom between business deal and actual tour

I just sent Mathias Leclerc a note with dates, et al ... told him we were amenable to sharing a tour with another couple or a private tour.

Yeah - looking at options to get from Bayeux to Bordeaux ... may set up a tour to hit a few interesting spots on the way to Bordeaux ... way more expensive, but door to door might be worth it.

Mathias is a bit slow on answering e mails. I hope you can hook up with him. When I found him on Trip Advisor he had like 100 reviews and basically all 5 stars. Which made my deselection process difficult. If I'm interested in something I go look at all the one star reviews. If there is a common theme of poor service or rooms or whatever I move along. Could not do it with Mathias though!

The train we took to Caen & back was from St Lazare station. So you would need to transfer to a TGV station. At which point I'd just stay a bit in paris. Twist my arm.

just looked up the schedule. 23 trains a day! First one at 0530. ouchie that is early

I am seriously thinking of a bike tour in Bordeaux next Spring. Have not started researching yet. Let's have a trip report when you get back. Or even better a daily travel report

 

[stephenson]

Hi All,

Gah - I waited pretty late for tours so having to scramble now .... many are already full.

I do need some additional advice ... we looked at hiring a car and driver from Bayeux to Bordeaux, but that looks very expensive. We really like trains, but the transfers in Paris can be a bit daunting the first time.

The train route from trainline is about 5 hours from Bayeux, with transfer between Saint Lazare and Montparnasse. One can cab from station to station, but Paris traffic can be pretty bad ... there is an RER - I think - but, have not been able to figure this one out ... anyone RER/Metro from Lazare to Montparnasse?

 

[audreyh1]

Hi All,

Gah - I waited pretty late for tours so having to scramble now .... many are already full.

I do need some additional advice ... we looked at hiring a car and driver from Bayeux to Bordeaux, but that looks very expensive. We really like trains, but the transfers in Paris can be a bit daunting the first time.

The train route from trainline is about 5 hours from Bayeux, with transfer between Saint Lazare and Montparnasse. One can cab from station to station, but Paris traffic can be pretty bad ... there is an RER - I think - but, have not been able to figure this one out ... anyone RER/Metro from Lazare to Montparnasse?

You absolutely do not want to transfer in Paris. Paris is way out of the way east anyway.

Google Maps knows typical train routes. You’ll see a transfer near Tours.

You have to take a train from Bayeaux to Caen, then Caen to Tours, Tours to Bordeaux (actually the transfer is near Tours at the Gare de St-Pierre-des-Corps where you pick up the high speed train from Paris). About 6.5 hours total including a long lunch break in Tours. 3 trains is the shortest. But you don’t have to deal with transferring across town in Paris.
https://www.google.com/search?q=tra...7789!2m6!5e1!5e2!5e3!6e0!7e2!8j1566374400!3e3

Hmmm - it looks like the online searches are forcing changes in Paris. But that makes no sense, when obviously google can see more direct routes. It may be 1 less train but the exchange in Paris is far worse that taking a short train from Bayeux to Caen.

I think you have to buy Caen to Bordeaux tickets, and a separate ticket to get from Bayeaux to Caen.

Yes - that's the trick. Pick a route Caen to Bordeaux that takes you through the St-Pierre-des-Corps station where you transfer in place. You do have to watch it - most routes offered are still going through Paris - yuck.

 

[WestUniversity]

We stayed at a hotel in Bayeaux and went on an Overlord tour. It was fantastic...

www.overlordtour.com

 

[davebarnes]

Rome2Rio.com shows the Caen-Tours-Bordeaux route.
5:40

 

[DrRoy]

We self drove around the Normandy battlefield sites, went to see the cliffs at Etretat, and also the Bayeax Tapestry.

 

[stephenson]

Audrey - thanks - I'm looking on trainline.com - shows the more direct route, but it looks like there is a transfer of station from Tours to Gare St Pierre des Corps ... it shows: Bayeux-Caen-Tours-St Pierre des Corps-Bordeaux. So, a transfer is needed - there looks to be either a bus or a train (about 5 minutes for either). Is there a preference? Good pricing for 2nd class - any reason to do 1st class on these routes?

 

[davebarnes]

Go to SNCF.fr and buy tickets

0901-1140 Caen to Tours Saint-Pierre-des-Corps 2:39 INTERCITÉS N°13020

1302-1452 Tours Saint-Pierre-des-Corps tp Bordeaux Sant-JeanTGV 1:50 TGV N°5202

 

[audreyh1]

Audrey - thanks - I'm looking on trainline.com - shows the more direct route, but it looks like there is a transfer of station from Tours to Gare St Pierre des Corps ... it shows: Bayeux-Caen-Tours-St Pierre des Corps-Bordeaux. So, a transfer is needed - there looks to be either a bus or a train (about 5 minutes for either). Is there a preference? Good pricing for 2nd class - any reason to do 1st class on these routes?

There are still more direct routes than that with no transfer from Tours to St Pierre. You may find them if you search Caen to Bordeaux. I saw one option shown with Trainline. Day of the week might matter.

This one:
Intercity train departs Gare de Caen 9:01am, arrives Gare de St-Pierre-de-Corps at 11:40am
TGV train departs Gare de St-Pierre-de-Corps at 1:02pm, arrives Gare de Bordeaux St-Jean at 2:52pm

So the transfer is at the Gare de St-Pierre-de-Corps station.

Then you need to get a train from Bayeux to Gare de Caen that arrives before 9:01am. Google was showing an intercity train that left at 8:34am and arrives Gare de Caen at 8:49am. If you wanted more time in case of delay on the first train, you could take an earlier train to Gare de Caen they seem to be frequent.

You might also try breaking up Bayeaux to St. Pierre des Corps (1 change only) and then St. Pierre des Corps to Bordeaux direct. But you still have look at the options to avoid Paris transfers. Then make sure you include a long break at St. Pierre des Corps in case of delay.

They’ve not made this easy have they. But a long break at St. Pierre des Corps would be preferable to transferring across Paris I would think.

I usually go first class on a long train trip because it’s more comfortable and often not a whole lot more then second if you buy ahead. Maybe another 20 to 30 euros for total trip. It really depends on the price difference.

 

[stephenson]

Audrey and Dave,

Thanks for info!

Looks like, after digging a bit more, that the following is likely my best routing ... I thought the scheduling computer would offer options, but looks like you must evaluate each leg.

0816-0832 Bayeux to Caen (IC 3300 or TER 852104) (at least this early for extra time)
0901-1140 Caen to St Pierre des Corps (IC 13020)
1302-1452 St Pierre des Corps to Bordeaux (TGV 8431)

 

[audreyh1]

The route and times look right. The train numbers might change day to day. The routes I am seeing include the IC 13020 as you posted, but TGV 5202 is the number I see on the 13:02 St-Pierre-des-Corps to Bordeaux St-Jean leg.

Reservations - can be made up to 90 days in advance normally. I just mention this because if someone looks further out, they may see no or fewer routes.

Honestly - I have never had to create a route from the individual legs, but I would feel comfortable doing so. I think it's odd that the SNCF system handles this route so poorly.

Having individual tickets per leg means it's your responsibility in case of a missed train. But as long as you allow time for transfers in case one leg has small delay, which can happen, I think you'll be fine. Certainly the long transfer time at St Pierre is plenty.