Home > Bayeux > Normandy Beaches Half-Day Trip from Bayeux
USD $80.00
Normandy Beaches Half-Day Trip from Bayeux
Bayeux, France
Pay tribute to the soldiers who fought on Normandy’s World War II beaches on this afternoon tour to Omaha Beach and Pointe du Hoc from Bayeux. Visit famous D-Day battlefield sites while hearing about the bloody events that happened there, and end with a guided visit of the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial and its visitor center on a bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
Numbers are limited to eight people on this small-group tour by minivan, the perfect way to get to Normandy’s out-of-the-way sites in one day.
After pickup from Bayeux, your guide will take you to the three important World War II sites in Normandy. Your first stop is Pointe du Hoc, the German battery that was attacked by US Rangers on D-Day.
Hear how the Rangers, commanded by Lt Col James Rudder, scaled the cliffs to get to the German gun position — a scene that was famously depicted in the war film Saving Private Ryan. With its huge fortifications blown to pieces, the site remains as it did when the US Rangers left it: like an eerie lunar landscape.
Then drive along the coast to Omaha Beach, where soldiers of the Vierville 29th and Colleville 1st Divisions landed. By far the most difficult place to land on D-Day, Omaha Beach was the bloodiest of the five beaches and the operation almost failed, but the bravery of those young men turned this operation into a victory. You’ll make two stops along the 4-mile (6-km) beach, one on each end, to give you an appreciation of the sheer scale of the events that took place here.
Overlooking the eastern end of Omaha Beach is the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, which you’ll visit next. This cemetery — the largest American cemetery in Europe — holds the bodies of 9,387 soldiers who fought to liberate Western Europe from the Germans. Pay tribute to the 307 unknown soldiers or visit the resting place of more famous figures such as General Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
End with a tour of the Normandy American Cemetery Visitor Center, where you’ll learn more about the scenes that took place on Omaha Beach in 1944. Through personal stories, narrative texts, photos, films, interactive displays and artifacts, you’ll grasp the bravery and sacrifice of the American soldiers who fought at the D-Day landings, culminating in the victory of the Allied forces.
After this insightful and moving experience, your guide will drive you back to Bayeux to conclude your tour.
Our guide was very knowledgeable and really good with our 5 year olds. Definitely recommend for people with kids who don't want to have to plan a whole lot on their own!
Review by: Jason F, April 2018
Great tour - small 4 of us another family of 3 in a van with a single guide. The guide was knowledgeable, friendly and helpful, and it was a great experience for our family parents 9 and 13 year old boys. Would recommend without hesitation. Half day was the right length for us - others might want a longer tour, but 5 hours was perfect for our 9 year old.
Review by: E.M.Andrz, April 2018
Oh my!! We loved this tour. We thought we could do the visit to Normandy beaches ourselves but opted to get this tour because we did not want to drive. I'm so glad we did it !!! IT IS DEFINITELY WORTH IT! Everything from booking the tour to actually taking it was stress-free. The small group of only 7 people made it very personable. We were a party of 2 adults and 2 teenagers. Our tour guide Francois was a walking museum! Extremely knowledgeable and very charismatic. I highly recommend the afternoon tour as this gave us an opportunity to visit several places in Bayeux tapestry, cathedral and WWII museum and in the afternoon we were able to be present at the flag lowering and Taps ceremony at the Omaha American Cemetery.
Review by: LUCY__13, March 2018
Wow! What an amazing experience to see the DDay beaches and Normandy American Cemetery. Jonathan was a fantastic tour guide, so passionate and full of knowledge, which made the experience not only informative but truly eye opening. We enjoyed every second. Thank you!
Review by: Reena G, March 2018
For a half day tour, there was a lot of information covered! Our tour guide Mathieu did I spell this wrong? Probably.. was absolutely amazing and seemed very passionate about the topic. The wide range of knowledge he had regarding D-Day was quite surprising, and greatly appreciated, as our group had a lot of questions that he was quick to respond to. I highly recommend this half day tour if you really want to see and learn about D-Day!
Review by: Paul D, March 2018
Our tour was terrific - Karin was our guide and the depth of her knowledge of the battlegrounds was exactly what we were looking for - she went way beyond what had to be done. Excellent trip.
Review by: heather87ce, March 2018
Our guide Jonathan was born and raised in Bayeux which gave us a great perspective from the French. He was very knowledgeable. He studied history in Paris and it showed! The trip was perfectly paced . I think that the full day would have been information overload for us. The weather was chilly but sunny. A bit shocking for us Floridians! After all, it is March in Europe. _br/_ We ate in Bayeux after the tour before driving back to Paris! The town is very quaint!_br/_ As expected, the tour was quite moving especially the American cemetery. We would all highly recommend this trip!
Review by: trippcook, January 2018
Our tour guide was Karina and she was a fantastic guide. Although we considered visiting the Normandy sites on our own, the tour was well worth the money we learned details surrounding the D-day beaches and battles that we would not have known without booking the tour. A must for everyone, even if you think your know it all!
Review by: Erin L, January 2018
This was a great afternoon tour to see the Normandy Beaches and the American war cemetery. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and provided lots of interesting insights and information about what happened on D-Day. I highly recommend!
Review by: Rui F, December 2017
Excellent tour and excellent tour guide. I highly recommend this tour!
Review by: stevenrma, November 2017
Great guide! Perfect tour to do in a half day. We took an early morning train from Paris St. Lazare station, switched trains in Caen, which was very easy to do, and made our way to Bayeux. We spent an hour or so in the morning touring the Tapestry Museum, walking around the town, had coffee and pastry at a quaint shop on the main street and then a light lunch near the meeting point for our tour. The bus was small but it worked and off we went. The guide was accommodating and asked us all for the times we needed to get back. He was very knowledgeable and gave us plenty of time at the sites. He then dropped us off at the Bayeux train station in plenty of time to catch our PM train back to Paris.
Review by: Gary H, November 2017
We decided to drive ourselves from Paris to Bayeux and traffic was terrible making us an hour late for meeting our guide. Our guide upon our arrival helped us to get some sandwiches to go and modified our tour. We were able to see the lowering of the flag at the American Cemetery and many of the beaches of Normandy.
Review by: Danielle D, November 2017
What an amazing and extremely knowledgeable tour guide. I learned so much on this trip! More than I could every imagine. I would highly recommend the tour guide and company. It was an intimate group of about 6 so small enough you can really ask a ton of questions and hear everything.
Review by: cjrojas59, November 2017
The tour was fantastic and the tour guide was excellent and very funny.
Review by: Brendan R, November 2017
Fantastic
Review by: Paula P, November 2017
Loved the tour and got to hear many stories. The war memorial was so moving and the opportunity to walk along Omaha beach. We are not Americans, Canadian or from the UK but we got a lot out of this tour.
Review by: Travis M, November 2017
Sonny was a wonderful guide!
Review by: Michael W, October 2017
Outstanding guide. Very knowledgeable and engaging. Great experience. I would do this again.
Review by: Kristin M, October 2017
Huge highlight of our trip to France. We stayed at the Hotel Churchill in Bayeux highly recommend and were picked up and given lots of interesting history, stories of D Day and beyond, saw the bunkers, walked the beaches and the US memorial cemetery. Top, top notch and done so well. Sobering how much this place affected history.
Review by: Steve M, October 2017
Learned a lot. Phillip knowledgeable, entertaining, insightful. Watching flag lowering at American Cemetery was emotional. Recommend this guide and his company.
Review by: Noel D, October 2017
Excellent tour. Very informative tour guide. Small group size. Highly recommended.
Review by: shannaaugust, October 2017
Great tour!!! Our guide was amazing as well
Review by: Barbara B, October 2017
This was a very good tour. Our tour guide, Sunny, was very knowledgeable, and very personable. We had a great group to tour with us, so would highly recommend this to anyone.
Review by: Katherine M, September 2017
Our guide, Sunni, picked us up pretty much on time. There were 7 adults in the group, and it was pretty cramped in the van. The weather was awful, no sun, intermittent rain, and fairly high winds. Sunni did a good job of sharing history, including some of her own, but I heard other guides in the same area giving much more detailed and interesting information. My one complaint is that I was in the back, sandwiched between two people. I had not been feeling well and knodded off a few times. Sunni said to the group that if anyone fell asleep again, that she would continure outside in the cold and wind. My eyes closed again, so she that was it, and our information session would continue outside, which was punishing for nearly all of us who were not prepared for such damp, cold weather. I have asthma and just got over an infection and have surgery scheduled for next week. Because of Sunni's decision to make us stand in the wind, cold and rain, she put me and others at risk for gettting sick, which was inappropriate and immature in my opinion. A guide should not only be an expert in her field but should also be compassionate toward those for which she is responsible. Other than this incident, Sunni did a 4-star job with guiding but I gave 3 stars because she needs to treat her tourists with more feeling and respect and be able to put herself in their shoes. As tourists were expected to walk around the different areas in Normandy in the windy, spitting rain, Sunni always went back to her van.
Review by: Marilyn V, September 2017
I'm very glad that I took this tour, however our guide Francois was over-the-top in intensity. He had vast knowledge which was probably useful in some applications, but was too much for me this day. He was able to paint the picture of what happened on those beaches in WWII, and seemed to know every detail as if he were there. Some people would like this, but I found it to be exhausting. He repeated himself quite a bit, possibly fearing that people didn't understand him the first time. I appreciated his earnestness, but wouldn't like to be on one of his tours again!
Review by: Jessica A, September 2017
Our tour guide was excellent and we got to see many of the important features of the American portion of Normandy.
Review by: ritadeisinger, September 2017
Our guide Emilie was excellent and we had a wonderful, informative and enjoyable tour of the Normandy beaches, the American cemetery, etc. I would highly recommend this trip.
Review by: gregory d, September 2017
This is a great tour , actually got to enter the German fortified bunker and bomb craters surrounding them. The town of Bayeaux is beautiful .
Review by: Mark W, September 2017
The guide was very knowledgeable and entertaining. The views from above the cliffs were amazing. And when we went to the beach he was very informative and it was beautiful moment.
Review by: Christopher H, September 2017
Every American should visit Normandy.
Review by: Sharon S, September 2017
We really enjoyed this tour. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable. This tour was great but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who has trouble walking. There is a lot of ground to cover. It's really special to see. The lowering of the flag at the cemetary with taps playing was very emotional.
Review by: nadine c, August 2017
Excellent day with Karine our guide, myself and my 2 college children had a wonderful day._br/_ She is very well spoken, born and raised in the area, felt like she really cares about what she does._br/_ It was a very hot day, her van was very comfortable. She went out of her way to check with us our train tickets, and even gave a ride back to town. Bayeux is a beautiful little town with quaint shops and restaurants._br/_ Such history amazing to see. Unfortunately a 5 hour tour is just not enough. A whole day, or spend an overnight, would have been better._br/_ We took the train from Paris, and are from New York. Hope to one day come back and spend more time in the country side.
Review by: Jennifer G, August 2017
Fabulous tour! Sophie our tour guide was amazing! She was so nice and personable! It would be good to know that the tour ends by 6, so we were able to schedule the 6:35pm train back to Paris, instead of waiting for the 8pm train since there's really nothing to do in Bayeux.
Review by: Greg M, August 2017
Antoine was a great tour guide! He was very knowledgeable and engaging. He picked us up at the train station and took us to Ponte du Hoc, Omaha Beach, and the American Cemetery. He took us on the tour, but gave us time to explore as well. I highly recommend this experience.
Review by: Lynda D, August 2017
Our tour of the Normandy beaches and the America Cemetery was remarkable, very moving. This was definitely one of the highlights of our trip around the French coast. Our Guide was outstanding, very knowledgeable and personable. I would recommend this tour to my friends and family. It is something all Americans should experience.
Review by: Natalie R, May 2017
The trip was very well organized and our guide, Francois, was extremely knowledgable.
Review by: Greg E, May 2017
Very knowledgeable tour guide that carried with him notebooks with pictures for each stop on the way. The photos showed the scenes as they appeared prior to and just after D-Day. It added a little more to the tour then just viewing the sites as they are now. Really enjoyed the tour and highly recommend it.
Review by: WILLIAM R, May 2017
The guide needs to slow down driving to the location and the speakers in the minivan need to be improved. Could not hear due to the road noise wind and tire. Then with the weather being raining and windy, it was cold and wet. Tried to get cover but she kept us up on a hill which made it colder while she talked. Her knowledge was good and very informative from what we heard. Weather was not her fault, so maybe a consideration about where to take cover should be realized.
Review by: sefe2, April 2017
An amazing half day trip with Matt. He was so excited about the subject and happy to be flexible with our family. We were 4 adults and 2 grandchildren who are 13 and 10. We all loved the trip. He made it come alive for us. He explained all the landing sites, what the problems and successes were. We visited museums and cemeteries. The cemeteries were very moving. Actually, the whole tour with Matt was. Thank you, Matt, for such a memorable trip.
Review by: MICHAEL J, April 2017
What an awesome day.. the tour guide was enthusiastic and well versed, changed my view on things I thought about Dday, _br/_ thank you!!
Review by: Catherine Y, March 2017
We had a wonderful time on the half day tour with Matthew. I highly recommend it. Matthew did a great job educating us on the D-Day battles from the perspectives of the Americans, French and Germans. It was insightful. The American cemetery brought me to tears. I was grateful to be there.
Review by: Chloe M, March 2017
It was great to go on such a small tour. 100 worth the cost of the tour.
Review by: Kathrine D, February 2017
Our tour guide, Rose, was fantastic. We were picked up right on time from our hotel in Bayeux and there was one other couple on the tour. Rose was very knowledgeable about the history of the area and took us to several points of interest. It was a good mix of guided and self-guided tour. We highly recommend this tour!
Review by: wycee20, February 2017
Rose was very knowledgeable and fun to be around. It was great to not have to worry about the transportation and she took us to more than just the beach. We really enjoyed the history and the landscape of this tour. It is definitely a must-do in France.
Review by: Jrlindb, February 2017
This was a great day top from Paris! Karen was fantastic! I highly recommend comfy shoes for some off the path walking! The timing was perfect to get sand and rocks to bring home. Had we taken the evening train train back to Paris we could have stayed in Bayeux for dinner.
Review by: Dijana B, February 2017
Excellent tour!_br/_ Loved every minute of it. My husband and i enjoyed it. I, myself am a history teacher and my husband a history enthusiast and we gained information we did not have before this tour. Honestly something i think every person should do while visiting France.
Review by: Marla B, November 2016
We had an amazing guide take us through the tour. We were picked up in a van at the train station, drove to Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery and Memorial. Our guide took us through some back roads to help us get a feel for the landscape, she gave us lots of history and background in the van while we drove. She also took us out on Omaha beach and drew in the sand to explain exactly the chain of events that happened there. It was a great visual and very powerful. It was also moving to hear the story told from the perspective of a local who really understood the impact of what the war had done and how these events saved the lives of so many.
Review by: Mary K C, November 2016
This is an excellent place to visit and this was an excellent tour. If you go to France, do yourself the favor of coming and seeing the Normandy Beaches and hearing the incredible story of our brave soldiers. It is truly amazing and mind-blowing.
Review by: Edwin J S, November 2016
Wonderful experience. Very moving and educational. Our tour guide, David, was extremely knowledgeable and friendly.
Review by: Nancy W, October 2016
Our tour guide, Emily picked us up and we drove in a van with 5 other people. Emily had a mic that used the speakers of the radio, so we could all hear her clearly. She commented on the countryside, the local customs, the war, the troops, the beaches, ...everything of interest. It was fascinating and very moving. It was well worth the price.
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