"Battlefield Tour Companies" Topic

Thinking of going on one of these tours WW2 NWE, has anyone used one of these company's, opinions pros cons etc appreciated

If you've already got knowledge in the subject (which you probably have as a wargamer) and your own car (or the ability to hire one), I'd thoroughly recommend saving yourself a shedload of cash and do it yourself! There are stacks of excellent battlefield guide books for Normandy and plenty of cheap and excellent places to stay. You can also tailor it to your own interests, rather than being beholden to someone else's itinerary.

What Mark said. A few years ago I did just that.
Drove from Amsterdam to see Ahrnem then up to Waterllo . Spent most of the time in and around Bastogne. went into Luxemberg also . Really puts a perspective on these places. To this day I can still feel that eerie feeling in the Ardennes woods. Cold and dreary even in Aug. when I went.
Was a great time plotting out the trip and setting the places. I would recommend a good travel agent for helping with accomodations and transfers and such.

I did a one day US Airborne Normandy tour about 4 years ago. Although it was good that the driver had knowledge of the local roads, I didn't learn anything new that I didn't know before – the guide seemed genuinely surprised that I knew more than the average visitor he dealt with.

What I did enjoy though was that the guide had taken numerous veterans around and had picked up some of their stories that you won't find in the history books.

Drop me a line if you need any advice, sample itineraries, handouts, etc for Normandy. I've run seven tours there and was 'history-geek-in-residence' for 700 cadets and staff during the 65th Anniversary. I'll also be conducting a 'recce tour' to Belgium and the Netherlands later this year, in preparation for a full tour next year.

Norrins makes an excellent point – if you do go for a commercial tour operator, make sure that you speak to the guide beforehand (I would do so before booking) in order to clearly define what you want to see and make sure you see the full itinerary before booking. A friend of mine paid £600.00 GBP for a five-day Normandy tour and ended up spending three days covering very well-trodden paths (Pegasus Bridge, Merville, Arromanches, Ste Mere Eglise and the D-Day Beaches), when he really wanted to see more 'off-piste' locations inland, as well as the well-known tourist traps. The other two days were spent doing non-warry things – visiting Bayeux and Monet's house at Giverny – which he considered a total waste of money (he was doubly annoyed when I told him about the assault crossing at Vernon; right next to Giverny, which their guide didn't mention!).

My last tour was really unusual – I was asked by a well-known history author, broadcaster and mate of mine to take him to a number of locations in Normandy, as I know the ground and the 'bigger picture' of which regiments, battalions, brigades and divisions were where, doing what, on a given day (or as he said to me, "I know that you know great piles of about Normandy."). It was actually him who had the detailed knowledge of veterans' accounts, war diaries, etc of the regiment were were following, so I probably learned a lot more than he did!

R Mark Davies – my wife and I are planning to goto Normandy this fall and would love some advice on tour guides.

In 2010 I did Agincourt/Crecy tour through "In the footsteps" tour company. (inthefootsetps.com) They do a lot of Normandy tours as well. I was happy with the tour though I did a special package, for just me, the wife, and the parents and specifically called out those two sites. The tour guide Peter Smith was very knowledgeable. We want to head to Normandy and do some tours there, we will be getting back in touch with that tour group again.

Chris

At some point I am going to take my grandfather's unit's annuals and follow where they went through Europe. That way I can read what they said and see what they did.

I would love to do that for my other grandfather (my mother's father) but I have no idea where in the German army he was after East Prussia and the war started.

I can declare an interest here before I start, as I've been a Battlefield Guide and Tour Manager for a well known UK firm until two seasons ago.

Of course you can DIY it, and more power to your elbow if you do. Especially if you want to amble around and explore to your own timescale and agenda. MOst commercial tours wont do a lot of battlefield walking, for example.

There are advantages in going on an organised tour. For a start the accommodation and food deals are just fantastic. When I turn up with a coachload of 50+ paying punters to an empty 4* commercial hotel at a weekend, you get a room rate which simply cant be bettered. Similarly with food/menu deals. Numbers count. You will also usually have a very nice tour atmosphere where you all have a common interest and pleasant socialising in the evenings. I've never met a rotter on one of my tours, just plenty of nice folk, some of whom still keep in touch.

On the other hand you dont get a lot of flexibility if you stay with the group. I always began my tours by asking if there was anything the customer particularly wanted to see or get from the tour, and made sure I included it in my talks.

The main thing about a commercial tour though is that the quality of the tour depends on the guide you get. I tried to cover a wide audience from bored housewife dragged along to keep her bloke happy to deeply anoracked specialists looking for absolute details. I tried to put enough in the itinerary for everyone to enjoy, and feedback was certainly positive.

Not all guides know their stuff, though, unfortunately, and in fact I got the job initially as a mate of mine was fed up with a particular tour he had been on where he felt "ripped off" because of the rubbish guide. They were doing the Normandy beaches, and missed quite a lot of what he wanted to see as the guide stopped off to see the Bayeaux tapestry and the William the conqueror's medieval castle. Nice locations, but not on a WW2 tour! Getting a good guide can be a risk.

But get a good guide who knows all the ins-and-outs and you can get insights you never thought possible. He or she will have contacts in the area for extra surprises in the tour. For example, for I was able to get a Belgian re-enactment Chasseurs a Pied group along to drill for my tour at Waterloo, was able to get my party into Hougoumont as a personal favour from the tenant when it was closed to the public, and took the party around a museum no-one present had known existed.

A good question to ask of your tour company is what books have been published by your tour guide. If they are vague, or the guide is clearly a specialist in another period, then perhaps you should think again……

You pay yer money and takes yer choice!

I went last year with Legere on a five day coach tour to Normandy, I reckon it would have cost me a good deal more had I gone under my own steam. Matt.

Having done there Leger tours I'd second the point above that it is entirely down to the guide.

We did an Arnhem tour where the guide was a real expert on the battle, having written a book on the subject. As an ex-soldier he gave us a real appreciation of the ground and the effect it had on the action. It was superb.

We then did a Normandy one which was good but was more generalist. We then did a North Eastern France one that covered too many themes and was very poor. It was basically a coach trip between museums and cemeteries with no `value added' whatsoever. We've not done one since and will go it alone next time.

thanks guys

@ R Mark Davies

do you have an email or shall I PM you ?

I was going to say PM me, but I've just noticed that my supporting membership has expired. You can e-mail me, but I don't want the spam-bots to harvest my e-mail address off here. My e-mail address is exactly the same as my TMP name, without spaces, followed by @hotmail.co.uk

I'm about to jet off on holiday and am a bit busy this week, so please do send me a reminder if I don't get back to you by 20th February.

That goes for you too, Zaapark!

I can't help with recommending tour companies, as I don't have any experience of them, but I can help with planning itineraries, etc.

BTW if anyone here is thinking of attending the Waterloo anniversary weekend this year, I'd give it a miss this year. There will be a very small re-enactors contingent there this year for the annual battle – maybe 100 guys per side.