The Traveling Professor has made over 15 trips to the Normandy Invasion Beaches. It is difficult to describe the emotions one feels on such a trip, but it is certainly worthwhile and to many, life-changing. The Professor's D Day tour has been well-developed over the years and because of the small group size, we can get to places where those big bus tours simply cannot go.
The Professor has done the tour many different ways. For instance, we have done it as a one, two and even three-day tour. We have done self-guided tours and guided tours. In this blog, The Professor will give you his best advice based upon his experiences:
Where to Stay: It is an easy 2 1/4 hour train ride to the Normandy town of Bayeux, an excellent place to headquarter your stay. We like the Churchill Hotel, full of history and charm. Bayeux is a sleepy town, but has plenty of good restaurants, and of course there is time to visit the famed Bayeux Tapestries from 1066, depicting the Norman Invasion of 1,000 years ago.
Number of Days and What to See: The Professor likes to break his Normandy Invasion Beaches tour into 3 days and take a chronological approach. The first day starts where the invasion all started at Pegasus Bridge. We tour the landing sites, cemeteries, bunkers, and museums. On the second day, we like to go out to where the allied paratroopers jumped the night before, on June 5, 1944. From there we follow the path these heroes took to secure towns, bunkers, enemy positions. We also do Utah Beach on this day and are treated to a private tour of the spectacular Utah Beach museum, with exclusive entrance to bunkers and other sites. Our last day is the most memorable with a visit to "Easy Red" beach at Omaha Beach, the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, Point du Hoc, and Vierville Draw. For a full description of The Traveling Professor's D Day tour, click HERE.
Private or Guided Tour?: A guided tour is the way to go. We have found our guides to be passionate and knowledgeable. They tell unforgettable stories and take travelers to places they simply could not go on their own. There is no doubt, take a guided tour.
For photos of our last tour to the Normandy Invasion Beaches, click HERE.