<p>We will be storming the beaches of Normandy in early July. S is a huge WWII buff and I’d like to hire a private guide for our family. I am leery of TripAdvisor and similar places and prefer to get guides through word of mouth. Has anyone done this – any recommendations?</p>
<p>We used “Fat Tire” tours twice for tours of the Normandy beaches; my husband took our younger son in 2007 and I took our older son a couple of years later, so our most recent experience was May 2009. Both tour experiences were excellent. The tour wasn’t private - there were 4 other people on the van with us. We took the train from Paris to Bayeux where we met our guide. Fat Tire is a Paris based tour company - our tour guide was a local resident who picked us up in Bayeux. If you are staying in Paris, I’d recommend this option; if you are staying in Normandy, maybe your hotel can recommend a good local tour guide.</p>
<p>I just did this in March via Overlord tours. We took the train from Paris, got in at lunch, spent the night at the Churchill and next day took the 8 hour Overlord tour. They dropped us off at the train station and it was back to Paris that evening. It was fantastic. It was a last minute plan(night before!) for us, we went with the tour that the hotel recommended and it was great. We shared a mini van with two other couples. I do not think you can do this last minute in the summer—Overlord books up at least a month in advance during the busy season.
Though it was not private, it surely felt like it, each stop was preceded by a cogent information session and then we were free to do our own roaming about.</p>
<p>I have walked the italian lake district with them, and also biked tuscany.</p>
<p>Usually I only use them when I go to Europe alone to get away, but my oldest D and I had a really great trip with them, as well, and I plan to try to get to Bali this year. I like the bike trips, personally, since I like to be moving unless I’m in Rome or Paris, where I like to be eating. ;)</p>
<p>[Europe</a> Tours, Europe Bike Tours, Hiking Trips, Family Holidays - Backroads](<a href=“Backroads Active Adventure Travel: Bike Tours, Walking Trips, Hiking Vacations”>Backroads Active Adventure Travel: Bike Tours, Walking Trips, Hiking Vacations)</p>
<p>I saw a bunch of the Normandy beaches 12 years ago when my youngest was in full WW2 buff mode. Didn’t bother with tours or guides. We’d rented a car and went where the mood took us. It was a long time ago, but my favorite stop was [Pointe</a> du Hoc - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointe_du_Hoc]Pointe”>Pointe du Hoc - Wikipedia). Also be sure not to miss the Bayeux tapestry when you are in the area.</p>
<p>We will be staying near Bayeux and will have a car.</p>
<p>If you have a car and more than a few days…I wouldn’t bother with a guide!</p>
<p>With some research, you could do this without a guide. Our guide was so good though - there were things that she talked about and pointed out that I don’t think we would have fully appreciated without her. Pointe du Hoc is simply amazing - you stand there wondering why anyone thought it was a good idea to scale those cliffs. A second vote for visiting the Bayeux tapestry. Also visit one of the British cemeteries - the American cemetery is truly awesome, but the British cemeteries bring home the impact of DDay in a very personal way. Many of the British tombstones had notes and pictures from the family - it really hit home with my then 21 yr son to read notes from the families of boys who were his age when they died.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Watch a bunch of movies
[Top</a> Movies About D-Day](<a href=“http://gofrance.about.com/od/dday/tp/ddaymovies.htm]Top”>http://gofrance.about.com/od/dday/tp/ddaymovies.htm)</p></li>
<li><p>Arromanches les Bains
[Arromanches-les-Bains</a> Travel Guide - VirtualTourist](<a href=“Budget Travel vs Luxury Travel – Virtual Tourist Travel & Rental Car Insurance”>Budget Travel vs Luxury Travel – Virtual Tourist Travel & Rental Car Insurance)</p></li>
<li><p>Collevile sur Mer - Omaha Beach
[Colleville-sur-Mer</a> Travel Guide - VirtualTourist](<a href=“Budget Travel vs Luxury Travel – Virtual Tourist Travel & Rental Car Insurance”>Budget Travel vs Luxury Travel – Virtual Tourist Travel & Rental Car Insurance)</p></li>
<li><p>Musee de Caen
[Rick</a> Steves’ Europe: D-Day Beaches](<a href=“http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/france/dday2.htm]Rick”>http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/france/dday2.htm)</p></li>
<li><p>Send me a postcard via email. :)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>PS Traffic in France … can be hazardous at times. Even more than the locals!
<a href=“http://www.americansinfrance.net/driving/Traffic-France-July-2011.cfm[/url]”>http://www.americansinfrance.net/driving/Traffic-France-July-2011.cfm</a></p>
<p>What a coincidence! My oldest son is in Normady right now! He is planning to see all the Normandy beaches after spending a long day at (I think) this museum <a href=“http://www.memorial-caen.fr/portailgb/[/url]”>http://www.memorial-caen.fr/portailgb/</a>
He is apparently couch surfing and hitch-hiking. I like the above recommendations much better! And he said that he really wants to visit the Bayeux tapestry but the bus system is not good so he’s not sure how to get there.</p>
<p>Omaha Beach and the WWII museum in Caen were really striking. All those graves, row after row…it really brought the war home. I usually don’t appreciate museums very much, but this one really kept my attention (and it was hard to walk through without strong emotion).</p>
<p>Hope you make it to Mont St Michel too, it’s not far. Very cool.</p>
<p>H and I have been there. I have no doubt we can see / do it all. I’m really looking for a guide who could provide insight that we can’t get on our own, for S’s benefit.</p>
<p>Look into ddaybattletours.com and Ellwood von Seibald. He’s recommended in Rick Steve’s guidebooks. My family had a full day private tour with him in March of last year and it was a great day. He’s extremely knowledgeable and very entertaining. He’s based out of Mer St. Eglise. His home is across the street from the church where the paratrooper’s chute got caught on the steeple. He has a remarkable collection of WW2 weapons and uniforms in his home and he’s just up the street from a really superb little DDay museum. You’ll spend the afternoon with him driving you (slightly harrowing experience) all over Normandy to various points of interest while he provides an excellent narrative along the way. Ellwood quizzes you pretty hard and I’m sure your son will rep the family well. He loved our 13 year old son who’s big military history fan and knew way more specifics about the battles and weapons than his parents realized.</p>
<p>Thanks - that’s exactly the type of reco I was looking for!</p>