Walking the D-Day Beaches of Normandy
5 days from £699pp
About the tour: Walking the D-Day Beaches of Normandy
Tour Introduction
Based around some of the walks featured in our head battlefield guide, Paul Reed’s book; ‘Walking D-Day’, we spend this tour examining the events of the World War 2, Normandy landings and waking the beaches where the bloody battles took place. We begin on Sword Beach, where we follow the men of Lord Lovat’s 1st Special Service Brigade. We then walk Juno Beach and see where the Canadians landed and follow their story seeing the German defences and an original D-Day Churchill AVRE. At Omaha Beach we discuss ‘Bloody Omaha’ and look at the story behind ‘Saving Private Ryan’. Finally, we look at the role of the British Airborne and Commandos from D-Day onwards, seeing Pegasus Bridge and the villages of Amfreville and Breville.
Tour Includes
- 4 nights hotel with continental breakfast
- Specialist Battlefield Guide
- Convenient local joining points
(Deposits from £150pp)
We offer flexible payment options
Once you have booked your battlefield tour either online, or by telephone (), you have the flexibility of how you pay off the remainder of your balance. You can -
- Use our balance payment facility online to make and track your card payments. You can pay as much as you want up until your final due date or pay it all, the choice is yours.
- Send payments via online banking.
- Send payments via cheque.
- Call us and make a card payment, either a small amount or as lump sum until your final due date.
Our contact and online banking payment details will be on your confirmation invoice to remind you of your choices.
Tour Itinerary
For customers living outside of the UK, if you want to make a booking you will need to provide a UK postcode on our online booking system. If you are not able to provide a relevant UK postcode then you can enter the postcode for London Victoria Coach Station – SW1W 9TP. You should then be able to proceed to complete your booking.
If you do encounter a problem then you can speak to one of our friendly advisors who will be happy to help.
Please Note : After completing your booking, a member of our Customer Service team will be in touch to make sure everything is okay.
Either e-mail our Reservations Department or call on 01709 830 333 and they will check to see whether you can visit a particular cemetery on any of our Battlefield Tours, if we are not able to fit it into our itinerary then you could take some time out of the tour and do this independently by taxi or public transport.
Day 1
Local departure by coach, then onwards to Caen for a four-night stay.
Day 2 - D-Day Commandos – Canadians on Juno Beach
Walk 1: We start our walks on Sword Beach and here follow the men of Lord Lovat’s 1st Special Service Brigade. We see where they landed, look at the memorial to Piper Bill Millin, and then follow their route towards the port of Ouistrehem. We see the memorial to the Free French Commandos and follow their assault on the ‘Cassino’ at Ouistrehem. As a follow up we visit the excellent No. 4 Commando Museum in the town.Walk 2: After lunchtime in Courseulles, our second walk follows the Canadian landings at Juno Beach. Here we walk Mike Sector seeing where the Canadian, Scottish and Royal Winnipegs fought. We see the beach itself and walk the German defences, look at the story of ‘Cosey’s Bunker’ and see an original D-Day Churchill AVRE that landed in support of the Canadians.
Included meals: Breakfast
Juno Beach (4)
Key Visits
- Juno Beach
- Sword Beach
- No. 4 Commando Museum
- Cosey's Bunker, Juno Beach
Day 3 - Above Omaha Beach – Band of Brothers
Walk 3: At Omaha Beach we start at the St. Laurent draw to discuss ‘Bloody Omaha’ and then walk to the bluff above the beach, getting the viewpoint the Germans had on D-Day - seeing surviving examples of their defences. We re-enter the beach area on the Vierville draw, looking at the true story behind ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and the landings of the 29th Division and the Rangers in this sector. We then visit the Omaha Beach Museum.Walk 4: Following lunch we go to St. Marie du Mont where we follow the story of the ‘Band of Brothers’ on D-Day seeing locations in the town connected with their story and then walking through the Bocage lanes to Brecourt Manor to examine Richard Winters assault on the gun battery here.
Included meals: Breakfast
Omaha Beach (4)
Key Visits
- Omaha Beach
- Omaha Beach Museum
- St. Marie du Mont
- Brecourt
- Omaha Beach Defences
Day 4 - The Eastern Flank – Merville Battery
Walk 5: Today we look at the role of British Airborne and Commandos from D-Day onwards in the so-called ‘Eastern Flank’ walking the ground between the villages of Amfreville and Breville, the scene of heavy fighting in June 1944. We spend lunchtime at Pegasus Bridge and in the afternoon take time off or join us on an optional tour to Merville Battery where we look at the attack here by 9th Battalion Parachute Regiment on D-Day seeing the Merville bunkers and museum.
Included meals: Breakfast
Pegasus Bridge (3)
Key Visits
- Pegasus Bridge
- Eastern Flank
- Merville Battery Museum
Day 5
Return home.
Included meals: Breakfast
Pre-Tour Reading
A selection of related books for pre or post tour reading.
- Badsey, Stephen - D-Day: Omaha Beach (History Press 2011)
- Reed, Paul - Walking D-Day: Battlefield Guidebook (Pen & Sword 2012)
- Shilleto, Carl - Merville Battery (Pen & Sword 2011)
- Shilleto, Carl - Pegasus Bridge (Pen & Sword 2011)
- Shilleto, Carl - Utah Beach & St Mere Eglise (Pen & Sword 2011)
Passenger Information
The Tour
The tour is a walking tour of the D-Day Beaches of Normandy, with five walks - each around three hours duration. There will be two Specialist Battlefield Guides per coach, to enhance your enjoyment of the tour. The walks are done at a leisurely pace over fairly easy ground.
Foreign Currency
The D-Day tour takes place in France and therefore you will only need the Euro. You are advised to get Euros – in cash – in advance of your tour, as most banks in France do not provided currency exchange services.
What to Bring
Because this is a walking tour you will need a good pair of walking boots. Ones that are already waterproof or easily made so are ideal. Your walking boots will be kept on the coach when not walking, and so you will also require some shoes to wear outside of the time we are not walking. Given the often changeable weather conditions you are also advised to have wet-weather gear, a hat for the sun, sun lotion for the same purpose, and a small walker’s rucksack to carry all your gear in. Again, one that is waterproof is a good idea.
Specialist Battlefield Guides
All of Leger’s battlefield tours are accompanied by specialist guides. Their individual in-depth knowledge of warfare will be informative, as well as enhance your overall experience, as they recreate a fascinating perception of the history and factual events of each battle. Discover the actual catalysts for war, the strategies employed and the final, inevitable outcomes, as well as experiencing the emotional human side of the front line.
Please note: On certain tours, you may get tour guides other that the ones listed below.
Hotel
If you prefer, then you can join the tour at the hotel. To do this, we will require a copy of your passport for identification purposes and you must advise us at the time of booking.
No reduction will be given if you should choose to do this.
All hotel rooms benefit from private bathroom facilities.
Some hotels have tea and coffee making facilities. Please check the tour pages for more information or call our Customer Service Department on 01709 830333
Most hotels have a lift, please call our Customer Service Department on 01709 830333 for more information.
Some hotels have ground floor rooms. Please email for information on individual hotels or call our Customer Service Department on 01709 830333.
Your hotels will supply towels in your room.
We are unable to guarantee that the hotel will be able to meet your dietary requirements. We find that the majority of European countries do not generally cater for vegetarians and that the meal supplied may well be what everyone else is having minus the meat.
We will of course endeavour to arrange for a vegetarian meal at the hotel. We do however suggest that you advise us of your dietary requests at the time of booking and recommend that you speak to the receptionist on arrival with regard to your request.
You will stay for four nights at the 3-star Sure by Best Western Caen Memorial Hotel or the 3-star Ibis Falaise - Coeur de Normandie.
Travel Options
Departure times given for each region are approximate. Please check your travel documents to confirm the actual timings.
Front row seats can be reserved for £14pp (up to 6 days duration), £22pp (7 & 8 days duration) and £25pp (9 days duration and over) on all European tours. In addition to this seats on the second row can be reserved for £7pp (up to 6 days duration), £14pp (7 & 8 days duration) and £15pp (9 days duration and over). This offer is only available for bookings of two or four persons on the front row and is subject to availability. Guaranteed front/second row seats cannot be reserved on feeder journeys to/from the U.K. port. Children under 15 years cannot occupy a front row seat due to French Law. Central view seats are free.
Please note: On some coaches the legroom on front seats may be slightly less than that available on other seats due to the presence of a modesty board in front.
If your tour is cancelled for any reason and front/second row seats are not available on your new tour you will be refunded the supplement. No other compensation will be payable.
Alternatively, we can take seating requests on your booking. However, requests are not guaranteed. All seat numbers are confirmed on travel documents approximately 7-10 days prior to departure.
We guarantee that all passengers on the same booking will be seated together on the main tour coach. Seats on the transfer coaches to and from the U.K. port are not allocated.
Hot and cold drinks are served on the main tour coaches. Prices are approximately £1 or 1.25 Euro per drink. Prices will be confirmed by the driver. Drinks may also be served on the transfer coaches but this is not guaranteed.
Transfer vehicles are routed approximately 2-3 weeks before departure and will depend on where passengers are booked to travel from on any particular date as to which route is taken. If you require further detailed information regarding the route to the port you can contact our Customer Service Department on 01709 830333 two weeks before you are due to travel.
With regard to the route taken by the main tour coach, this is determined by the driver.
All main tour coaches have on-board toilets. Transfer vehicles to and from the U.K. port may not have on-board toilets. When non-British coaches are used on transfers and tours (air holidays only) an on-board toilet may not be available. However, comfort stops will be made during long journeys.
All coaches feature air-conditioning. Should the air-conditioning system break down for a period exceeding 12 hours, compensation will be awarded up to a maximum of £10 per fare-paying passenger per tour.
Depending on the location of your pickup point, you may be picked up by coach (not necessarily the on you are touring on), minibus, taxi, National Express or Megabus service. You may then be taken to another centralised pickup location or service station. We operate a passenger interchange at Stop 24 Services, where you will meet the tour coach you are holidaying on and then continue on with your outbound journey. Similarly, on the way home, you may also change transfer vehicles at another location, to take you to your final drop off point.
One medium sized suitcase per person, which should weigh no more than 20kg when full. We may refuse to carry larger or heavier cases. Hand luggage can be stored in the overhead racks aboard the coach.
It could be either - This will be confirmed in your travel documents.
When it comes to getting to the Battlefields, Leger Holidays make it easy, with a selection of travel options for you choose from.
Silver Service Coach
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Silver Service Features
- Sit back and relax in specially-designed, deluxe reclining seats, with leather headrests, footrests and more legroom than standard coaches.
- Enjoy the perfect temperature onboard with climate control.
- Relax and have a chat in the spacious rear lounge.
- Servery on board offering a range of refreshments.
- Porterage* at most hotels, so you really don’t have to lift a finger.
- Time flies with our onboard entertainment system.
- With free personal headphones you can tune into the music channel, listen to the radio or watch DVDs.
- Onboard toilet
Silver Service Seating Plan
Silver Service Virtual Tour
Travel Extras
With an overnight stay or the option to meet us at the interchange, our travel extras allow you to create a travel experience to suit your needs...
Join coach at Interchange
+ Find out moreJoin your tour coach at the interchange.
On most tours if you’d prefer to join your tour coach at Stop 24 services, you can park your car in the car park which is accredited by the Park Mark safer parking scheme and is monitored 24 hours a day by CCTV. Payment for the parking is made on arrival using the self-service machines.
Excludes tours to Ireland and the U.K. and tours travelling via Brittany Ferries.
