Normandy Battlefields Tour - American Sites (A3)

Posted By : Explorer58161577637
Tour guide Naomi was great. Very knowledgeable and informative. We had to be flexible on the tour since it was just after June 6th and traffic was heavy at all sites. Would highly recommend.
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Posted On : 2024-06-11 10:36:57

Posted By : N480KTannc
Overall, I honestly was disappointed. Most of it had to do with our guide (phillip) and the experience in the van. His too fast, mumbled and then lack of commentary coupled with a low level of service was challenging.
This tour should have an element of magic, of heart, of love- and it felt flat as we were led for an entire 9 hours by a guide who was rude, bored, and offered little service.
Immediately while taking off we could not understand him on his poor, spotty microphone and the wind in the van created muffling. he was upset that we asked him to speak up, and he took off his headphones and proceeded to talk loudly to the 8 of us in the van on the way to Omaha beach and that worked
ok- however he talked too fast and it was hard to understand him and he was upset that it would strain his voice and he said “just so you know, i’m surely not doing this all day” and after that he just never spoke in the van again (we were in there for hours and needed the history set ups!)

He basically would stop at each place, talk fast and incessantly for 15 minutes of gibberish and then tell us to go see it on our own for 45 minutes. This was not a helpful way to experience these critical, and beautiful sites.
After each stop , we got back to the van, he would be sitting outside for the 45 minutes, vaping and never thought twice to have the air conditioning started up for a few minutes before we got back so those stuck in the back of the van could have it cool as they entered it to drive another 1/2 hour.
he drove WAY TOO FAST and WAY TOO CLOSE to other cars- i was afraid the entire time as he was so impatient signaling to other drivers to hurry up and then trying to skirt around other cars.

The highlight was seeing 3 American vets who were visiting the American cemetery. Just meeting them, shaking their hands, seeing tears in their eyes and feeling the love they have for each other and for our country was incredible. unforgettable.

The sights were good- especially the American cemetery and Omaha beach.

The lunch was horrible. limited options and bad food.
The museum was tired, and extremely limited in any information. This is much too important of a site to have such a sub par historical museum experience. They should benchmark other museums and bring this up to what it deserves. There is some incredible footage and interviews and content and it’s displayed so poorly-

It was frustrating that our guide opted out of the first stop Sainte-Mere-Eglise Church- he said it would be too crowded. unacceptable. our friends said their guide had them go to the church that same day on the first stop to avoid crowds. To skip it all together wasn't fair or our decision.

it was frustrating that we were not able to get to the edge of the cliffs on Omaha beach to understand the height of the cliffs- a critical element of Omaha beach. again/ our friends had the same tour with a different group and they said they were able to get there!

Overall I believe this could have been an amazing day with the right guide - one who is engaged and engaging He made some rude comments about Americans (when i asked why was the German cemetery designed they way it was- it seemed dark and sad and muted- small black stone crosses- compared to the American cemetery which was beautiful, white marble crosses perfectly laid out and he said “not everyone wants the flashy American way”- and things like this throughout the day. He also spent a lot of time downplaying what this D Day meant to the war- he said there were only 95 american soldiers killed on Omaha beach that first day and many of us questioned that fact and he said he has been doing this for 11 years and the movies and every history book portray it wrong— (every other source says that so many more american soldiers were killed that day on Omaha beach- - he was adamant that the history books are wrong.
from then on we questioned every “fact” that came out of him.
he seemed so tired and bored and that just isn’t at all what this 9 hour day deserves.

it would have been nice to have cold water a couple of times throughout this day (add $5 to the price of the tickets!) and some fun snacks- and make it an experience. it was extremely transactional - like check the box and get to the next stop- and it took away the focus of what was needed- a day filled with heart!
sorry to leave this review but it’s honest.
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Posted On : 2024-06-10 05:28:34

Posted By : S7924VLroya
From May 6 to On May 10, 2024, I went on the Normandy Tour with my son. This was an unforgettable and impressive journey. Our guide Gerard is very knowledgeable. He let us experience the experience of the D-Day landing in a fascinating and enthusiastic way. The organization during the trip was well arranged by our tour guide Susan. Good hotel, breakfast, packed lunch, dinner. The bus was perfect too. Erik is a good and nice driver from Arriva Touring. A big thumbs up for Battlefield Tours.
We can recommend this great Normandy Tour to everyone.
We will certainly do other (day) tours from Battlefield Tours in the future.
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Posted On : 2024-06-06 12:28:34

Posted By : traveler508
We had a wonderful day with Jack our guide. It was well paced and full of great information. We had a wonderful back and forth dialog with him and thoroughly enjoyed our day. Normandy was a highlight of our trip! Thank you!
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Posted On : 2024-06-06 10:49:52

Posted By : DebbieB404
Our tour guide, Jack, was on time picking us up at our b and b, the van was clean, and he was a good driver. He took us to the places listed for our tour and read or said what he was supposed to say at each stop (period). He tried to skip the stop at Omaha Beach and go to a spot where we could have a scenic view/photo op. This was overruled and we walked on Omaha Beach. Jack was a nice young man but lacked any passion for the historic and emotional subject of D-Day.
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Posted On : 2024-05-31 18:10:15

Posted By : Jennifer_A
This was a wonderful tour. Our tour guide, Marie was knowledgeable and personable with a reverence for the men who fought and the situations they encountered in Normandy. She was able to bring their stories to life. We would absolutely recommend this tour.
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Posted On : 2024-05-27 15:27:33

Posted By : Dennis_T
Loved the tour and the history that was brought to the forefront. I would recommend this tour to anyone.
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Posted On : 2024-05-26 10:25:07

Posted By : Andrew_G
While the sites were beyond our expectations, the guide lacked the enthusiasm we've had with many others. We were left to discover on our own and didn't get anything more than seeing the sites on our own.
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Posted On : 2024-05-25 15:47:19

Posted By : Q9961ZLbrians
We had originally put down by mistake the American battlefields tour. But the guides will change things and accomodate the itinerary to suit you.
Our guide Noemie was really good taking us to Ranville cemetary so that we could lay some flowers. It was amazing, as well as showing us the old mediaevil church with its beautiful stain glass windows well worth a visit.
Also going to Pegasus Bridge, Arromanche, Pointe Du Hoc etc.
The Ver-Sur-Mer memorial with its silhouettes was very moving.
She was very knowledgeable and nothing was a problem making the whole days experience well worth going to.

Thanks again Noemie from Brian, Ann, Kieran and Nathan Slingsby.
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Posted On : 2024-05-24 13:16:17

Posted By : Elaine_M
Jeremy was a great tour guide. He was knowledgeable of the area and sites, and gave us ample time to explore. I highly recommend him and this tour :)
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Posted On : 2024-05-19 14:32:18