D-DAY TOUR FROM SAINT-MALO
If you're staying in Saint-Malo, or arriving there by cruise ship, this is the tour for you. Transfers to the Normandy area are included, and the itinerary covers five of the major US beaches and battle sites plus lunch in the famous Roosevelt Café (meal price not included). This is a private tour for up to 5 adults and there will be no other passengers. The price (999€) is the total cost for the group, not per person. The transfer time from Saint Malo is 1 hour 30 minutes, the return transfer time is 2 hours 20 minutes. Pickup at 9am / Return at 6:30pm
"Patrick was the best private guide we’ve ever had, in 40 years of traveling. He spent a full day showing us around the beaches and memorials of Normandy and the D-Day invasion. He was meticulous as we planned the day a few months ahead of time. He arranged auxiliary transit to get from our cruise ship to Normandy. He was a superb and highly knowledgeable guide, showing an in-depth ability to show us the most important sites."
We Love Normandy HQ
Your private chauffeur brings you from Saint-Malo (city or cruise port) to our HQ in Normandy for a cup of coffee, briefing and comfort break.
The 18th-century home is close to the site of the battle of Pont Brocard where the US 2nd Armored Division held the bridge over the River Soulles against enemy attacks during Operation Cobra. The violent skirmishes at the bridge halted the retreat of German Panzer units, but resulted in many US casualties.
Sainte-Mère-Eglise
Patrick, your private guide for the day, brings you to the D-Day area. First stop is Sainte-Mère-Eglise, a place made famous by the movie The Longest Day, where a manikin of paratrooper John Steele still swings from his chute lines atop the spire of the town’s 14th-century church.
A visit to the church to see the beautiful stained-glass windows which commemorate the town’s Airborne liberators is followed by a stroll in the town square. We'll see evidence of the fighting that took place here: the bullet holes that remain in an old iron fence.
Utah Beach
From Sainte-Mère-Eglise we travel to Utah Beach. We'll visit the monuments and bunkers, climb aboard a Higgins Boat landing craft (LCVP) and then walk down to the beach where Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr told his battalion commanders: “We will start the war from here!”
Lunch at the famous Roosevelt Café (not included in the price) includes a visit to a WW2 communications bunker.
Band of Brothers
After lunch we visit the sites relating to the 'Band of Brothers'. Easy Company, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division dropped by parachute into this area just after midnight on June 6th. We'll visit the Richard Winters Leadership monument, the Easy Company monument, and the buildings and hedgerows of Brécourt Manor where Winters' platoon secured an enemy artillery position on the morning of D-Day. Given time we will visit the village of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont where Easy company spent the night of June 6th/7th or the aid station in Angoville church.
Omaha Beach
After lunch it’s a short, pleasant drive to the villages that run the length of Omaha Beach – Vierville-sur-Mer, Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer and Colleville-sur-Mer. We will visit the Omaha beach monuments and set foot on the beach that claimed more allied casualties than any other on D-Day. We will follow the ‘draws’ – the heavily defended steep-sided gullies which provided the only vehicle exits from the beach.
American Cemetery
The North American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer covers 172 acres of beautifully tended cliff-top lawns above the vast expanse of Omaha beach. We will visit the memorial, the wall dedicated to over 1,500 missing soldiers, and the graves – 9,388 crosses and stars of David. We can locate and visit the grave of a relative, or pay respects to some of the cemetery’s notable heroes, among them Theodore Roosevelt Jr, his brother Quentin, the brothers Preston and Robert Niland (who inspired the story of Saving Private Ryan), General Leslie J McNair, and Medal of Honor recipients Lieutenant Jimmie Watters Monteith Jr and Technical Sergeant Frank D. Peregory. We will plan to be at the cemetery for the flag ceremony and 'Taps' at 4:00pm.
At the end of the tour you will be transferred back to Saint-Malo, arriving at around 6:30pm.