LN

We're going to Bayeux next week and we would like to tour the the battlefields without using the major tour companies.

Is it possible to tour that area around Bayeux by yourself or with an individual driver? And where can I learn more about this?

Thanks

Underhill

You can certainly tour the beaches and towns on your own, although the experience might not be quite as good as with a guide. Get a copy of the Michelin Green Guide to Normandy and review the sections on the landing beaches, then decide whether you want to do the area on your own If you do, some additional reading (and maps) would be a good idea.

A number of people on this site recommend the Battlebus small tours.

freetoroam

A second vote for using Battlebus tours [max of 8 persons in a van]. Took their American Highlights tour [ http://battlebus.fr/American_Highlights_Tour.html ] last year which turned out to be the high point of our trip. You can tour on your own but the tour guide’s presentations were very informative and without a lot of detailed research on our own the visit would not have been as rewarding.

Gretchen

As Underhill said, get the Michelin Guide. We really enjoyed doing it on our own. All the sites have museums with excellent (and extensive/long) narratives. After a while you may not need to know ALL there is to know. We started up at St. Mere Eglise and worked down the coast. We had come from the east, and saw Pegasus Bridge on the way.

tower

On two different occasions ten years apart..we did our own thing. Worked very well..also did it from Ste.Mere and went as afar east as Pegasus bridge. At Omaha, we were able to drive our car almost onto the beach, looking up toward the cemetery...then walking up the long path in snow flurries.
If you do your homework, this can be just as satisfying as one of the organized tours. I also hear that Battlebus is a good alternative. Both times we stayed just 3 kms. north of Bayeux...(Chateau de Sully)...easy ride to the beaches.

stu

JerryS

Suggest you visit the museum in Caen and then the beaches, etc.
Have a great trip.

LN

Thanks so much for your help.

Judyrem

We were did our own thing, becasue I wanted to spend more time on Omaha beach and the graveyard.
My DD was on Omaha beach. I had more time to wander around and think.

StCirq

We've done it on our own a handful of times using the Michelin Green and other guides. The museum in Caen is a great source of information also. I never felt the need for a guide. There's a bazillion books and movies and guides out there for background information. Watch The Longest Day and Saving Private Ryan. Enjoy.

Fodorite018

We have done it both ways. The Battlebus Tour is excellent and I highly recommend it! They do give you plenty of time at the locations so you don't feel rushed.

Another vote for the museum in Caen. Go there first if you can.

chartley

We spent two days earlier this year with Stephane Kraus of Overlord Tours. His knowledge of the beaches and the various sites was very good, and we enjoyed the time we spent with him. We had previously visited some of the sites on our own, but certainly benefited from having a knowledgeable guide this time.

www.overlordtour.com

Skip01

We did this by ourselves a number of years ago. The most memorable sites that I recall and would recommend were Pointe Du Hoc and the American Cemetery.

FrankS

We did it on our own and loved it with just a guide book. As skip says, dont miss Pn Du Hoc and the Cemetary. If you are in Bayeux, I dont know how you will feel driving to Caen and back, but if you are short on time there are a few small museums that you can combine w/DDay bchs all in one day.

Gretchen

There are museums at every major site. As well as many roadside "museums" for D-Day. The ones at the major sites get you all the information you need about that area. We did not do the big one in Caen, but from what I have heard, it takes a day to do it justice. Maybe someone can weigh in on it.

voyager61

We also did a one-day tour in 2009 with Stephane of Overlord Tours, which picks up in the Churchill Hotel parking lot in Bayeux. We couldn't have matched what we got from him as a guide with personal research...he pointed out small things we would never have discovered on our own.

rlbplf

We have visited Bayeux three times. We used a guide the first trip and highly recommend this for a first trip. The last two times we have done it own our own but used the info gained from our guided tour to plan these. Plus reading Stephen Ambrose D-Day and other books on the subject is helpful. The guided tour will be a more efficient use of your time instead of trying to navigate to various sites on your own.

Ann1

Do your research and do it on your own. You can drive and stop in all sorts of little towns and stop at farms that Calvados (apple liquor) Do it at your own speed. I agree with the above poster to see the museum in Caen first. Make sure you take in Arramanche. Also Bayeux has a fabulous Saturday morning market.

Sue4

I spent 2 weeks in Normandy region a few years ago, and loved touring around on my own. I stayed in Rouen, Honfleur, and a countryside inn near Bayeux near the Beaches. I toured some of the Battlefield sites on my own, but still regret that I didn't do an organized tour. I really enjoyed the Peace Museum at Caen, and it's good for an overview before touring on your own. However, now I want to go back and do a Battlebus Tour, or maybe Overlord, as it gets good reviews too.

Normany is wonderful for so many things besides the Battlefields, and I enjoyed all of it!

Gretchen

I am pretty much the opposite of the above post--I really saw enough on our own, and there is a lot of repetition between teh beaches. BUT that is totally a matter of what is the interest. I was amazed, shocked, and appalled when I saw the field of vision the Germans had for ALL the landing beaches--why every soldier wasn't annihilated is amazing. And different areas have thier special points--Poine du Hoc, Arromanches, Omaha, St.Mere Eglise. BUT unless there is a connection of family or history depth, it really can be done by the guide books, along with the other pleasures of Normandy,.
I will share that friends who are members of a church choir in our town did a European tour, and did a trip to the American Cemetery. They sang a hymn on the steps of that hallowed place, and it brings tears to my eyes to think of it.