WW2 Battlefield Tours

While it is now easy to visit the battlefields in Europe yourself (for example by using the Battlefield Tourism pages on this site), especially places like Arnhem, Bastogne and Normandy, there is nothing like seeing them for the first time in the company of an expert guide. Here I have listed some of the leading tour companies which offer tours to WW2 sites, and while I occasionally work for some of them myself, I have tried to include details of as many as I could find via the Internet. Which I hope means I won't be accused of any bias! Most companies start their tours in the UK or USA, but a few operate out of the battlefields themselves, and again I have included details of them as well.

Tour operators are listed in alphabetical order, and not in any order of preference!

If you have ever traveled with any of these companies I would appreciate feedback!

PLEASE NOTE - I do not stock leaflets for these companies. In all cases contact them direct for information on their tours.

One of the oldest battlefield tour companies, Holts was started by Major and Mrs Holt in the 1970s. While they no longer have any connection with the company, specialist guides accompany every coach, many of them former senior ex-military . They have an extensive portfolio of WW2 tours, including Arnhem, Normandy, Battle of the Bulge, and further afield to the Western Desert and Burma.
Email: info@holts.com

Now one of the leading battlefield tour operators, with more than 10,000 people traveling in 2001, Leger offer a wide range of WW2 tours. The 4 Day Normandy looks at the landing beaches and airborne operations, while the 5 day tour also examines some of the inland battles as well. Other tours include Arnhem, the Atlantic Wall bunkers, Battle of the Bulge and Dam Busters and Colditz. Specialist battlefield guides accompany every tour.
Email: enquires@leger.co.uk

Now ten years old, Midas main area is outside the twentieth century, but it does run an interesting range of WW2 tours. This include Alamein and Tobruk, Berling and Colditz, the Holocaust and Stalingrad and Kursk. They also do a 'Band of Brothers' tours based around the exploits of the now famous American airborne unit - they are the only ones in the UK to do this, as far as I am aware. Every tour has its own specialist guide, and full details are on the company website.
Email: info@midastours.co.uk

One of the newer companies, it offers a number of WW2 tours guided by often well known 'experts' in their field. Most tours are a one-off, but some popular locations feature in several tours.
Email: info@twel.fsnet.co.uk

Owned and run by former soldier Iain McHenry, the company offers tailor-made tours to WW2 sites in Belgium, and especially the Battle of the Bulge battlefields around Bastogne in the Ardennes. Air port pick-up in Belgium possible. One off visits to war cemeteries in Belgium also possible.
Email: tours@trenchmaptours.com

War-history 1944 specialises in Battlefield tours of Normandy, The River Seine and Arnhem/Nijmegen/Eindhoven and the Ardennes/Bulge. It is headed by a well-known American author whose book on the Normandy Battlefields is a standard work in the United States, and a retired regular soldier ( Exeter University, Balliol and the Staff College Camberley ).
Email: tours@warhistory1944.co.uk

Founded by Alex Bulloch the company is a registered charity and works closely with ex-servicemen's associations, and its personnel are largely former policeman or servicemen. It offers a range of WW2 tours. Cemetery visits a speciality.
Email: info@battlefieldtours.org.uk

Based in Birmingham, Ian Alexander's company offers a wide range of WW2 tours including Arnhem, Berlin, The Bulge, Dunkirk, Normandy and the Italian battlefields. Further afield, they also offer tours to Singapore and Burma. Most of their guides are former police officers.
Email: Battlefield Tours and The War Research Society

An American tour company offering personally conducted tours for American veterans and their families to the invasion beaches of Normandy and Battle of the Bulge battlefields. Full details of 2003 departures on website soon.
Email: info.europe@gomilspec.com

Tours to main US Battlefields in the ETO, including D Day, Arnhem and the Battle of the Bulge. The site also sells maps and books, which you can buy via the Paypal system.
Email: Normandytours@aol.com

Canadian based company that offers tours of the Canadian WW2 battlefields in North-West Europe (D Day, Dieppe, Belgium and Holland) and Italy.
Email: colleen@colwoodtravel.com

As far as I am aware, this is the only company offering on-site tours of some of the WW2 Italian battlefields. Organised and led by military history enthusiast Costantino Sestini, at the moment they cover the Gothic Line battlefields reachable from the Florence area. Accommodation for this sector is also on offer.
Email: costantinosestini@hotmail.com

This is a new Normandy located tour company, specialising in tours of the D Day beaches for on-site visitors to the area; although other areas of the Normandy battlefields and further afield are also covered. Owned by an Englishman, who is a well known WW2 re-enactor, tours are conducted in a eight seater minibus. Pick-ups in Bayeux. Full details of availability and prices on the company's excellent website. Reservation advised.

Contact: Battlebus SARL, 16 rue de la Maîtrise, 14400 Bayeux, France.
Tel: 0033 02 31 222 882.
Email: Battlebus Tours

This is a special bus route that departs from Caen railway station every day at 09.30 and returns there at 18.15. En-route it visits: Courseulles, Arromanches, US Cemetery Omaha Beach, and Pointe du Hoc; it then returns via the same route. The service operates from 1st July to 4th September only. No guide.

Daily tours starts from Bayeux close to Tourist Office and upon request other pick up locations are available. Two main tours available. In the morning a tour of the British sector leaves at 08.30 and returns for 12.00. In the afternoon there is a longer tour of the main American beaches and sectors; departing Bayeux at 12.50pm. It is possible to combine both tours for a full day. Reservation advised.

Contact: D Day Tours, BP 48424, 14400 Bayeux, France.
Tel: 00.33.231.517.052. Fax: 00.33.231.517.474.
Email: francois.gauthron@wanadoo.fr

A Bayeux based taxi firm which offers visits to and small tours of the main D Day sights. Price depends on location and the amount of time spent there. Commentary in English. 50% surcharge for Sundays and Public Holidays. Each taxi holds up to 7 people. Reservation is recommended, especially during the main Summer season.

Picking up at Bayeux Railway station every day, at 08.30 for the morning tour and 13.00 for the afternoon tour. The tour lasts from 4-5 hours and includes: Gold Beach, Longues Battery, Omaha Beach and Pointe du Hoc. Tour price includes entrance to museums. Guide is French, but speaks English.

Contact: Normandy Tours, 26 Place de la Gare, 14400 Bayeux, France.
Tel: 02 31 92 10 70. Fax: 02 31 51 95 99.

Based in Normandy and the Champagne, this company offers tours to the Normandy Battlefields of WW2 and the war museums and battlefields where the "American Expeditionary Force" in 1917/18 fought. Day tours and longer packages available. Guide is French, but speaks very good English.

Contact: Overlord Tours, 59 rue St Denis, 02130 Villers-sur-Fère, France.
Tel: (+33) 323 826 511.

The British sector tour, starting in Caen, picks-up at 09.00 close to the Castle. It visits: Pegasus Bridge, Mulberry Harbour, Longues Battery and Bayeux War Cemetery. Returns to Caen 13.00.

The American Sector tour, starting in Bayeux, picks-up at 14.00 every day, on the western side of Bayeux cathedral where the flagpoles line the road. It visits: Omaha Beach, Point du Hoc, and St Mere Eglise.

Picking up in the car park behind the Tourist Office (Pont Saint Jean) the half-day tour visits British War Cemetery Bayeux, Longues Battery, Port en Bessin, Omaha Beach, US Way Cemetery and Pointe du Hoc. There is also a full day tour which visits Utah Beach and St Mere Eglise. Lunch is not included. Guide is Dutch, but speaks fluent English. The company also has B&B available at Chateau de Lignerolles, 8 miles from Bayeux.

Contact: Victory Tours, Chateau de Lignerolles, 14490 Planquery, France.
Tel: 02 31 51 98 14. Mobile: 06 751 288 28. Fax: 02 31 51 07 01.
Email: victorytours@wanadoo.fr

Kleve WWII Tours is offering you three different guided tours around the battlefields in the Kleve (Reichswald) area, Arnhem and Nijmegen. The majority of the tours are day tours, but arrangements can be made if you want to take a shorter tour. We also offer you full historical narration as we travel from one site to another. All our tours are designed for people who want to know what happened and why it happened and a great deal of time is spent in discussion on site. The group sizes are also limited to a maximum of 8 people, which means that we really can take the very best care of you and make your tour experience a memory for life. You could say that our philosophy is: Small groups = Very personal!

WW2 BATTLEFIELD TOURS