Itinerary
Day 1: DDAY LANDING BEACHES AMERICAN SECTOR
Stop At: Utah Beach, 50480 Sainte-Marie-du-Mont France
The most westerly landing sector on D-Day, Utah Beach lies on the Cotentin Peninsula, also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, and it was in fact in order to help take the vital port of Cherbourg rapidly that the Allied commanders of Operation Overlord, Eisenhower and Montgomery, decided that this further Landing Beach was required. We will have a stop to understand this often understated beach, much more complex than it first seems.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Sainte-Mere-Eglise, Sainte-Mere-Eglise, Manche, Basse-Normandie, Normandy
Quaint, quiet Sainte-Mère-Eglise became involved in one of the greatest exploits in military history on the night of 5 to 6 June 1944, as D-Day began. American parachutists were being dropped all around the area and in the village itself. We will allow time to understand the importance of parachuting and not only the missions that were to be done but what actually happened and why.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Pointe du Hoc, 14450 Cricqueville-en-Bessin France
The World War II Pointe du Hoc Ranger Monument is located on a cliff eight miles west of Normandy American Cemetery, which overlooks Omaha Beach, France. It was erected by the French to honor elements of the American Second Ranger Battalion under the command of Lt. Col. James E. Rudder. During the American assault on Omaha and Utah beaches on June 6, 1944, these U.S. Army Rangers scaled the 100-foot cliffs and seized the German artillery pieces that could have fired on the American landing troops at Omaha and Utah beaches. At a high cost of life, they successfully defended against determined German counterattacks.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Omaha Beach, Rue Bernard Anquetil, 14710 Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer France
The beaches of Omaha were a real trap for the troops of the 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions. We will have one or two stops on Omaha Beach, and understand the landings of the American troops on June 6th, 1944.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Cimetiere Americain de Colleville-sur-Mer, 14710 Colleville-sur-Mer France
The cemetery site, at the north end of its half-mile access road, covers 172.5 acres and contains the graves of more than 9,380 of our military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. On the Walls of the Missing, in a semicircular garden on the east side of the memorial, are inscribed 1,557 names.
Duration: 2 hours
No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.
Day 2: DDAY LANDING BEACHES BRITISH CANADIAN SECTOR
Stop At: Pegasus Bridge, avenue Major John Howard, 14860 Ranville France
East of Sword Beach, two bridges on the Canal de Caen and the Orne River were of supreme importance for the British 6th Airborne Division. Our stop at Pegasus Bridge will reveal what happened that night.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Ranville War Cemetery, Rue Comte Louis de Rohan-Chebou, Ranville France
We will visit the local churchyard of Ranville and the Commonwealth Cemetery with 2,235 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 97 of them unidentified. There are also 330 German graves and a few burials of other nationalities.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Sword Beach, Ouistreham Calvados, Bassa Normandia, 14150 France
As we navigate from Hermanville to Ouistreham, the whole picture of the landings at Sword Beach will unfold, our stop will be in Colleville-Montgomery.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Juno Beach, Saint-Aubin-Sur-Mer France
A slow drive will take you through all the sectors of the Canadian landings and our stop will be in Bernières S/Mer for a full presentation.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Gold Beach, Cale Marechal Montgomery, 14117 Arromanches-les-Bains France
We will drive to Ver S/Mer and Arromanches. Understand the landings of the British 50th Infantry Division whose objective was Bayeux.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Arromanches-les-Bains, Arromanches-les-Bains, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, Normandy
Arromanches is more than the beautiful seaside town it appears to be. It was chosen by the Allies to become one of the two artificial harbors built to solve the crucial problem of having the supplies brought to Normandy after D-Day.
Duration: 1 hour
No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.