cherbourg

[cccruisin]

looking for tour company to do normandy from cherbourg port. any suggestions. (sept 13, 2011 )....

[John Bull]

looking for tour company to do normandy from cherbourg port. any suggestions. (sept 13, 2011 )....

 

 

Hi Buster, :)

Its a penny to a pound that you want to see the D-Day beaches & sights - to you Normandy means the same thing, am I right? ;)

But that's like saying I want to see Texas, when what I actually want to see is the Alamo.

Normandy is a huge departement (county) of France, with 360 miles of coastline along most of the English Channel from near Mont St Michel in the west to beyond Dieppe in the east, inland further south than Paris, and with a history older than the hills.

 

Rebuke finished :p

 

If its a D-Day tour you're looking for, try

http://www.overlordtour.com/overlordtour-from-ports.html

which I've not used but is oft-recommended on these pages. Not cheap, but may already be booked for September.

Alternatively hire a car. I regularly visit Normandy, the driving is easy and the D-Day sights well-signed & well-documented.

Lots of info if you search these boards - via the search icon on the brown bar near the top of this page, click on it & go to advance search, use the keywords Normandy or D-Day, & to avoid clutter limit your search to the boards for "British Isles/Western Europe" and "Mediterranean ports - France " (no comment :D)

And check out your cruise's RollCall, there may be folk seeking others to share a tour.

 

But before you do any of that, double-check your time in port - some cruises offer a very silly 1/2 day in port, which will severely limit your options.

 

Good huntin'

 

John Bull :)

[Dirty Harry]

looking for tour company to do normandy from cherbourg port. any suggestions. (sept 13, 2011 )....

 

We just returned from a TA on the Eclipse. We were in Cherbourg, France on April 28, 2011 and had a fantastic full day tour of the Normandy battlefields with an English couple that runs Normandy tours. He is a retired Royal Marine Lt.Col and is extremely knowledgeable on the D-Day operations and his wife is a Renaissance scholar who can provide the historical background of the Normandy area.

 

This is the second time that we have toured with them (we were also there in May, 2009) and they are excellent. I believe that in the past they arranged tours for members of the Royal Household. I highly recommend them.

 

Their web site is http://www.normandy-battlefields.org

[caripoo]

We also used Overlord tours last September. Stephan was our guide, we LOVED our day!!!

[StarTrkGeek]

What is there to do in Cherbourg if you do NOT want to go to Normandy or see the Bayeux tapestry? We will be there on All Saints Day (Nov 1). I would rather NOT do a cruise line excursion.

[Hlitner]

What is there to do in Cherbourg if you do NOT want to go to Normandy or see the Bayeux tapestry? We will be there on All Saints Day (Nov 1). I would rather NOT do a cruise line excursion.

 

That is a good question. We were recently in Cherbourg (in June) and still cannot answer the question since there really is not much to do or see in the city. About the only local place that attracted some interest from passengers was the aquarium. A couple who we befriended spent part of the day at that attraction, but they had a personal goal of seeing every museum and acquarium in every port (they actually got to 7 museums in another port in a single day :)

 

All Saints Day does create a problem since the French ( who tell the world they are very sectarian) love to celebrate any Christian holiday (any excuse for a day off works in France). In Cherbourg we simply rented a car for the day and explored some of the region (it was a delightful day). But on All Saints Day we would not be surprised if all the local rental car offices were closed.

 

Hank

[bdoster]

Did Normandy from a land trip to Paris in 2009, we went with Grayline tour. I would not miss the chance to see this area...very moving. The American Cemetery is a must see.