Ìf yóu could do a WWII tour

[Apple]

where would you go and why?

I'm working with my son to plan a big trip that we're hoping to take the summer between his Junior and Senior year (he's a freshman). I'll just be hitting my 5 weeks of vacation a year, but I plan on going for a month in early summer.

We are going to go to multiple countries. He is a WWII history buff, so we'll hit a lot of places he's read about in books, biographies, etc.

I don't know how "planned" this will be. I don't want to do hotel reservations months in advance, because if we really like a place I want the option to stay for another day or two without losing money.

How easy/difficult is it to arrive into town in the morning and find a hotel to stay in the afternoon in the various countries? I plan on printing out hotel options before the trip, so we have phone numbers/addresses/websites when we get there (maybe call and reserve a room a day or two before we show up).

I wish money were no object, but it is, so I still have to do things somewhat frugal (which is no big deal, it's how I always travel and it works out well enough for us. I can afford to splurge a little, but not every day).

We've done 3 overseas trips so far, but none in the area--I know we want to hit France, Germany, Austria, Poland, Switzerland...

I don't want to go with a big tour group (BTDT, I'm looking for more flexibility). However, if there is a great day tour you've done, we're interested in those.

Thanks!

[tskeeter]

Apple, spent a week in Normandy last May, touring the D-Day beaches and battlefields. Had a really, really great visit. Mostly because of the tour guide we used. The best indicator of how spectacular a tour we had is that we came home and started to study more about the invasion. And we've talked about going back to spend another week with the same tour guide to learn even more about the invasion and ensuing battles.

Stuart Robertson, of Normandy Battle Tours, offers everything from a single day tour to the week long, all inclusive (except lunch and dinner) tour we took. We were picked up at the airport in Paris. Shuttled to Stuart and Jenny's B&B, which is located just across the lane from the 82nd Airborne's drop zone outside Ste Mere Eglise. Shuttled to dinner at a variety of great area restaurants. Then shuttled to the front door of the hotel we were staying at in Paris.

Stuart is a D-Day buff from childhood. That interest led him to a degree in history and a subsequent career as a historian with the Royal Artillery (Stuart and Jenny are Brits). While Stuart's professional credentials are exemplary, what sets Stuart apart is that he is a wonderful story teller. We found that listening to Stuart tell the stories of D-day soldiers, we could easily imagine what D-day might have been like (and occasionally had to wipe away a tear or two).

I think that you'd greatly enjoy spending some time with Stuart. The context and understanding that a guide provides is a tremendous addition to your trip.

For a general itinerary for your trip, you might want to take a look at the itinerary for Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours D-day to the Rhine tour.

We had a group of five, so we didn't take chances on hotels, etc. We did find that, even booking Paris hotels six months in advance, during the shoulder season, could be a challenge. If you're going to spend some time in Paris, we really enjoyed the Hotel Beaugency. Rick Steves tours use the Beaugency, so it meets Ricks standard for moderate price, comfort, and location (walking distance to Eiffel Tower, Invalides, Rodin museum, Orsay).

[Deleted]

the maginot line in france

when i was there in the 80's you could still go down into the tunnels

not sure if that is still the case.....but that is where i would suggest

[Driftr]

Yeah. Maginot would be cool. I'd also do Omaha beach. Throw in the bridges at Arnhem & Nijmegan(sp?) if possible (even though I can't stand the Dutch).

[thyme4change]

My first stop would have to be a library to research WWII - but that doesn't appear to be your problem. Smarties!

[wyouser]

We have winged it in Germany twice, 2003 and again 2010. We went in mid september after the end of the summer season. Had no problems finding rooms in late afternoons. Nuremburg is interesting. The Nazi Party Rally grounds are still there. Good museums. Peenemunde on Usedom Island is interesting V-1 and V-2s were developed there. Concetration camps are open to visit (sobering) Dachau outside munich is good. Have been to Buchenwald outside Weimar. There is an extension of Buchenwald outside Nordhausen called Dora.( Underground camp where V-2s and the jet ME 262 were constructed.) Wewelsburg castle is open. It was one of the SS JUnkerschulen (SS training schools) Interesting ceremonial rooms although not sure what ceremonies Himmler had done there. It is located north of the Ruhr area. I believe the towers of the bridge at Remagen are still standing (the bridge was never rebuilt). The dragons teeth of the Siegfried line still exist along the border with France. U-boat pens are still standing on the French coast south of Normandy. There are remains of Hitler's berghof and also the Eagles nest at Berchtesgaden. Lots to see depending on your area of interest.

[kittensaver]

I suggest a visit to Pearl Harbor. A great history lesson AND you can take in the vibes of the island and the beautiful beaches.

Aloha!

[tskeeter]

Apple, how about a trip that follows the invasion from the Blitz and preparation/troop build up areas in England all the way to Berlin? This gives an opportunity to see Churchill's war room and take the Eurostar train from London, through the channel tunnel, to France, and reconnect with the WWII stuff in Normandy. How often are you going to ride a 200 mph train under 20 miles of ocean?

[Apple]

Thanks for the info!

We just did London in May, spent much of our time there in various museums (the Churchill War Rooms included). (We also spent a night letting Ratchets and his wife get me drunk )

I've briefly looked at the Stephen Ambrose tours, usually check out a book by Rick Steves a few months in advance... I'll definitely look out for holidays/etc (accidentally started scheduling Rome on Easter, we hadn't booked or anything and the trip was months off, but had mentioned it to my sister--she refused to change to the next week--I won't do that again (go on a major holiday or take my sister, not a good travel buddy as it turns out).

We have distant family in France, so would really like to stop at the family homestead for a day.

All great ideas! Keep them coming, please.

Pearl Harbor won't be this trip though, it's a little far out of the way

I'll look up Stuart Robertson--hopefully he's still doing tours then. Sounds like the kind of guy who could keep my son interested! (My son has had many people tell him that he should be a history professor, he really does love it).

[steph08]

In March, my brother and I did a Normandy day tour (I really enjoyed it - our guide was very good. It included going to the Caen Memorial/Museum and a bus tour of 2/3 beaches).

We also went to Auschwitz and Birkenau. I highly, highly recommend that you book with a guide. We did the day beforehand and we are sooooo glad that we did. 1. It is in the middle of nowhere (which isn't a problem if you have a car, but we didn't), but 2. The place was a mad house! A mad house! There must have been 30 different school groups there along with groups of other tourists, and this was the middle of the week, cold March day. If we had had to wait in line to buy our tickets and get on an English-speaking tour, it would have been crazy.

Auschwitz provides the tour guides - I think you are required to go with them (can't walk around on your own because there are only certain buildings you are allowed inside). The "tour" we booked was basically the bus from Krakow to Auschwitz, bus to Birkenau, bus back to Krakow.

[wodehouse]

I was wondering what 'theatre' you were interested in, Europe or Pacific. My dad was on a B-24 in North Africa. But I digress. I have just returned from my third trip to Philippines so the WWII sites are on my mind. Not that I love the PI all that much but I went with my wife who has connections there. Our second trip there several years ago we went to Capas to Camp O'Donnell, the end point of the "Bataan Death March", that was interesting and sad. And the WWII US cemetary/memorial in Manila was highly impressive. This trip we saw parts of the "Death March" route (we were staying near-by) and also went to Bataan. I'd like to have gone to Corregidor but logistics of our trip didn't result with this side trip.