D-Day American Beaches Tour: Omaha, Utah & Airborne Sites

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1/8

Duration8h 30m

GroupUp to 7

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Stand on the beaches where two US divisions landed, then follow the paratroopers inland

This full-day guided tour from Bayeux covers the American D-Day operation across four key sites: Omaha Beach and Utah Beach where seaborne troops landed, Pointe du Hoc where US Rangers scaled the cliffs, and Sainte-Mère-Église where paratroopers fought through the night of June 5. Your guide walks you through the German defenses, the first waves, and the stories of the men who fought there, ending at the Normandy American Cemetery where over 9,000 servicemen are buried. The tour runs 8.5 hours in a small group of no more than 8 people with an experienced, certified guide and air-conditioned minivan transport from central Bayeux.

8h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

The Experience

The day starts with a 30-minute drive from Bayeux to Omaha Beach, where the 1st and 29th US Infantry Divisions came ashore. Your guide uses maps and photographs to walk you through the German defenses and the brutal reality of the first waves—why the beach earned the name "bloody Omaha." You stand on the sand where those soldiers landed and hear the details of how they conquered it. Just behind the beach sits the Normandy American Cemetery, the resting place of more than 9,000 American servicemen and women. This is the most visited D-Day site in Normandy, and the guide will take you through it to pay respects to those who gave their lives.

After Omaha, a 30-minute drive takes you to Pointe du Hoc, where the 2nd US Ranger Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel James E. Rudder scaled the cliffs to destroy a German gun battery that threatened the entire US landing operation. The bomb craters, bunkers and dugouts are still visible on the ground. From there, another 30 minutes brings you to Sainte-Mère-Église, the first town captured by American paratroopers. Your guide explains the airborne operation that dropped men into the Norman countryside on the night of June 5, including the story of the paratrooper who got stuck on the church tower. This is the heart of what the airborne soldiers faced.

A 20-minute drive takes you to Utah Beach, where the 4th Infantry Division landed. Your guide describes how Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. led the first wave ashore at 6:30am and was later awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions that day. The final stop is the church of Angoville-au-Plain, a 15-minute drive away, which served as an aid station where two young medics treated about 80 wounded soldiers over two days—a moving story about dedication on the battlefield. The return drive to Bayeux takes 35 minutes.

What’s included

Experienced and certified guide leading the tour in English.
round-trip transport from central Bayeux in an air-conditioned minivan.
entry to all four sites (Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte-Mère-Église, and Utah Beach).
access to the Normandy American Cemetery and the church of Angoville-au-Plain.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearby

Operated by HQ Company Tour

Is this one for you?Small groups of no more than 8 people mean your guide can answer questions and move at a pace that lets the history sink in, rather than rushing through the sites with a bus full of tourists. The minivan also reaches the smaller villages and narrow roads around Sainte-Mère-Église and Angoville-au-Plain that larger tours cannot access.