Private Full Day Tour of the Somme Battlefields
5
Private Full Day Tour of the Somme Battlefields
By ALW Battlefield Tours
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About
Starting in the beautiful towns of Arras or Albert we head to the notorious battlefield of the 1916 Somme offensive. From trenches to memorials we will guide you through the planning and execution of this infamous campaign.
We only operate private tours, this will be your tour and adapted as necessary to meet your needs during the day. With our years of living and working on these iconic sites we aim to ensure you leave with memories of the sacrifice of a generation.
Given suitable notice time we are able to research and prepare a bespoke tour to cover an individual soldier or unit.
Lowest price guaranteeReserve now & pay laterFree cancellation
Ages 0-120
Duration: 8h 30m
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: English
More
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Pick up and drop off at either an agreed hotel or Arras train station
What's not included- Lunch
- Start:Multiple pickup locations offered.
- Option 1Place du Maréchal Foch, Pl. du Maréchal Foch, 62000 Arras, France
- Option 2Place du Général de Gaulle, Pl. du Général de Gaulle, 80300 Albert, France
Pickup details- Unless at a pre arranged hotel the pick up point is outside Arras or Albert train stations which are easily accessible from Paris/Lille/Amiens
Hotel pickup offeredDuring checkout you will be able to select from the list of included hotels.Additional pickup optionsDuring checkout you will be able to select from the list of included pickup points.- Place du Maréchal Foch, Pl. du Maréchal Foch, 62000 Arras, France
- Place du Général de Gaulle, Pl. du Général de Gaulle, 80300 Albert, France
End:This activity ends back at the meeting point. - Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 394029P2- Most travellers can participate
- Travel time and Lunch stop are included in the tour duration.
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
- For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.
- If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 394029P2
From
AU$568.55
per group (up to 3)
Select date and travellers
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About the operator
Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
- Optimistic44440 contributionsFantastic DayJohn has great knowledge & was able to tailor the tour to suit exactly what we were looking for...couldn't recommend this tour more!!Written 7 March 2025
- Fran17070 contributionsFamily HistoryJohn was a knowledgeable guide that shared so much history with us. The tour was an insight into where my grandmother served as a nurse during WW1. We would highly recommend this tour. Thanks again John!Written 11 December 2024
- Grant B0 contributionsThere are still many lessons to be learned from the Battle of the Somme.We had an interesting and thought provoking tour around the battlefields and memorials near Albert. John was a superb guide. He has a vast knowledge of the area and we really enjoyed his company during the day. The blue skies and clear views made it even better. We learned a lot about the war and highly recommend this tour to anyone with interests in the contributions of the AIF.Written 7 December 2024
- Quest510870152320 contributionsAn enthralling dayOur tour was comprehensive and illuminating. Alison showed great knowledge of the war's history and even stayed overtime to ensure we saw the important locations, learned about the soldiers' experiences, and saw how different countries have commemorated their sacrifice. Her love of history and passing on knowledge to her clients made the day special for all of us.Written 2 December 2024
- Martin W0 contributionsUnderstanding the Somme sacrificesAs a guided trip around the Albert Salient of the Somme, Alison, our guide. impressed us with her great, in-depth knowledge of not only the sites visited, but also the strategic rational of the battles waged, the reasons why such scale of loss occurred, emphasising the issues of the planning timescales involved, the organisation and logistical challenges of controlling thousands of troops, spread over such a wide operational front with numerous separate divisions and regimental companies all moving forward to detailed synchronised, inter-dependent, individual targets and times, that once put into motion we're virtually impossible to stop. We return to the UK with a much better understanding of why? Alison takes a real pride in passing on her knowledge and discussing our thoughts 100+ years on.Written 30 November 2024
- petermU2828YQ0 contributionsLiving the Somme experienceMy guide Brigette was a most congenial, knowledgeable tour guide, well versed in the history, minutiae of the Somme battlefields and memorials. Her family had resided in the area for generations and as such she was able to bring a most intimate accent to her guiding. She was prompt ,nicely balanced adequate time for exploring the area with extensive coverage of this major battle zone. Would highly recommend this tour with Brigette!Written 22 May 2024
- X2323WFcarolh0 contributionsAmazing guide, A must if visiting the Somme!Amazing tour, Alison was fantastic, knowledgeable and so passionate about the subject. We were visiting the Somme to pay respects to a family member that died and Alison did some detective work and found out more information about him and tailored the tour so that we could almost walk in his footsteps aswell as seeing the normal battlefield views. I will be recommending Alison to anyone who visits the Somme and will not hesitate to use her again when we revisit in the future.Written 23 February 2024
- Maps480799079070 contributionsExcellent day trip from ArrasA day tour with Alison which was very enjoyable. Along with being very informative, Alison’s passion for the area and the First World War made it a very special event for us. We highly recommend this tour. Personalized, informative and inspiring.Written 6 November 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinions of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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5.0
6 reviews
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Xave
Australia2 contributions
Sept 2024 • Family
This was an amazing, heartfelt, sombre but truly significant experience. Alison our guide and part owner of the company was a fount of knowledge, and was extremely friendly and accomodating. My wife and I both had personal connections through relatives that fought in and around the Somme. Alison throughly researched their military history and was able to situate us in the grounds and vicinity of their Somme war experience. She possessed a deep knowledge of history and of the accompanying battle and memorial sites and was able to infuse our experience with individual stories and engagements that helped make our experience all the more real. In acknowledgement of our Australian background, Alison structured into our day much of the AIF engagement in the war but also linked experience of Grandpa Tom with the Northumberland fusiliers and also touched on the background to the war, the early years of the British and French at the assSomme and the tragic experience of the Newfoundland battalion. This was a truly profound and meaning day… a long and full and one that we will long remember. We are deeply grateful and would thoroughly recommend this experience to anyone with a willingness to engage in the history of these tragic years that so formed our current world. Thank you Alison. Good wishes always. Ken and Jill
Written 4 September 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you, very much appreciated and also thank you for sharing the lives of Grandpa Tom and your Great Uncle. It means a lot to me to be able to play a small part in keeping their stories alive.
Written 5 September 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Andrew H
1 contribution
Oct 2024 • Family
Allison is a warm and engaging English lady who has lived in the area for 20+ years. She has an extensive and thorough knowledge of the first WW which helps you bring the battles and experiences into perspective. My wife and I spent a wonderful day together with Allison who had tailored our visits of many of the war sites to include specific sites where both my Grandfather and Great Uncle had been involved. If we had chosen to drive around ourselves I think we would have become lost and confused. With Allison's local knowledge I could relax and enjoy her commentary. The more preparation and research you do the better your experience will be.
We stayed in Amiens and took the train to Albert to meet Allison. The next day we visited Villers Bretonneux and the John Monash museum which concluded a two day visit of the Somme battlefields. More time would be needed to visit Ypres and other sites closer to the Belgium border.
We stayed in Amiens and took the train to Albert to meet Allison. The next day we visited Villers Bretonneux and the John Monash museum which concluded a two day visit of the Somme battlefields. More time would be needed to visit Ypres and other sites closer to the Belgium border.
Written 13 October 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Very kind words greatly appreciated
Written 16 October 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Rio T
12 contributions
I booked this tour for my husband as a birthday gift. We met John at Arras station and he took us around the Somme battlefield and showed us all memorial sights. My husband absolutely loved it and it was a dream of his to see the trenches from the Somme. John was so polite and had so much knowledge! This is such a great experience, I would recommend it to anyone! Thankyou both
Written 5 January 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thankyou for this review and glad the birthday present went well
Written 13 January 2025
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
John C
4 contributions
Nov 2024 • Couples
Alison was so knowledgeable and warm, and did an excellent job telling the human side of stories of the Great War. A really personalised experience, I would highly recommend getting in touch earlier if you have a relative who fought at the Somme, as the tour can really be researched and personalised to give context to what they may have experienced over 100 years ago. The tour lasted about 9hrs from pickup to dropoff, full of excellent facts, history, and so much information (need to do more reading!). Nothing on our tour felt rushed or 'okay there's 10 minutes here then we go there' - it felt like we could take the time we wanted to take to see, listen, and learn. Pack warm clothes for Winter tours - even in early November it made you feel for the soldiers, with bracing winds and low temperatures (8° or 9°C)! A wonderful experience and can't recommend enough.
Written 13 November 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for these kind words and lovely to hear my tours are being received so well.
Much appreciated
Written 20 November 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Simon E
1 contribution
Sept 2024 • Family
Had a superb day. Cannot recommend Alison and the tour highly enough. Extremely knowledgeable and very friendly. Will use again for other tours.
Written 18 September 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for these very kind words and look forward to seeing you again
Written 16 October 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Martin H
2 contributions
July 2024 • Family
John Haslock our tour guide was brilliant. He had a fantastic historical knowledge not only of WW1 campaigns but also other wars which he readily chatted about to my son who is a real military history buff. He also adapted the tour for us adding in a couple of extra bits. He also booked us into a brilliant restaurant for lunch in Pozieres which is a WW1 themed place where the owner has a massive collection of artifices. John couldn’t do enough to make our trip enjoyable. We've now realised we’ve only scratched the surface of the Somme and will be booking to come back and do another tour with him. Would highly recommend him!
Written 20 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi there. There is no company information for this tour - how do we know it is a legitimate tour? Does the tour guide have detailed knowledge of the sites included on the tour?
Written 12 November 2023
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