You are eager to visit the battlefields of Europe. But rather than join one of our group coach tours, you would prefer a private tour - perfectly customized to include your own list of destinations and length of stay, traveling with just a few people in your own bubble. You've come to the right place. Liberation Tours traces its beginnings to creating private guided tours for Canadians.
Perhaps you have a father or mother, grandfather, aunt or uncle who served in WWI or WWII, and you would like to retrace where they served. We would be honoured to work with you to create a truly custom-designed trip which is tailor-made just for you, so you can follow in the footsteps of your family's military history - led by your own professional Canadian tour guide. Or perhaps you've just always found the history to be fascinating, and you'd like to see the historical sites in person.
Before we continue, we think it's best to mention up front ... private guided tours necessarily come at premium cost as compared to our regular group coach tours. Also, we would generally suggest that good personal mobility is key to an enjoyable tour - at least some of the locations you would visit may involve a bit of walking, occasionally on uneven terrain. Of course, the itinerary can be tailored to suit your personal circumstances.
Where to begin?
consider the places you'd like to visit
places where you know your ancestor fought ... and if you're not sure, let us know and we can assist with the research
places you know you need to see, like the final resting place of a family member or relative
or, if you don't have any family connection to the battlefields, a list of places you've always wanted to see, places you learned about from reading or film, like Juno Beach, Omaha Beach, Vimy Ridge or Passchendaele
there are lots of potential cultural locations to include, like Mont St. Michel, the Amiens Cathedral, the canals of Amsterdam, Big Ben in London, Florence, etc
give some thought to how long you would like to be on the road ... 7-9 days, 10-12 days, 14-18 days, 21+ days
how many in your party? just the two of you, or perhaps a group of 4 or 5?
start and finish points, for example, start in Paris and finish in London, or begin in Rome and end in Venice
what type of lodging you would prefer (typical in-country hotels, business class hotels, something more off-the-beat like a country manor-turned-hotel, or high-end accommodations)
what kind of pace you would like to have each day
whether or not you would like to connect this trip to another planned excursion, or simply add some pre-tour and post-tour time for yourself at the start and end points
air travel preferences (economy class, business class, something in between)
A few points to ponder:
transportation would be via a mini-van or similar, with ample space for passengers and luggage
to ensure sufficient space in the vehicle, it is best if each passenger restricts themselves to one (full size) suitcase, plus a backpack or similar day bag; porterage would be the responsibility of each individual passenger
your guide would expect to do the driving but we can certainly share the driving duties; rest breaks would be programmed into the day to ensure drivers are always fresh
generally, guides would take meals separately to provide you time for relaxed, private conversation
your guide would stay in the same hotel as your group, for ease of logistics
cost will be dependent on all these factors and more, hence cost estimates are really not possible at this early stage
There are many more things to cover and we can handle all of your questions ... how many/few museums you'd like to include, how much free time you'd like to program into your trip ... your preferred start and finish times on an average day ... it's all completely flexible. A special note: we create itineraries which include a tour guide who travels with you. This is to ensure you have the very best experience possible, to be certain you gain the most from each historical site you visit. We regret we do not create FIT (Free Independent Traveler) programs at this time. ______________________________
If you think you'd like to explore this more, complete the form below. And let's get started creating your amazing, private tour experience ...
