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German U-Boats were active from the very beginning of the war but took on a vital role during the Battle of the Atlantic when fleets of them were used to try and destroy Allied shipping: their story has been retold in the classic war film Das Boot. The cost of war for both crews and boats was high, with more than 28,000 German submariners being killed. This tour looks at the original U-Boat bases around Bremen, and you even get to go inside two U-Boats!
7 days from £759 pp
We offer flexible payment options
Once you have booked your tour either online, or by telephone ( 01709 787 463 ), you have the flexibility of how you pay off the remainder of your balance. You can:
Our contact and online banking payment details will be on your confirmation invoice to remind you of your choices.
Local departure by coach or Door-to-Door service, then to Belgium for an overnight stay.
We continue to Bremen for four nights. En route we stop at Deventer for lunch, and also to discuss the 1945 battles in the Netherlands, which involved ground troops from the German Kriegsmarine. We also see the road bridge here which was used as Arnhem Bridge in the film ‘A Bridge Too Far’.
Included Highlights
We start the tour in the Wilhelmshaven area and start at a huge air raid bunker on the site of one of the original U-Boat barracks, We then visit the German Naval Museum, which tells the story of the war at sea from bases here in two World Wars. We also look at the Allied bombing of the port, including the first RAF raid on Germany on 4th September 1939, seeing the fascinating Bunker Museum. Afterwards we visit the church in Wilhelmshaven which contains memorials to the U-Boat crews who died in the war. Later we see the Ehrenfriedhof, the military cemetery of Wilhelmshaven, that contains U-Boat memorials and also the crew of a U-Boat lost in 1940.
Included Highlights
Today we have an early start and travel to Kiel, from where the famous Kiel Canal was constructed before WW1 to take German shipping into the North Sea in the Naval Arms Race of that period. Here we see the massive Laboe Naval Memorial, the U-Boat Museum where you can go inside an original WW2 period U-Boat U-995 that has been brought onto dry land, getting an insight into how the crews lived. We then visit the U–Boat crew’s memorial which lists the name of every sailor who died at sea in a U-Boat and commemorates their 30,000 dead. We also look at the bombing here during WW2 and visit the British Bomber Command graves in Kiel War Cemetery.
Included Highlights
In Bremen we look at the U-Boat bases and a massive concrete bunker, which was built to act as a factory building German U-Boats. Allied bombing stopped this and now it is open as a visitors centre. Later we travel to Bremerhaven and see the Wilhelm Bauer U-Boat Museum. Here we see a salvaged 1944 U-Boat which was later restored for training purposes and serves as a superb example of what life in a WW2 U-Boat was like. We then visit Fort Kugelbake at Cuxhaven, which was part of the defences of this region and was used in WW2. Mines were a great part of the war at sea, and clearing them up after WW2 was a big problem. We end with a look at this story during our visit to Cuxhaven where we see the memorial to the deminers who cleared the seas and paid a high price.
Included Highlights
We return to Belgium for an overnight stay. En route we stop at Sage War Cemetery to visit the graves of RAF crew killed in the attack on Wilhelmshaven and then continue to Nijmegen for our lunchtime with an opportunity to see Nijmegen Bridge and the new visitor’s centre: Kriegsmarine divers attacked the bridges here in 1944.
Included Highlights
Return home.
Travel Insurance from £35.00 (7 days) (includes insurance premium tax, prices per person). Single Room Supplement from £199.00 (7 days).
Book online OR call our friendly travel advisers on:
01709 787 463
If you prefer, then you can join the tour at the hotel. To do this, we will require a copy of your passport for identification purposes and you must advise us at the time of booking.
No reduction will be given if you should choose to do this.
We are unable to guarantee that the hotel will be able to meet your dietary requirements. We find that the majority of European countries do not generally cater for vegetarians and that the meal supplied may well be what everyone else is having minus the meat.
We will of course endeavour to arrange for a vegetarian meal at the hotel. We do however suggest that you advise us of your dietary requests at the time of booking and recommend that you speak to the receptionist on arrival with regard to your request.
You will stay for four nights at the 4-star standard Dorint City Hotel Bremen (formerly the Swissotel Bremen), which is located in the heart of the city. Within walking distance of the charming market square, the hotel’s central location also offers a magnificent view over Bremen’s former city wall. Enjoy the excellent buffet breakfast served in the hotel and all guests have complimentary access to the Pürovel Sport fitness centre, with sauna and steam bath. Overnight stays in Belgium will be in city-style hotels.
Front row seats can be reserved for £15pp (up to 6 days duration), £25pp (7 and 8 days duration), £30pp (9 to 11 days) or £35pp (12 days or more) on all European tours. This offer is only available for bookings of two or four persons on our Executive and Silver Service coaches and for one or two persons on our Luxuria coaches and is subject to availability. In addition to this, seats on the second row can be reserved for a supplement of £8pp (up to 6 days duration), £15pp (7 and 8 days duration), £18pp (9 to 11 days) or £22pp (12 days or more).
Guaranteed front or second row seats cannot be reserved on transfer journeys to/from the UK port. Occasionally, front and second row seats may be on a request only basis.
Please note: children under 15 years of age are not permitted to sit in the front seats of any coach.
On some coaches the legroom on front seats, central view seats and seats directly in front of the washroom may be slightly less than that available on other seats due to the presence of a modesty board in front.
If your tour is cancelled or merged for any reason and front or second row seats or central view seats or table seats are not available on your tour, you will be refunded any supplement paid. No other compensation will be payable.
Alternatively, we can take seating requests on your booking. However, requests are not guaranteed. All seat numbers are confirmed on travel documents approximately 7-10 days prior to departure.
Central View Seats are available to pre-book free of charge.
Table Seats are available to pre-book free of charge on our Luxuria coaches.
Transfer coaches are routed approximately 2-3 weeks before departure. The route taken depends on where paassengers are booked to travel from on any particular date as to which route is taken. If you require further detailed information regarding the route to the port you can contact our Customer Service Department on 01709 830333 two weeks before you are due to travel.
With regard to the route taken by the main tour coach, this is determined by the driver.
When it comes to getting you to your destination, Leger Holidays make it easy, with a selection of travel options for you to choose from.
You can join your coach at your nearest joining point – we’ve hundreds to choose from throughout England, Scotland and Wales. To find your nearest pick up, search using your postcode below.
*Please note pickups are subject to availability.
Why not go the night before your tour for a relaxing start?
You can park for FREE for up to nine days at the Holiday Inn Ashford North and enjoy an overnight stay with English breakfast from just £41.50 per person (Based on 2 sharing a twin/double room on a B&B basis, subject to availability. Single supplements and terms and conditions apply.) We’ll then collect you from the hotel on the day of departure and return you there at the end of your holiday.
To book this package, please call the hotel on 01233 713333, select option 1, quoting ‘Leger Holidays’ and your booking reference. If your holiday is longer than seven days you can pay for additional days’ parking. Ask one of our friendly reservations team for more details when you book your holiday
On most holidays if you’d prefer to join your tour coach at Stop 24 services, you can park your car in the car park which is accredited by the Park Mark safer parking scheme and is monitored 24 hours a day by CCTV. Payment for the parking is made on arrival using the self-service machines. Excludes holidays to Ireland and the U.K. and tours travelling via Brittany Ferries.
On Single Traveller holidays and coach holidays of 7 days’ duration or more, you don’t even have to think about getting to your local joining point. If you live within 20 miles of one of our free joining points we’ll pick you up from your home and take you to meet your transfer vehicle, then return you back home at the end of your holiday. The cost is from £40 per booking each way for up to four people per booking.
If you live a little further afield, you can also take advantage of this convenient option for an additional charge – please enquire at the time of booking.
To book this tour, just give our friendly team a call on 01709 787 463 or book online at www.leger.co.uk
