Welcome to Allied Victory Tours

Private guided tours of the D-Day landing beaches and battlefields of Normandy
by historian Mike van den Dobbelsteen.

"Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force: You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade..." - General Dwight D. Eisenhower

Nearly 2 million Allied forces were involved in the largest military operation the world has ever seen. 156,000 American, British, Canadian and French troops land along nearly 100 miles of Norman coastline, and breach Fortress Europe within hours. It is 6 June 1944… the Allies have launched Operation Overlord… it’s D-Day.

Allied Victory Tours offers tours to American, British, Canadian and French landing sites. Utah Beach, Sainte Mère Église, Carentan, Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach, Longues-sur-Mer, Gold Beach, Arromanches, Juno Beach, Sword Beach, Ouistreham, Pegasus Bridge, Merville Battery and many more…

All tours are fully English or Dutch spoken and can be personalised, and even tailor-made.

Join me to discover the many historical locations, experience walking in the footsteps of the Greatest Generation, learn about this incredible moment in world history, and take time to reflect and pay your respects at one of the many war cemeteries.

I am looking forward to welcoming you to historic Normandy!

– Mike van den Dobbelsteen

Linda C

10 August 2024

An outstanding tour for our entire family We were fortunate enough to take a tour with Mike during our July visit to Normandy. He was presented with a motley family crew – including one grandparent with hearing loss, one grandparent with mobility challenges, three mid-life adults and two teenagers. He gave each of us a memorable and deeply satisfying tour. Mike does a great job of reading his audience – figuring out what background knowledge or any special interests you may have – and then tailoring his itinerary and explanations to reflect that. Each location he chose to take us to was full of meaning and he greatly enhanced our understanding of what we were seeing. The day held special meaning to us as my husband’s father had been a paratrooper there on that day, and Mike was able to pinpoint where he probably was and when he came in. All in all it was a day we’ll all treasure and I cannot recommend Mike highly enough!

Anna

Fantastic guide We did the half a day tour with Mike. He is such a fantastic guide. Someone who made his profession from his passion. He knows probably almost everything about dday. And also a great plus is he is just a friendly and funny guy. We had a great and interesting afternoon.

Joy B

3 August 2024

A Day to Remember My family and I did an all-day tour tracing the 29th Division's progress from the beaches of Normandy to Saint-Lo. My grandfather was part of the D-Day invasion at Omaha Beach, and Mike carefully researched his unit to show us points of particular interest along the way. The entire day was a delight with Mike's friendly energy and fantastic knowledge and insight. We also visited his beautiful home (and lovely 1940s-themed vintage B&B) and his wife Deborah's impressive Women of Valour WW2 Museum. This is a MUST SEE and my teenage daughter and I particularly enjoyed Deborah's carefully curated museum honoring the multiple ways women of many nationalities contributed to the Allied victory. This museum represents a lifetime of dedicated collecting and is like none other. Mike was on time, prepared, and committed to going the extra mile for us to have an extraordinary day. We highly recommend Allied Victory Tours!

The Ericksons

2 August 2024

Wonderful tour! Mike is the perfect tour guide! Don't hesitate to contact him for a tour! Our family (of 6) were fortunate to have Mike van den Dobbelsteen as our guide for a full day D-Day tour of the American sites. He was fantastic .. REALLY fantastic! Mike is very personal and conversational. He is very knowledgeable of the sites and the history of D-Day. And he has a gift for sharing his knowledge with others in a very enjoyable way. His humor is great, he is also a good listener and answered all of our questions. He was able to make the tour personal, by including many stories of individual men and their courage and how that made a difference in the lives of the other soldiers as well as the local French people. Our last stop was to the American Cemetery, timed so we could watch the flags being lowered. Very moving! Our ages were varied (mid 20s to mid 70s), with varying levels of knowledge of the history ahead of time. We all learned so much! The day seemed to fly by. We moved by van from site to site … not too much walking for us old folks. We all appreciated the speaker system that Mike used in his van, which allowed all of us to hear him clearly regardless of where we were sitting. Even our d-i-l, who has limited hearing, was able to fully enjoy the tour. Thank you Mike for making the day so special for us.

Marijn O

30 July 2024

Amazing Full Day Tour We had an amazing day with Dutch speaking Mike. He told so many interesting stories about WWII and D-Day, we could ask him any question and there was room to adjust the Tour according to our wishes. If you are in Normandy, you must do this tour to get the full picture of D-Day and all sites which were crucial in this operation

Brian C

17 July 2024

Great experience Mike was fantastic. He had tremendous subject knowledge and was entertaining. What impressed me the most though was how adaptable he was and generous with his time. We had a sudden change of plans at the last minute on the day of our trip and he added a stop that was not planned to accomidate our last minute request. As someone who teaches a class on WW2, I would highly recommend Mike to anyone from a history buff like myself to someone with a limited knowledge of the subject.

adman2013

15 July 2024

Journey of a lifetime into the past Its hard to put into words this trip or journey to Bayeux and the D-Day experience. First if you journey to this area contact Mike van den Dobbelsteen. He was recommended by a person that our travel agent had put him in contact. So on that recommendation we contacted Mike. We gave him background on why we were coming and our group of eight family members. Mike communicated with us putting our 2 day trip with him as our guide together. He found out information about my father that we did not know and was helpful in seeing the journey these brave soldiers underwent in the turning of the war and saving out generation. Standing on Omaha Beach in the wind and tide and looking inward to just think what these soldiers saw as they ran across the beach under heavy fire in impossible odds. All should go so as not to ever ever forget what so many gave for their families and country!

Barrett S

13 July 2024

The most impactful tour This was the most impactful tour I’ve ever experienced! I highly recommend Mike and Allied Victory Tours! We started the day at Omaha and to say it was emotional is to say nothing at all; this combined with Mike’s expert knowledge of what went on in those first nightmarish hours was emotionally overwhelming and incredible. Mike is a member of the 29th infantry association and a student of their history, so I can’t express how important it is to book Mike as your guide if you have ancestors in the 29th or interested in the 29th infantry. In addition to WWll history in Isigny-sur-Mer Mike introduced us the locally claim to fame ice cream. I recommend the “Footsteps of the 29th” tour as you’ll travel Roman roads that 29ers used to navigate through thick hedgerow country side. Mike will be so much more than a guide, he’ll be a member of your family by the end of your travels. His wife Deborah is an absolute pleasure to be around and so knowledgeable about WWll and the women that helped win victory for Europe. Deborah had made her home into a women’s museum which is top notch. Can’t express enough if this is your “trip of lifetime,” you’ll want to book Mike and Allied Victory Tours.

Vacationer767590

9 July 2024

Wonderful tour with Mike! Mike is absolutely amazing! He is so passionate about WW11 history. He shares information in a way that you can understand. He welcomes questions and your own thoughts on the war. He is funny and kind and our group felt very comfortable with him the entire trip! He would tailor the trip if you had a certain part of the war you were more interested in. We also hired Mike to take us to Mont St. Michel. By day two we were all friends and it was another amazing day spent with Mike! I would highly recommend a day with Mike! You will learn a lot and gain a friend in the process! Thanks Mike for an amazing couple of days!!

8 July 2024

An unforgettable experience This tour was phenomenal, couldn’t have dreamt it up any better! Mike was as incredibly enthusiastic as he is knowledgeable. Our family had just finished the Band of Brothers series which really added something special as we were standing in the drop zones of the 101st and 82nd airborne. Mike incorporated first hand accounts along with period time pictures at each one of our stops which really added to the experience. While incredibly knowledgeable about all the units present, Mike focused in on the 29th infantry as that would be the unit my grandfather would join up with later; Mike even went over and beyond by drumming up research on my grandfather before we got there. Mike and Debra are truly passionate about telling the stories of the men and women who did their part to win the war. I can’t express enough how important it is to book with Mike and Allied Victory tour to get the most out of your experience.