Both sectors in one run. Two nights in Ypres for the Salient, then south into France for two more on the Somme, with the crossing between them planned rather than improvised.
£500per household
This is not more ground than the two standard tours. It is the same ground, done as one journey instead of two, which turns out to be a materially different trip. The Salient and the Somme are about two hours apart, so doing both in one run means a travelling day in the middle and a second hotel at the other end of it — and that day is the one most people get wrong on their own.
The shape is two nights in Ypres and two on the Somme. Days one and two are the Salient, with everything close to the town. Day three crosses into France and works south, and day four is the ground of 1 July 1916. The border crossing is unremarkable now, which is worth saying, because the two sectors feel like different countries in every other respect.
Doing both has an effect the separate tours cannot. Flanders is wet, close, and built up, and the Salient was fought over for four years in a loop you can drive round in an afternoon. The Somme is open chalk country, and it was lost in a morning. Seeing them inside one week is the clearest way to understand why the war looked so different to men who fought in each.
It costs less than the two standard tours bought separately, which is the reason it exists as a product rather than a footnote. The ground is described in full on the two standard tour pages — this page is about whether to do them together.
In the itinerary, largely yes, and deliberately: the stops that are worth seeing do not change because you came for four days. What it adds is the day that joins them, the second base, and a price below the two bought separately.
You could drive it. You would spend a good part of two days in the car and arrive at the big memorials at the wrong time of day. Four is the shortest that does both sectors without the trip becoming about the driving.
Yes. The two sectors are too far apart to work from one base, and pretending otherwise would cost you most of two mornings. Two nights in each is the trade.
Flanders, as the itinerary does, because it is the nearer of the two to Calais and because the Somme is the heavier of the two to finish on.
Reviews
These are from travellers Peter has guided in person. The packs are the same itineraries, written up so you can drive them yourself.
“Pete Jefferies delivers a professional WW1 tour. He has a great passion for the subject and his knowledge is very in depth. He organised an excellent itinerary which covered all the main topics and sites of WW1. His choice of hotels and authentic Flemish restaurants were great. The whole experience was unforgettable.”
“I have been on a tour organised by Pete Jefferies and thoroughly enjoyed it — I am booked again for 2027. The itineraries have been well organised and could be changed if required but never rushed. Visits were well planned, whether it was a museum, a graveyard, the Menin Gate or the Thiepval Memorial.”
“I have been on several WW1 battlefield and cemetery tours with Pete Jefferies, covering areas in Belgium and France. The tours are well organised with itineraries that fill the days perfectly, including stops for lunch, and they can be adapted to take any weather or traffic issues on board at short notice. His knowledge and enthusiasm are very obvious too.”
“An excellent battlefield tour of Ypres and the Somme. The itinerary covered an impressive range of sites throughout both of these locations. The whole experience was informative, engaging and thoughtfully put together, bringing the history of these remarkable places to life. Peter knew so much information about each location.”
“I recently paid a visit to the Somme battlefield with Pete’s Battlefield Tours, as I have a relative buried there. Unfortunately, my great uncle is one of the 72,000 with no known grave. Pete did, however, manage to find him commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, which I was able to see — a very personal moment. Pete’s knowledge of the First World War and the Battle of the Somme was excellent and informative. On a lighter note, on Pete’s recommendation we went to an excellent French restaurant in the main square at Arras, where we had a superb meal to finish the day.”
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