The Battle of the Bulge Tour
MHRP & GBC Tours are proud to present our first stand alone Battle of the Bulge Tour, covering battles along the Northern Shoulder of the Bulge and down south where we'll look at the defense of the vital town of Bastogne, and take part in the town's annual "Nuts" celebration where they honor all those that served during the largest battle the United States Army has ever fought.
Dates 13-21 December 2024.
For booking, please contact Joe for details.
Day 1
13 December
Travel Day
Guests travel from all points of the compass, heading for Belgium.
After landing at Brussels Airport, the group will gather and head out to the small town of Bastogne, arriving in time to take part in the NUTS! Weekend festivities.
OVERNIGHT: Bastogne
Day 2
14 December
Today we'll focus on the city of Bastogne, and all of the celebrations related to Nuts Weekend. Between reenactment camps, memorial ceremonies at the many points of interest, and a vibrant night life, we'll enjoy a day of light travel and some once-in-a-lifetime experiences. We'll close out the day with some shopping and site-seeing, and then back to our accommodations for a brief respite before heading out to dinner.
OVERNIGHT: Bastogne
Day 3
15 December
We'll spend a very full day by delving into the story of the world-famous Easy Company's contributions to the defense and counter-attack against this last great German offensive on the Western Front in WWII. After an excellent breakfast at our hotel, we'll head over to the massive American memorial at Mardasson for a couple of hours to gain a full overview of the battle.
After lunch in Bastogne, we'll turn our full attention to Easy Company. We'll head over to the Easy Company Memorial at Halt Station, a spot that marked the unit boundary between the 501st Parachute Infantry and 2d Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry, and saw heavy fighting in December 1944. We'll then proceed over to the foxholes of the Bois Jacques and walk among them and discuss this chapter of Easy's WWII campaign.
From there, we'll make the short drive to Foy and look at routes that Easy took during their assault on the town. We’ll stand where Shifty Powers took out a German sniper, see where 3d Battalion medics maintained an aid station until overrun by German forces, and see the field where Easy took cover behind several haystacks as they moved into the town.
Once we finish in Foy, we’ll head up to Noville. From the center of town, we’ll examine how Easy advanced and helped seize this small village. Depending on time and energy, we have a few other spots to examine.
We'll then finalize our dinner plans, head out to eat and afterwards make our way back to the hotel for a well-earned night of rest.
OVERNIGHT: Bastogne
Day 1
Day 4
16 December
After breakfast, we’ll start out the day at Saint Pierre's Church, recounting a the moving tale of a 501st paratrooper's story of loss and his faith-driven recovery. After spending some time touring some memorable locations within the city proper, we’ll pause to enjoy a first class meal at one of our favorite restaurants in Europe (the entrance is an old rail car).
Bellies full, we'll head to the "X" Crossroads where the 101st Airborne's Medical Company was captured in the early hours of the Battle of the Bulge, a debilitating loss of critical medical personnel that would impact the Division throughout the duration of the battle. We'll follow that up with a visit to Bizory to talk about the fights around the small village that the troopers of the 501st would rename, "Misery".
After a pause at the location where the German surrender demand was delivered to tell that story, our last stop of the touring day will be at village of Assenois, where Patton's 4th Armored Division finally broke through the German lines to link up with Screaming Eagles of the 326th Airborne Engineers, thus ending the siege of the beleaguered town and it's defenders.
Once we finish up this full day of touring, we’ll stop back to our accommodations before heading out for a few rounds of drinks and a delicious meal.
OVERNIGHT: Bastogne
Day 5
17 December
On Day 5, we’ll begin our adventure by heading up to area known as the ‘Northern Shoulder’ of the Bulge. Over the course of the day we’ll visit small villages that were the scenes of epic fights between small bands of GIs and the advancing columns of the Reich’s assault divisions.
We’ll begin in Houffalize to visit the newly refurbished memorial displaying the well-known Panther tank. Then it’s off to Vielsalm to where we’ll see where units of the 7th Armored Division help stem the German tide. From there we’ll move out to Poteau to see the stretch of road where a portion of the 14th Cavalry Group was overrun, and some of the most famous photos of the battle were taken.
After lunch, it’s off to Malmedy to pay our respects to GIs that were murdered by advancing troops of Kampfgruppe Pieper, and then we’ll wind up our touring day with a stop at Trois Ponts, where heroic elements of the 82nd Airborne Division added to the Division’s already impressive combat record.
With all of that fresh in our minds, and a busy day in the books, we’ll head back to Bastogne for a brief rest and then out to dinner.
OVERNIGHT: Bastogne
Day 6
18 December
Day 6 will be another day on the Northern Shoulder portion of the battlefield. Starting from the Bastogne area, we’ll head up to Stavelot where the US 99th Infantry Division fought so courageously to keep the Germans out of the town. From there we’ll over to La Gleize. We’ll visit the world-famous King Tiger monument, and walk the ground where bitter fighting took place and turned this small village into a “Panzer graveyard”.
Then we’ll head over to the villages of Manhay and Grandmenil where elements of the 2nd SS ‘Das Reich’ Panzer Division met their match, fighting against GIs of the 75th Infantry Division, 3rd Armored Division and 517th Parachute Infantry.
We’ll conclude the touring day with a stop at the quaint village of La Roche to see the sights, and visit a few monuments. Once that’s done, its back to our accommodations to clean up and rest before heading out to dinner.
OVERNIGHT: Bastogne
Day 7
19 December
Day 7 will feature a bit of driving but it’ll be worth the wait, as we’ll be heading to Trier to enjoy a bit of Christmas Market shopping. We’ll partake in some proper German food, see the sights, and hopefully find a few gifts for loved ones, before piling back into our van for the trip back to Bastogne. At dinner that night, we'll discuss some options for the last touring day of the trip.
OVERNIGHT: Bastogne
Day 8
20 December
Day 8 will be a bit of dealer’s choice based on our discussions at dinner the night before. We can stay local to Bastogne and get our legs under us before flying the next day, or we can do a little exploring. We can head out to a few more sites relevant to the Battle of the Bulge, or check out some smaller, more localized Christmas Markets. It’ll be up to the group to decide!
OVERNIGHT: Bastogne
Day 9
21 December
Travel Day - Heading Home
In the morning, we'll grab a quick breakfast before heading to Brussels to catch our flights home.
The Details, Specifics and Fine Print
Full price of this tour is $3,000 (single supplement/occupancy is an additional $325).*
Full balance of $3,000 is due 15 August ($3,325 for single supplement/occupancy).
Please note that there is a $250 non-refundable reservation fee for each traveler (the fee will count towards your tour fee balance).
Payment methods accepted: Check, credit card, PayPal
WHAT THIS PRICE INCLUDES:
- Eight nights in 4 or 5 star hotel or AirBnB, located nearby to a battlefield location, with all breakfasts and three dinners included.
- All ground transportation from arrival meeting point at Brussels, to the departure point back in Brussels.
- One to two full-time tour guides for the duration of this nine-day tour, with the possibility of guest guides for specific sites/topics (schedule dependent).
- All listed events in the itinerary.
WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED:
Your airfare, all lunches and dinners not listed in the itinerary, trip insurance, and any additional purchases or excursions you choose during your free time.
* Tour price is based on double occupancy. For pairs of friends wanting separate beds, we will have this arranged at all hotels where possible. In a few instances, you may be in a more traditional European bed that consists of two separate mattresses and blankets, on one large platform. You'll survive...(or we can bring a shovel for you to dig your own authentic foxhole outside!).
BOOKING FLIGHTS:
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to us. We'll directly assist everyone with their flight bookings as well, for we know how to secure great rates, intelligent flight routes, and we want a coordinated arrival and departure time for everyone traveling.
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FINAL POINTS:
Entrance at some of the battle sites maybe limited due to owner unavailability. We will do our best to insure access but in some cases, circumstances may limit our ability to access some sites. Weather can be an issue during that time of the year, with rain or snow a distinct possibility. Please pack appropriately.