World War I Battlefields Tour of Flanders from Brussels

Despite a late start due to problems with a coach the tour was excellent. Our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly and the other travellers were good company. The weather was good which helped. It was a most interesting and moving experience. We visited the Flemish memorial, a German cemetery, Essex Farm Forward Dressing Station where the famous In Flanders fields.. poem was written, the West Yorkshire Trench found during the construction of an industrial estate, had an excellent lunch provided as part of the tour ion a very nice hotel in Ypres - visited the excellent Flanders Field museum in the Cloth Hall at Ypres though an hour was not long enough to take in everything on to the huge Tyne Cot cemetery - beautifully manicured as one expects with Commonwealth War Graves - past the Brooding Canadian soldier and Black Watch memorial statues and then to Hill 60. Here craters and shell-holes remain visible after over a century and there is the massive crater left by the huge explosion felt across the English Channel. The tour ended with the last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate - I did not expect such huge crowds of people - particularly school parties - but on the whole they behaved well and were silent for the superbly played last Post and moving wreath laying mainly by school children.

It was a long day from 9.30 am until 10 pm when we arrived back in Brussels but worth every penny and something i will never forget.

Fantastic day out worth every penny and a great tour guide.

This tour was amazing!

This tour was a wonderful experience that I will never forget. The history of our WW1 soldiers was a emotional journey
to where they are now laid to rest. A long day but worth every minute.

I took this tour on 11/11/17 and arrived at the Brussels City Tour office at 8.30Am for a 9AM departure. The office was very busy with a lot of people who were taking several different tours leaving at the same time, but the ladies in the office managed the situation very well. The bus is very spacious and comfortable which is great as you spend a decent amount of time on it while travelling from one sight to another. Our first stop was in Brugge to pick up some other passengers and our tour guide Dierkmierk I hope that is how to spell his name. Out tour guide was spectacular he was informative and engaging with everyone. The first stop of the tour was the Vladslo German cemetery where the statue of the grieving parents can be found. Unfortunately, we were not able to visit Yser Tower as the surrounding area was flooded due to the weather, however we did make a stop at the Yorkshire Trench and Dug out, and also at the Welsh National Memorial Park in Langemark as there were several Welsh passengers. We then drove to Ypres and had a ploughmans lunch bread/meat/egg/salad at a restaurant in the Grote Markt which is included in the tour price although you pay for your drinks separately. After lunch we walked 2 minutes to the In Flanders Field museum where we had almost an hour to walk around before meeting up at the exit of the museum to travel to Essex Farm Cemetery where the memorial to John McCrae writer of the poem In Flanders Fields can be found. Following this we travelled to Tyne Cot Commonwealth Cemetery where we had to park the bus and board a shuttle due to the amount of people that were there for Armistice Day. Unfortunately, this meant that we lost a lot of time and daylight and could not visit Hill 60, but we did get to spend a good amount of time in Tyne Cot reflecting on the emotional day so far. Around 5.30PM we travelled back to Ypres where we stopped at the Menin Gate and our tour guide gave us more information about the memorial and also what to expect for the Last Post Ceremony. We then had about an hour of free time in the Grote Market before attending the extended Armistice Day Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate. Finally, we boarded the bus and arrived back in Brussels around 10.30PM. Overall, I highly recommend this tour for anyone who has an academic or personal interest/connection to WWI. The top benefit of the tour is that you get to see a lot of sights in one day trip that would be almost impossible to see if you did the trip by yourself as many of the places are far away from each other and difficult to get to. The inclusion of a sit-down lunch and also a very informative tour guide was an added bonus to the whole trip.

Great tour with a very informative guide. A long day but well worth it

Amazing tour, the guide was extremely informative about the history. If you’re academic, love history this is a great tour. Keep in mind that they cram a lot in his tour so you’re always on the go. So you definitely get your money’s worth.

I learnt so mFinishing off at the Mening Gate was really moving. A lot packed into a day.

Great tour, when I booked I though it was a bit expensive, but now I think it was very good value. The guide was brilliant providing not only lots of detail on sites visited, but provided lots of historic context around the causes of WW1, etc. Coach and cafe for lunch was excellent. Very sombre tour, but very worthwhile

This tour packs a lot in and is exceptionally informative. It would take two or three days to tour Flanders Fields, but this tour gave us the highlights in a long but rewarding day. The museum in Ypres is an excellent resource that helps put everything you see in person in context. One meal was included, which was nice. The tour guide was a true expert, and he adjusted the itinerary a bit when he learned how many New Zealanders, Australians and Canadians we had in our group. I don't think you could get a better deal for the money.