Visiting war graves in Belgium
War graves in Belgium lie in hundreds of cemeteries, from Tyne Cot with its thousands of headstones to small plots of a few dozen graves beside a farm track. Finding one particular name is easier than most families expect — and standing at that grave, on the ground where he served, is often the reason for the whole trip.
This page explains how to find the record before you travel, what to send me, and how a private tour is built around the visit.
The Menin Gate Last Post
The Menin Gate Last Post is sounded under the memorial in Ypres every evening at eight o’clock. It has been played there since 1928, interrupted only by the German occupation during the Second World War. For many visitors it is the moment they remember longest from a trip to Flanders.
The ceremony itself is free and open to everyone. What a private tour adds is the day that leads up to it: the ground, the cemeteries and the names that give those few minutes their meaning — and a vehicle waiting to take you back afterwards.
Passchendaele tour
A Passchendaele tour follows the Third Battle of Ypres, fought from 31 July to 10 November 1917 across a few miles of low ridges east of Ypres. British, Australian, New Zealand and Canadian troops fought through mud for more than three months to reach the village of Passchendaele, which Canadian troops finally took on 6 November.
Today the ground is farmland again. What remains are the cemeteries, the craters and the memorials — and the stories that go with them. This tour brings those together in one day, privately, at the pace you choose.
Battle of the Bulge tours
A Battle of the Bulge tour covers the German offensive that broke through the Ardennes on 16 December 1944 and was fought across Belgium and Luxembourg through the winter into January 1945. It was the largest battle the United States Army fought in the Second World War, and the ground it covered is far too wide to see in a single day.
So every tour here picks a part of the battle. Below are the four routes most visitors choose between. Each one is private, and each can be changed around the units, the men or the family history you want to follow.
Band of Brothers tour
A Band of Brothers tour in Bastogne follows Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, through the winter of 1944–45. It is the part of the story most people know from the HBO series and from Stephen E. Ambrose’s book: the foxholes in the Bois Jacques, the cold, the shelling, and the attack across the open field at Foy in January 1945.
The foxhole lines are still visible in the woods. The field at Foy has barely changed. This tour takes you to both, and to the places in between where the men of Easy Company lived, fought and died.
Every tour is private. You choose the pace, and the day is built around the men and the moments that matter to you.
Battlefield tour prices in Belgium
Battlefield tour prices in Belgium are quoted clearly in advance here, whether the tour is on the ground or in the air, with no hidden fees or surprises. This page explains how the pricing works before you enquire.
Battlefield tours for veterans and their families in Belgium
Battlefield tours for veterans and their families are usually built around something specific: a grave, a name on a memorial, or the ground a relative served on. Because every tour here is private, the day can be planned at the pace that suits the group rather than around a fixed schedule.
Hire a private WWI battlefield guide
To hire a private battlefield guide in Belgium it helps to know what the guide is actually qualified to do. This page sets out the training, the site permits and the professional memberships, so you can judge before booking.
Small group battlefield tours
Small group battlefield tours in Belgium run here for one party at a time. There are no scheduled departures and no shared vehicles: the group is whoever you are travelling with, and the route is built around that group alone.
Battlefield tour company in Belgium
Battlefield tours in Belgium cover two wars within a few hours’ drive. In the west lies Flanders Fields — Ypres, Passchendaele, the Menin Gate — where the front barely moved for four years. In the east lie the Ardennes and Bastogne, where the Battle of the Bulge was fought in the winter of 1944. Many visitors do not realise the two are close enough to see on a single trip.