Travel Tips

Trip Decision 1:  To Go with a Tour Guide or to Go Alone?  This is a personal choice that depends, in part, on your answer to the five questions below:

1)  How much knowledge do you have of WWI and of the WWI battlefields?   Do you know that a division passed through a town, or can you identify specific buildings in the town that were occupied by that division?

2)  How much knowledge do you have of the French language and culture?   Do you feel comfortable ordering food or driving overseas?

3)  Do you know people that can take you to places you have never seen?   In many cases, locals have knowledge of the battlefields that would take years to develop.

4)  What is your appetite for adventure?

5)  How much control do you want to have over the itinerary?  Going by yourself or with a small group is more demanding in terms of research time and effort, but you do have much more control over the itinerary.

The emphasis of this website is obviously to help you plan your own trip to the Meuse-Argonne sector.  However, the author also understands that many individuals prefer to travel with tour groups for numerous reasons.

Over time, the link pages will provide you with battlefield tour companies and tours.  You should talk to each of them, and you should talk to individuals who have traveled with them before choosing a tour or guide.

You can also contact me via email, snail mail or phone, and I will be glad to share my experiences with various tour groups and leaders.

Independent Travel

Assuming that you are going to travel alone or with a small group of like-minded friends, the information in this section should help you plan you trip.

If this is your first trip, one good strategy, is to go with others who have visited the battlefields earlier.  You can then benefit from their knowledge base and experiences.

In addition, I strongly agree with the independent and affordable travel philosophy of Rick Steves, a travel guide who has published numerous guidebooks (not relating to battlefield visits) and produced numerous travel documentaries for public television.  His travel books (such as Europe Through the Back Door) can be found in local book stores and libraries.  You might even want to check out his website.  http://www.ricksteves.com 

 Finally, I am looking for feedback and other tips.  Please share your positive and negative experiences with me, so that this information can be passed on to other battlefield visitors.

Play Around with the Internet and Use a Language Translator (with Care)

There's so much information available on the internet.  The French love the internet as much as their American counter-parts!  The real key is figuring out how to find needed information.  While updating this travel section, the webmaster was able to find information on gas stations (and gas prices) in the Department of the Meuse, as well as information on the new Paris-Strasbourg TGV line.

Readers should not be afraid to use language translators (like the Google language tools) to help decipher French websites and even to book reservations, etc.  Translators are not foolproof.  This webmaster generally writes the email in English, translates it into French, and sends both the English and the French version of the text in the email.  The webmaster's first name, Randy, often gets translated in the English sense (horny) or "excité" in French.

Travel Topics:  Click below to gain additional travel tips.

Getting Over There and Getting Around:  Air Travel, Car Rental, etc.

Weather, Packing, Laundry and Hygiene

Cultural Topics:  Language, Customer Service, Holidays, etc.

Hotels, Restaurants and Lodging

Money:  Money, Travelers Checks, Debit & Credit Cards

Other Conveniences:  Phone Calling Cards, Electrical Converters, etc.

Essential Services:  Where to find a gas station, a grocery store, etc. when you're not in Verdun--on one simple page.

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