Choosing a Somme Battlefields Tour: Australian, Canadian or the Whole Front

Hours, prices and access verified by the Somme Battlefields Tours team — last checked 2026-09-25.

A cemetery laid out across open fields, seen between two stone columns

Every Somme battlefields tour stops at the same free memorials, so the choice comes down to a few questions. Whose story do you want the day to follow? Where do you want it to start? And do you want the car to yourselves? Answer those and the field narrows fast. Once you know, pick your Somme Battlefields tour from the full comparison.

Whose story should the day follow?

The Battle of the Somme ran from 1 July to 18 November 1916, and the same ground was fought over again in 1918. Each army left its memorials in its own corner of it. So your first choice is a nation, or a regiment, rather than a route.

The days fall into three shapes. Australian days lean south and east, to Pozières, Le Hamel and Villers-Bretonneux. Canadian days go north to Vimy Ridge, then come back for Beaumont-Hamel and Courcelette. Whole-front days stay on the line of 1 July 1916: the Thiepval Memorial, Lochnagar Crater, the Newfoundland park and, on some, Delville Wood and the Sunken Lane.

Almost every day, whatever its angle, passes Thiepval, Lochnagar and Beaumont-Hamel. They mark the heart of the 1 July front, so you will see them on any tour you pick.

How do the tours compare at a glance?

Here is every day side by side: whose story it tells, where you meet, how long it runs, which museum the fare pays for, how it is priced, and whether lunch is in. Read across to find your row, then read the section below that covers it.

Tour	Whose story	Starts	Length	Museum in the fare	Fare	Lunch in
Small-group day, avenue des Ternes	1 July front and Australians	Paris kerb, 7 am	11-12 h	None	$261-$266 a person	No
Australian shared day, the Lido	Australian	Paris kerb, 6:30 am	12-13 h	Historial	$289 a person	No
Private day, your Paris hotel	Whole front	Paris hotel	Not stated	Historial	$563 a person	No
Private day with Vimy, your Paris hotel	1 July front and Vimy	Paris hotel, 7:30 am	9-12 h	Musée Somme 1916	$637 a person, 2 to book	No
Private Australian day, Amiens	Australian	Amiens hotel, 9 am	9 h	Musée Somme 1916	$324 a person, 2 to book	No
Private half day, the Albert museum	1 July front	Musée Somme 1916, Albert	4 h	EUR 8 at the desk	$301 up to 3	No
Private half day, Albert station	1 July front	Albert station	4 h	None	$289 up to 3	No
Private full day, Arras or Albert	1 July front, Delville Wood	Arras or Albert station, 9 am	8 h 30	None	$521 up to 3	No
Private day from Arras	Whole front and Australians	Arras station, 9 am	8 h	Musée Somme 1916	$324 a person, 2 to book	No
Historian in your own car	1 July front	Beaucourt-sur-l'Ancre, 9 am	8 h	None	$405 up to 4	EUR 10 extra
Canadian day, Lille or Arras	Canadian, with Vimy	Hotel or station, 8:30 am	9 h	None	$654 a person, 2 to book	Yes
Canadian day, Ypres	Canadian, with Vimy	Ypres hotel, 8:30 am	9 h	None	$651 a person, 2 to book	Yes

Every fare refunds in full if you cancel at least 24 hours ahead, so you can book early and still change your mind.

Which tour suits an Australian family?

The Australian Imperial Force fought at Pozières from 23 July 1916. The Sir John Monash Centre counts almost 23,000 Australian casualties there in almost six weeks, 6,900 of them killed. In April 1918 Australian brigades retook Villers-Bretonneux, where the Australian National Memorial now stands.

The private Australian day from Amiens is the fullest version. It collects you at your Amiens hotel at 9 am. It gives an hour to Pozières, 45 minutes to Le Hamel and an hour and a half to Villers-Bretonneux and the Monash Centre. Museum entry is in the fare, and you need two to book.

From Paris you have two ways in. The shared Australian day from the Lido is built around the AIF, with the Historial in Péronne in the fare. The small-group day from avenue des Ternes mixes the 1 July sites with Pozières, Villers-Bretonneux and an hour in the Monash Centre, then stops at Amiens Cathedral.

Entry to the centre is free. Earphones for its self-guided visit cost EUR 3, so keep a few euros in your pocket whichever day you book.

Which tour suits Canadians and Newfoundlanders?

Two places matter most, and they lie in different départements. Beaumont-Hamel is on the Somme, 9 km north of Albert. Vimy Ridge, taken on 9 April 1917, stands near Arras in the Pas-de-Calais.

The Canadian days from Lille or Arras and from Ypres give Vimy about three hours, with the trenches and the Grange Tunnel. Then they drive south for Courcelette, Lochnagar, Thiepval and Beaumont-Hamel. Lunch is in the fare on these days, which is rare on the Somme.

For Newfoundland alone, any whole-front day will do. The Beaumont-Hamel park keeps 30 hectares of the ground the Newfoundland Regiment crossed on 1 July 1916. Under the bronze caribou, the names of 820 men with no known grave are set in bronze at its base.

If you want Vimy but are based in Paris, the private day from your Paris hotel ends there after a full Somme circuit, 9 to 12 hours door to door.

Which tour covers the 1 July front for a British family?

The first day of the Somme cost the British Army 57,470 casualties, 19,240 of them killed, according to the Imperial War Museums. The Thiepval Memorial carries more than 72,000 names of United Kingdom and South African soldiers with no known grave. Over 90% of them died between July and November 1916.

Any day takes you to Thiepval and Lochnagar. The days that go deeper are private and start on the battlefield. The full day from Arras or Albert station adds the Sunken Lane, Dartmoor Cemetery, the German cemetery at Fricourt and an hour at Delville Wood. The 1st South African Infantry Brigade fought there in July 1916.

The historian's day from Beaucourt spends an hour at the Ulster Tower and an hour in Thiepval Wood, from where the 36th (Ulster) Division launched its charge on 1 July. The wood opens only for guided visits at 11 am and 3 pm, so a day built around it needs a guide who has arranged it.

Should you start in Paris or on the battlefield?

This is the choice that decides how much you see. Days from Paris allow about two hours' drive each way. They run 11 to 13 hours and give you three to six hours at the sites.

Start in Amiens, Albert or Arras and the numbers turn round. A half day from Albert spends its four hours on the battlefield. A full private day from Amiens or Arras gives you five to six hours at the stops, and you are back in time for dinner.

Paris makes sense when you have one day and no wish to move hotels. If you can spend a night in Amiens or Albert, you trade four hours in a minibus for more time on the ground. Somme battlefield tours from Paris and Somme battlefield tours from Amiens set out each side in full.

Shared or private: what changes?

Shared days run only from Paris, with seven or eight guests and a fare per person. They are the cheapest way to go with a guide, from $261 a person.

Private days put your party alone in the car. You set the pace, you can ask for a stop, and the guide can plan the route around a name you bring. Fares are per person, usually with two to book, or one price for a group of up to three or four.

For a couple, the gap is smaller than it looks. Two shared seats from avenue des Ternes cost $532. The private Australian day from Amiens costs $648 for two, and a per-group half day from Albert station costs $289 for the pair. Browse private Somme Battlefields tours to see every fare priced for a party.

Is a half day enough?

For the heart of the 1916 front, yes. The half days from Albert cover Lochnagar Crater, Pozières, the Thiepval Memorial and the Beaumont-Hamel trenches in four hours. The half day from the Musée Somme 1916 also starts with an hour in the museum's tunnel, and you pay its EUR 8 ticket at the desk.

A half day leaves out the Australian sites around Villers-Bretonneux and the Canadian ones at Vimy. If either matters to you, take a full day instead.

Which tours include a museum, and which include lunch?

The memorials are free, so the only tickets are museums. The Musée Somme 1916 in Albert is in the fare on the private days from Amiens and Arras, and on the Paris hotel day that adds Vimy. The Historial in Péronne is in the fare on the Australian day from the Lido and on the private day from your Paris hotel.

Lunch is in the fare only on the Canadian days. On every other day you stop at a café or restaurant and pay your own way. The avenue des Ternes day eats at Le Tommy in Pozières, and the Beaucourt historian offers a take-along lunch for EUR 10.

Can a guide plan the day around a relative?

On a private day, yes. Several private listings offer to research a soldier or a unit before you arrive. Send the name, the regiment and any service number when you book.

You can start the search yourself. The CWGC's Find War Dead holds the records of the 1.7 million Commonwealth men and women it commemorates. The Canadian Virtual War Memorial lists more than 118,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders. Our post on finding a relative's grave on the Somme walks through both. Shared days follow a fixed route, so they cannot detour for one grave.

Which days add Vimy Ridge?

Vimy is not on the Somme. The Canadian National Vimy Memorial stands in the Pas-de-Calais, so only the days that name it go there: the Canadian days from Lille, Arras and Ypres, and the private Paris day that finishes there.

At Vimy, the 30-minute tunnel tour runs first come, first served, with no booking. Expect uneven ground, tight spaces and a descent of up to 10 metres. Children under 12 go down with an adult, one adult for every two children.

Which is the best tour for a first visit?

If you are in Paris with one day, take the small-group day from avenue des Ternes. It covers the 1 July front and the Australian memorials, and it is the most-reviewed day we list.

If you can sleep in Amiens or Albert, a private half day shows you the same core sites with far less time in a car. If your family has a name on a memorial, go private, and book early enough for the guide to research it. The sites themselves are described one by one in things to do on the Somme.

Frequently asked questions

Which Somme tour is best for a first visit?

If you have one day in Paris, the small-group day from avenue des Ternes covers the 1 July front and the Australian memorials. If you can sleep in Albert or Amiens, a private half day shows you the same core sites with far less time in a car.

Which tour suits Australians?

The private Australian day from Amiens follows Pozières, Le Hamel and Villers-Bretonneux with museum fees in the fare. From Paris, the shared Australian day from the Lido adds the Historial in Péronne, and the days from avenue des Ternes spend about an hour in the Sir John Monash Centre.

Which tour suits Canadians and Newfoundlanders?

The Canadian days from Lille or Arras and from Ypres take in Vimy Ridge, Beaumont-Hamel and Courcelette, with lunch in the fare. Beaumont-Hamel, the Newfoundland memorial, is on almost every other itinerary too.

Should you book a private or a shared tour?

Shared days run only from Paris, with seven or eight people in a minibus and a fare per person. Private days carry your party alone, start nearer the battlefield and bend to your interests, such as a relative's battalion. Private fares are per person, usually with two to book, or one price for a group of up to three or four.

Is a half day enough for the Somme?

A four-hour half day from Albert covers the heart of the 1916 front: Lochnagar Crater, Pozières, the Thiepval Memorial and the Beaumont-Hamel trenches. A full day adds the Australian sites around Villers-Bretonneux or the Canadian ones, and often a museum. Choose the half day if you are already staying in Albert or Amiens.

Can a guide find a relative's grave on the Somme?

Yes, on a private day: several private listings offer to research a soldier or a unit before you arrive. Give the name, the regiment and any service number when you book, so the guide can plan the route around them. Families have been taken to a great-uncle's grave and to the ground where a great-grandfather served.

Is Vimy Ridge on the Somme?

No. The Canadian National Vimy Memorial stands near Arras in the Pas-de-Calais, north of the Somme battlefields. The Canadian days from Lille, Arras and Ypres pair it with Beaumont-Hamel and Courcelette, and one private day from Paris adds it as well.

Where these facts come from

Every hour, fee and date here comes from the body that runs the site. Hours move with the season, so check yours before you travel.

Days that follow each story

Somme Battlefields from Paris with Australian memorial & Amiens Cathedral

A small-group day from Café Dada Ternes in Paris at 7 am: Thiepval, Lochnagar and Beaumont-Hamel, lunch at Le Tommy in Pozières at your own cost, then Villers-Bretonneux and Amiens Cathedral.

From $266 per person

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Full-Day Private WW1 Australian Battlefield Day Tour from Amiens

A private Australian day from your Amiens hotel at 9 am: Pozières, Thiepval, Beaumont-Hamel, the Musée Somme 1916, Le Hamel and Villers-Bretonneux, with every museum entry in the fare.

From $324 per person

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Private Canadian WW1 Vimy & Somme Battlefield Tour from Arras or Lille

A private Canadian day from Lille or Arras at 8:30 am: Vimy Ridge and the Grange Tunnel, lunch in the fare, then Courcelette, Lochnagar, Thiepval and the caribou at Beaumont-Hamel.

From $654 per person

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Next: When you know whose story you want, compare every day on Somme Battlefields Tours.