The U-Boat War: The Real Das Boot


7 days from £999pp

About the tour: The U-Boat War: The Real Das Boot


Tour Introduction

German U-Boats were active from the very beginning of WW2 but took on a vital role during the Battle of the Atlantic when fleets of them were used to try and destroy Allied shipping: their story has been retold in the classic war film Das Boot. The cost of war for both crews and boats was high, with more than 28,000 German submariners being killed. Visiting Wilhelmshaven, Cuxhaven, Kiel and Bremerhaven, this tour looks at the original U-Boat bases around Bremen, giving you the opportunity you to go inside two U-Boats.

Tour Includes


  • 6 nights hotel with continental breakfast
  • Specialist Battlefield Guide
  • Convenient local joining points
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(Deposits from £50pp)

Once you have booked your battlefield tour either online, or by telephone (), you have the flexibility of how you pay off the remainder of your balance. You can -

  1. Use our balance payment facility online to make and track your card payments. You can pay as much as you want up until your final due date or pay it all, the choice is yours.
  2. Send payments via online banking.
  3. Send payments via cheque.
  4. Call us and make a card payment, either a small amount or as lump sum until your final due date.

Our contact and online banking payment details will be on your confirmation invoice to remind you of your choices.

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Tour Itinerary

Day 1

Local departure by coach or Door-to-Door service, then to Belgium or Holland for an overnight stay.

Day 2

We continue to Bremen for four nights. En route we stop at Deventer for lunch, and also to discuss the 1945 battles in the Netherlands, which involved ground troops from the German Kriegsmarine. We also see the road bridge here which was used as Arnhem Bridge in the film ‘A Bridge Too Far’.

Included meals: Breakfast

Deventer Bridge

Deventer Bridge (2)

Key Visits

  • Deventer Bridge

Day 3 - Wilhelmshaven

We start the tour in the Wilhelmshaven area and start at a huge air raid bunker on the site of one of the original U-Boat barracks, We then visit the German Naval Museum, which tells the story of the war at sea from bases here in two World Wars. We also look at the Allied bombing of the port, including the first RAF raid on Germany on 4th September 1939, seeing the fascinating Bunker Museum. Afterwards we visit the church in Wilhelmshaven which contains memorials to the U-Boat crews who died in the war. Later we see the Ehrenfriedhof, the military cemetery of Wilhelmshaven, that contains U-Boat memorials and also the crew of a U-Boat lost in 1940.

Included meals: Breakfast

Wilhelmshaven Naval Museum

Wilhelmshaven Naval Museum (5)

Key Visits

  • Bunker Museum, Wilhelmshaven
  • Wilhelmshaven Naval Museum
  • Ehrenfriedhof, Wilhelmshaven
  • Memorial Church, Wilhelmshaven

Day 4 - Kiel

Today we have an early start and travel to Kiel, from where the famous Kiel Canal was constructed before WW1 to take German shipping into the North Sea in the Naval Arms Race of that period. Here we see the massive Laboe Naval Memorial, the U-Boat Museum where you can go inside an original WW2 period U-Boat U-995 that has been brought onto dry land, getting an insight into how the crews lived. We then visit the U–Boat crew’s memorial which lists the name of every sailor who died at sea in a U-Boat and commemorates their 30,000 dead. We also look at the bombing here during WW2 and visit the British Bomber Command graves in Kiel War Cemetery.

Included meals: Breakfast

U995 at Laboe

U995 at Laboe (5)

Key Visits

  • U-Boat Memorial, Kiel
  • U995 at Laboe
  • U-Boat Memorial, Moltenort
  • Kiel War Cemetery

Day 5 - Bremen

In Bremen we look at the U-Boat bases and a massive concrete bunker, which was built to act as a factory building German U-Boats. Allied bombing stopped this and now it is open as a visitors centre. Later we travel to Bremerhaven and see the Wilhelm Bauer U-Boat Museum. Here we see a salvaged 1944 U-Boat which was later restored for training purposes and serves as a superb example of what life in a WW2 U-Boat was like. We then visit Fort Kugelbake at Cuxhaven, which was part of the defences of this region and was used in WW2. Mines were a great part of the war at sea, and clearing them up after WW2 was a big problem. We end with a look at this story during our visit to Cuxhaven where we see the memorial to the deminers who cleared the seas and paid a high price.

Included meals: Breakfast

Wilhelm Bauer U-Boat, Bremerhaven

Wilhelm Bauer U-Boat, Bremerhaven (4)

Key Visits

  • Deminers Memorial
  • Fort Kugelbake
  • Wilhelm Bauer U-Boat, Bremerhaven
  • Denkort Bunker, Bremen

Day 6

We return to Belgium for an overnight stay. En route we stop at Sage War Cemetery to visit the graves of RAF crew killed in the attack on Wilhelmshaven and then continue to Nijmegen for our lunchtime with an opportunity to see Nijmegen Bridge and the visitor’s centre: Kriegsmarine divers attacked the bridges here in 1944.

Included meals: Breakfast

Sage War Cemetery

Sage War Cemetery (3)

Key Visits

  • Nijmegen Bridge
  • Sage War Cemetery

Day 7

Return home.

Included meals: Breakfast

Specialist Battlefield Guides

All of Leger’s battlefield tours are accompanied by specialist guides. Their individual in-depth knowledge of warfare will be informative, as well as enhance your overall experience, as they recreate a fascinating perception of the history and factual events of each battle. Discover the actual catalysts for war, the strategies employed and the final, inevitable outcomes, as well as experiencing the emotional human side of the front line.

Please note: On certain tours, you may get tour guides other that the ones listed below.

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Hotel

You will stay for four nights at the 4-star standard Dorint City Hotel Bremen (formerly the Swissotel Bremen). Overnight stays in Belgium or Holland will be in city-style hotels.

Travel Options

All our coaches and transfer vehicles operate a 'no smoking on board policy'. The use of electronic cigarettes is strictly forbidden.
In the interest of fellow guests, do not take hot food or ice cream on board.
alcohol can only be taken on board our vehicles at the discretion of your driver.

When it comes to getting to the Battlefields, Leger Holidays make it easy, with a selection of travel options for you choose from.

Silver Service Coach

Silver Service, refreshments
Silver Service, lounge
Silver Service, entertainment

Silver Service Features

  • Sit back and relax in specially-designed, deluxe reclining seats, with leather headrests, footrests and more legroom than standard coaches.
  • Enjoy the perfect temperature onboard with climate control.
  • Relax and have a chat in the spacious rear lounge.
  • Servery on board offering a range of refreshments.
  • Porterage* at most hotels, so you really don’t have to lift a finger.
  • Time flies with our onboard entertainment system.
  • With free personal headphones you can tune into the music channel, listen to the radio or watch DVDs.
  • Onboard toilet

Silver Service Seating Plan

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Luxuria Coach

Luxuria - Charging sockets
Luxuria - TV
Luxruia - Seating

Luxuria Features

  • Deluxe armchair-style seats with leather exterior, central arm rests with cup holders and retractable calf rests give you a more comfortable journey.
  • Every seat has its own, fully interactive, touch screen T.V. offering a wide choice of entertainment so you can control what you want to watch and when.
  • There’s also a selection of double and single seats, including four seats face-to-face with tables. And with a total of 7 single seats available, these are ideal for passengers travelling independently.
  • Plug sockets and USB points at each seat mean you can keep your devices fully charged throughout your journey.
  • Onboard toilet.

Luxuria Seating Plan

Luxuria Seating Plan

Travel Extras

With an overnight stay, a Door-to-Door pick up or the option to meet us at the interchange, our travel extras allow you to create a travel experience to suit your needs...

Join coach at Interchange

Join your tour coach at the interchange.

On most tours if you’d prefer to join your tour coach at Stop 24 services, you can park your car in the car park which is accredited by the Park Mark safer parking scheme and is monitored 24 hours a day by CCTV. Payment for the parking is made on arrival using the self-service machines.

Excludes tours to Ireland and the U.K. and tours travelling via Brittany Ferries.

Door-to-Door service

On Battlefield tours of 7 days’ duration or more, you don’t even have to think about getting to your local joining point. Our Door-to-Door Service collects you from your home and takes you to meet your transfer vehicile, then brings you back at the end of the holiday. Door-to-Door Service is available within a 20-mile radius of one of our free joining points and is from £90 per car, return (up to 4 passengers per vehicle).

If you live a little further afield, you can also take advantage of this convenient option for an additional charge – please enquire at the time of booking.

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