Over the Top Tours

Who they are

Over the Top Tours is a small Ypres (Ieper, in Dutch) company founded by a local guide, Andre, who began taking visitors to the battlefields of the Ypres Salient and ended up opening a military history bookshop on the Meensestraat, a few steps from the Menin Gate. The website does not give the year of foundation; it says the company began about ten years before its introduction was written. All the activity revolves around the First World War: Commonwealth cemeteries, preserved trenches, mine craters and monuments of the countries that fought in Flanders.

What tours they run

The core is two daily tours in an air-conditioned minibus, leaving from the bookshop. The morning one, from 9:30 to 13:30, covers the northern sector: Essex Farm, Langemark, Passchendaele, Tyne Cot and Hill 62. The afternoon one, from 14:00 to 17:30, goes south: Messines, Hill 60, the Irish Peace Park and Ploegsteert. Each costs €40 per person and can be combined with the other to see the whole Salient in a day.

Besides Ypres, the website advertises trips to the Somme and Vimy Ridge, in France, and themed routes: the Irish Tour, the Australians of 1918 and Fromelles. It also works with coach companies and groups, and offers an interactive map of the places it visits.

How to book and pay

The system is simple and a bit old-fashioned. First you write by email to confirm there is a place on the tour and day chosen. With the confirmation, you fill in the payment form on its website, which leads to PayPal: you can pay with a PayPal account or with Visa and Mastercard, without having to open an account, with a 3.5 per cent surcharge for the card. You pay a €15 deposit per person to secure the place and the rest on arrival. Several people can be entered on the same form.

The website does not publish cancellation conditions, children's prices or the maximum group size; as the vehicle is a minibus, groups are small. If you have questions, the quickest is to phone +32 57 42 43 20.

Language and tips

The tours are in English: they do not advertise tours in Spanish, so it helps to have a level that lets you follow historical explanations. Arrive a little early at the bookshop, which also sells maps, guides and books about the war. Wear comfortable shoes, because at several stops you walk through cemeteries and fields that get muddy in the rain.