France - Walking holiday in the Vercors
The limestone massif of the Prealps, located between Drôme and Isère, is the Vercors - the largest regional nature park in France. A true paradise for hikers. Wide open valleys, large spruce and fir forests, but also beech and maple forests.
The variety of the landscape will surprise most people. White limestone walls, deep and mysterious gorges, caves and amazing resurgence, hidden paths in the rocks. Higher up, there are the Hauts Plateaux (the "high plateaus"), a nature reserve and sheep pastures.
With an average altitude between 700m and 1,400m, the weather is not too hot and not too cold. The air is fresh and the landscape abounds in lush nature. The Vercors is also a mountain that remains alive. In the past it was agriculture that took over and today it is discreet tourism that welcomes children to the farms. No concrete resorts, but small villages happy to welcome you. Timber exploitation is still quite important and the large farms with chalk roofs still produce meat, milk and cheese.
Itinerary See all daysClose all days
You arrive at your first hotel, where you are given your welcome pack. You then have the rest of the day to look around.
The northern ridges of the Vercors at Pas de Bellecombe and Pas de l'Ours. On the Molière mountain path you have a beautiful view of the Alps: seven mountain massifs, including Mont Blanc. Beautiful descent to Autrans, in the middle of several villages.
You continue towards Pertuzons by following the hiking trail that leads you in the most beautiful way to the charming little village of Rencurel.
You hike via the mountain pass of Ranc and the Choranche caves. A fantastic day with unique sites such as Choranche, the beautiful white corridors, the waterfalls and the unique cave with thousands of stalactites. You continue to Pont en Royans and the hanging houses above Bourne. Alternatively, you can take the path "Au fil de la bourne" which goes along the beautiful gorges of Bourne.
The day starts with a short transfer to the Mézelier Pass. From here it's up to the central Vercors along the trails of Voûtes and Grand Goulets. From here there are stunning views over the whole massif. You cross a beautiful forest in the Allier and see one of the most impressive trails in the Vercors: the Grand Goulets - a narrow gorge carved out of limestone. You end your stage in Chapelle en Vercors.
You start the day again with a short transfer to Tourtre. From here you hike above Villard de Lans and go to St Martin, the Herbouilly valley and Valchevrière, a former village. You finish the day in Bois Barbu.
Today you go to Lans en Vercors along the path Sentier Gobert, Col Vert (and the St Michel summit, optional). It's a beautiful walk in nature where you can discover the typical flora of the northern Vercors. The Col de l'Arc pass is a wonderful mountain pass that is easily accessible - and from where there are beautiful views of Belledone and Oisans. The St Michel peak is the summit of the Vercors; from here you have a wonderful view of the Alps and the northern Vercors.
The journey is now over. You leave the hotel in the morning.
Price includes
- 7 nights in 2- and 3-star hotels
- Morgenmad alle dage
- Dinner every day
- Transfers as described in the programme
- Carefully elaborated route descriptions maps and other materials
- Luggage transport between hotels
- 24-hour local and international service hotline for the duration of the tour
- Access to the route in our GPS-app which works offline while you walk
- This is a packaged holiday and is therefore covered by The Travel Guarantee Fund - See which benefits this means for you - click here
- Transportation to France
- Handling fee (€20)
- Local tourist taxes (if necessary)
Practical info
The price is based upon two people sharing. It is also possible travel alone in a single room. If you travel alone a single room is necessary.
On this tour you will be on your own supplied with maps, route descriptions and luggage transfers. That means that your time is your own and you have plenty of time to enjoy the stages in your own pace.
Check the price quickly
You can quickly check the price of your desired trip without having to fill in anything. Here's how:
- Choose your desired start date
- Click on the green button "See price and reserve your holiday" and go to the booking form
- Select number of people, add any optional extras and see the price at the bottom of the page (you don't have to fill in anything on the form).
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For example, if you want a flight included or changes to the trip, you can order a quote for this using the "Get a quote" button. Remember to describe in detail what, if anything, you want changed.
The process of your booking
When you book, we will start booking hotels and arranging all the practical details of the trip. This process typically takes 2-5 working days, but some bookings may take longer. If you are arranging your own transport, we recommend that you wait until we have confirmed your booking before arranging this.
Dates
If you can select the date in the tour calendar at the top of this page, this is a possible start date. We continually update the tours with sold-out dates, after which those dates will turn red and cannot be selected.
The flights to/from Geneva are not included in the price. You can easily find a suitable flight via a flight booking engine such as Momondo or Skyscanner.
Notice: we recommend that you book with us and wait for the confirmation before you book your flights.
It works like this:
- You book your chosen holiday with us
- We confirm your holiday (usually within 48 hours)
- You arrange your transportation
Getting there
Here is a link for the perfect tool which will help you get an overview of how to get to the starting point of the tour: Rome2Rio
On this tour you will be accommodated in 2- and 3-star hotels with breakfast included.
In the itinerary you can see some examples of the hotels we use on this tour. Notice that the hotels are examples and you may end up staying in different hotels. It depends on availability when you book the tour.
Luggage transfer is included on this tour. Upon arrival at the first hotel you will be given luggage tags along with the rest of the welcome package. You fill out the luggage tags and put them on your bags where they will remain for the duration of the tour.
Your luggage is picked up from the hotel lobby around 9am every morning and will arrive at your next hotel at 6pm at the latest (often long before that). If there are any special exceptions to the luggage transfer you will be notified upon arrival.
Luggage transfer includes one bag per guest and the bags can weigh 15 kg each.
You will recieve the following documentation
Upon booking
You recieve practical information about the tour in a digital format
One month before arrival
You recieve your hotel list and your voucher (hotel list is often supplied upon booking)
Upon arrival
You recieve the welcome package which contains the printed version of the road book, luggage tags, local specific vouchers and if you have rented bikes then they will also be delivered and fitted at the first hotel.
This tour has difficulty grade 3-4. Which means that most days are difficulty 2 and some days are difficulty 3.
Grade 3
Walking in hilly or mountainous terrain, with longer ascents and descents. You will walk 5-7 hours a day. Requires good fitness and good health, but no technical experience. Requires good footwear such as trekking or hiking boots.
Grade 4
Trekking with daily walks of 6-8 hours, often in difficult terrain and higher altitude. There will be longer ascents and descents. Requires endurance and strong knees and ankles. Requires good hiking boots and "outdoor" clothing. There will be major fluctuations in temperatures.
Read more about our Grading System
Travel Insurance In general we recommend that you are covered by a good travel insurance covering at least Medical Expenses, Illness, Personal Accident, Baggage and Repatriation. The customer is responsible to take the necessary travel insurance that covers these costs. Bering Travel, or our local partners, do not have any responsibility for our customers not being covered by a necessary travel insurance. You have to arrange your insurance in your home country.
It can be hard to plan your trip according to the weather, but to give an idea of the local climate, you can see the data below:
We are members of the Travel Guarantee Fund (nr. 2529) and have all available insurances. This covers you regardless of your nationality. Read more about that here.
Call our experts on weekdays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Phone: +44 20 3936 1208
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Phone: +44 20 3936 1208
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