Steal This Trip: Cycling Through France
Have you ever wanted to cycle through France? How about hike in Austria? REI offers award winning tours through these areas, but at a steep cost—over $3000 pp for most 8-10 day trips. But do you really need a tour guide?
Here’s a cheaper alternative…
Use their trip itinerary to plan your trip, but travel independently. You can still see the same sites, but travel for much less. Below is an example– I went through the entire trip and priced it. Feel free to steal this trip and modify it to your need or check out REI Adventures for more ideas.
From the website: “Provence – the name itself signifies much that is desirable in life: beauty, art, fine food and wine, and an irresistible joie de vivre. If your travel revelries revolve around A Year in Provence, our eight-day trip captures the very best of the fantasy. “
What they don’t tell you. With a good map and a little internet research (for this article it took me less than an hour to research) and you can recreate this entire trip. These aren’t hidden areas of France. Every place on the trip is easily google-mapped, located on a major road and sometimes is a famous area (one part traces part of the Tour de France).
Notes: REI doesn’t include airfare or lunches in the price. I have included only what REI includes, to give a fair comparison. I have purposefully NOT picked the absolute cheapest hotels. Some of these places are very nice, so there is room for further discount, but I wanted to show the savings even if you splurge a little.
Day 1
Fly into Charles de Gaulle airport and take the train to Orange, France.
Here are three options for hotel:
- L’herbier d’Orange 18.33 Euros/night for a private
- Hotel Le Louvre 39.50 Euros/night for a private
- Villa de l’Arc 92.50 Euros/night for a private
Day 2
Enjoy breakfast (10 Euros) then start cycling towards Bédoin. Stop and spend the night at the gorgeous Château de Mazan ($118/night). Enjoy dinner at your budget (15-35 Euros).
Day 3
In the morning, ride down to the market for breakfast (10 Euros) and start riding towards Mont Ventoux. After summiting return to Bédoin for another night and dinner. Château de Mazan ($118/night). Enjoy dinner at your budget (15-35 Euros).
Day 4
Enjoy breakfast (10 Euros). Then head out to the Dentelles de Montmirail, stopping in Séguret and continuing on to Vaison la Romaine. Stay at the amazing Château Le Martinet (56 Euro/night). Enjoy dinner at your budget (15-35 Euros).
Day 5
Enjoy breakfast (10 Euros). Pick your own route, as you explore the neighboring area. Return to the Château Le Martinet (56 Euros/night). REI does not include dinner for this night.
Day 6
Enjoy breakfast (10 Euros). Head into the Drôme Provençal. Continue to the Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux. Stay in a deluxe single room at the L’Esplan. Enjoy dinner at your budget (15-35 Euros).
Day 7
Enjoy breakfast (10 Euros). Head to the village of Grignan (tour the historic Château de Sévigné is desired). Ride through the country side. Stay next door to the castle at La Bastide De Grignan (65 Euros/night). Enjoy dinner at your budget (15-35 Euros).
Day 8
Heading out. Enjoy breakfast (10 Euros). Head back to the airport or onto further travel.
Totals
Hotel and meals $600-800.
Flying with your bike, renting one or buying one in France $100-$400.
REI’s price: $3499
Our price: $1000
Go ahead, try it. I bet you could save even more with a little research and depending on the time of year.
Did you like this idea? Go steal more ideas from REI Adventures here. (Just don’t tell them I sent you).
Creative Commons Pic by Nicephore
7 Comments
Awesome. Btw Christine, will you follow me around in that van for lazyasses who cop out halfway through the day? How much extra should I budget for that service?
that made me a virtual tourist.
http://spabeachresorts.blogspot.com
For anyone interested in doing a tour on the cheap that includes biking/hiking/etc, definitely check out GAPadventures.com or IntrepidTravel.com – two of my favorites.
Small groups (less than 12), economical and pretty inclusive while retaining the flexibility that makes travel fun.
Apologies if this sounds like an ad – it’s not – but they’re great.
This is ridiculous!
The whole purpose of selecting a trip like REI’s is to benefit from the world class guides, and the unmatched deals on accommodation. Plus, I can only assume that you’d be traveling with a group of like minded and adventurous people! Priceless.
Have fun out on the roads by yourself!
@Tim
Just one thing to consider: For the same price as REI, you could stay in France for 28 days instead of just 8.
If it was free? I’d love to do it. There’s nothing wrong with taking a tour. What I was trying to illustrate was that for $300 a day less, you can still see France. It’s still Provence, it’s still cycling past liliac fields, it’s still staying in beautiful estates. The tour guide will add something, but I’d definitely be very happy to hang out in the area that an “award-winning” tour group considers to be the best. Obviously, it’s up to you.
I am with you on this! Tour guides are not necessary and staying longer makes much more sense and saves LOTS of money.
Even places like Morocco are better done on your own without a tour & saves a ton. One can ( & we often have) always hire a superior guide for a special part of the trip for a day or a particular site.
Better yet, make friends with locals who know their area deeply and often love to share.
This sounds good but have you thought about what to do with the luggage? How would you bring it from one place to another on a self-contained tour.