Provence - Wilderness of Camargue

My wife and truly enjoyed this tour on the Caprice in 2018. The reviews previously posted are very informative and descriptive about barge life on the Caprice, the itinerary, guides, and dining. We booked early July in order to take pre-boarding day trips to the lavender fields outside Avignon. As with all of our bike-barge tours, we have met and befriended the most interesting and wonderful people. Summer heat and some challenging ascents could be mitigated by reserving an e-bike.

This was our sixth bike and barge trip. Our over-all experience was great!! The food was fantastic, the service from staff was excellent, and the bikes were better than our own. The Caprice is older and very tight quarters, both in the cabins and in public areas. This was a small inconvenience compared to the total experience.

Mickey, our tour leader, took us out after dinner on the barge, on a walking tour in Arles. I had been asking when we would see the location of where The Bedroom at Arles was painted. That is where she took us. In addition, we saw the location of where Starry Night was painted. She let me bring a friend from our sister barge.

Crew and guide were fantastic.
Our dinners were amazing. Chef put much thought into selecting and preparing our evening meal always paired with a fabulous wine.
Enjoyed recapping our day’s ride after dinner with our guide, Mickey.
Each day brought a new adventure of riding. Lots of variety.
Might include a walking tour of Avignon as part of the trip.

We loved riding through the beautiful countryside and stopping to see the important landmarks along the way.

We really enjoyed our trip through the Provence region of southern France! Our guide, Michaela, was very knowledgeable of the history of the area, kept us on low trafficked roads on our bicycles, and was in general a lot of fun. Additionally, our eBikes were in great condition and we enjoyed using them throughout our tour. The only downside was our cabin on the Caprice as we both have allergies and there was a persistent mildew/mold smell which necessitated keeping the A/C on relatively high to dissipate it. The cabin was also quite small for us traveling as a couple—one of us literally had to crawl over the other to use the bathroom. The hardworking staff is to be commended.

Great aspects=the guide, food, staff
Less were the comfort of the beds and space in the bathroom

Our guide, Michaela, started each beautiful ride through the country side with such a positive attitudes and great information!
Loved the trip up to Le Baux!

The route and group were amazing! The cities are very nice and historical… what I fell could be better is reception of participants of tour… inviting each one to identify oneself with others, to make a group… And I think our guide wasn’t so careful with the group… so quick some days… with no explanation about the beautiful little towns we were!! So pity!!
And they could help us about car parking before tour… You could have better support to guests.

Biking through the small villages was very picturesque. Only regret was not having a GoPro to video as we were riding through.

I love Provence. This is a fabulous tour to see both the countryside and villages. The L’Estelle is a very comfortable barge, the staff are amazing. I’ve been on several bike and barge tours and the food was the best. We had a full spread every day when we were back from biking. Our tour guide was great. There are several extra tours of castles , villages , olive farm included. The only thing to note is that the tour in Arles does not take you into the collegium, theatre or Roman baths. She stands outside and talks about them. If you enjoy history then this is for you but if you want to actually see the sites then skip the tour as there’s plenty of time to see them on your own. I also liked this tour as we didn’t just follow the river but did loops and came back which made it interesting.

Just completed this tour and thoroughly enjoyed it. The food was amazing!! The boat was clean and well maintained. We did find the rooms very tight and agree on the steep staircase. Our guide was excellent and knowledgeable about the history of the area. She looked after all guests needs. The Captain and his wife were part of the team and we enjoyed their interaction with guests. Bert had some great jokes!!

Wonderful trip. Great crew with Sarah and Joseph as cooks, Willy as captain, and Michaela (?sp) as our guide. I have some dietary restrictions which they handled very well. Cabins are a little small but not inadequate given the small boat size. The stairway is somewhat awkward but manageable.
Michaela was a good informant about historical facts about the area. She is also a very good bike mechanic, having worked in a bike shop recently during the pandemic.
Good tour mates from multiple countries. Everyone got along well. Would definitely recommend this trip.

Great crew
Great food
great guide
awesome captain
wonderful eclectic group on board ... only 16
did i SAY unbelievable food ..... themed to the regional herbs .....which transformed food into a cultural lesson on the region
and Michaella the guide what a great trip she road us through or we road her through!
the camaque ride is a ride through the french wetlands - through the history of the crusaders and Knights Templer - the salt trade - then you get in the other side of Provence with its chic chic villages - fields of flowers and lavender and poppies .... a few hills that were daunting - but on the whole we had great bike paths minimal traffic and just a whole lot of wonderful vistas and aromas as we rolled through this beautiful part of the world ....(in this covid world being able to smell the flowers and fields was also a good daily litmus test ...) its a great trip a great experience with a great crew - i would happily do this ride again....

All of it was wonderful. Guide Michela was fun and a great leader. There was a nice mix of stops for tours and riding. Scenery was beautiful. Also Liked the boat cruises from the deck. Hills and wind made it a little more of a challenging of a ride. Crew and cooks took good care of us. Would recommend.

Beautiful area. The small towns were charming.

The hills were a little more difficult than I anticipated. Suggestion for others would be to prepare for a lot of hills.

Great staff. The staff went out of their way to make all guests comfortable. Our group of 9 fit in well with the 11 others on tour. The close quarters make this necessary. The Staff works hard at making sure that all feel welcome.

Riding through the French countryside and small towns.

Riding through the fields of fruit trees, medieval villages, sipping beverages in the little outdoor cafes, tasting olive oil in the factory, learning to use the bike to it's potential, and enjoying the ambiance back on the boat with spectacular meals.