Vineyard and lavender in Provence. Photo via Flickr:myhsu

Pont du Gard in Avignon. Photo via Flickr:Wolfgang Staudt
4.6/5 (5 ratings)

Provence - Van Gogh Bike Tour

France Bike Tours

Bike in Provence - A Painter’s Paradise!!

  • This bike tour in Provence takes you through an amazing region in France. The never-ending beauty and colors of the Provence region that have been artistically depicted on so many canvases (Monet, Matisse, Cézanne and of course, van Gogh) continues to inspire.

    Starting in Avignon, the route gently follows the flow of the Rhône River to historic Arles. Here, Van Gogh painted and sketched over 300 drawings and paintings.

    Highlights:

    • Arles, the city of Van Gogh
    • The sandy beaches of Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer
    • The beautiful blue waters of the Mediterranean
    • Parc de Camargue, which 500 years agos served as a gypsy campground
    • White Camargue horses that freely roam the land of dunes
    • Black bulls and pink flamigos

    For other bicycle tours in Provence, check out our full list of bike tours in France.

  •  

     ComfortSuperior
    Apr, May, June, Sept. and Oct $ 1640 £ 854 $ 1,488 € 995 $ 1707 kr 10646 $ 1,122 $ 2014 £ 1049 $ 1,827 € 1222 $ 2097 kr 13075 $ 1,378
    Single supplement $ 378 £ 197 $ 342 € 229 $ 393 kr 2450 $ 258 $ 531 £ 276 $ 481 € 322 $ 553 kr 3445 $ 363
    Single supplement (traveling alone) $ 557 £ 290 $ 505 € 338 $ 580 kr 3616 $ 381 $ 711 £ 370 $ 644 € 431 $ 740 kr 4612 $ 486
    July and August $ 1718 £ 895 $ 1,558 € 1042 $ 1788 kr 11149 $ 1,175 $ 2094 £ 1090 $ 1,899 € 1270 $ 2179 kr 13589 $ 1,432
    Single supplement $ 468 £ 244 $ 425 € 284 $ 487 kr 3039 $ 320 $ 620 £ 323 $ 562 € 376 $ 645 kr 4023 $ 424
    Single supplement (traveling alone) $ 648 £ 337 $ 588 € 393 $ 674 kr 4205 $ 443 $ 801 £ 417 $ 727 € 486 $ 834 kr 5200 $ 548

     

    extra options

    Electric bike rental: $ 165 £ 86 $ 150 € 100 $ 172 kr 1070 $ 113

    Tandem bike rental, discount: $ 87 £ 46 $ 79 € 53 $ 91 kr 567 $ 60

    Recumbent bike: On request

    Discounts available for triple rooms.

    please note

    Rates are per person based on double occupancy.

    Information to read before you book.

    We recommend purchasing bike trip insurance.

    Please see our FAQ.

  • Travel

    Fly to Avignon or Paris.

    Local Travel

    From Avignon, transfer to starting point. From Paris, train transfer from Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport via Paris-Lyon station to Avignon (TGV), 3-4½ hr. depending on connections.

    Climate

    Average high temp in °F for Avignon is 59 for Mar, 67 Apr, 74 May, 82 Jun, 87 Jul, 87 Aug, 78 Sep, 68 Oct & 56 Nov.

    Remarks

    Tandem bicycle available upon request.

Skill Level

This Provence bike tour is a self-guided hotel tour classified as moderate with flat land intermingled with rolling hills and some steep climbs. Average of 30 miles per day, with Day 5 serving as a day of rest on the Mediterranean in St.-Maries-de-la-Mer. Sometimes off road cycling is suggested in the itinerary but the paths are relatively short and easy. The dike "Digue a la Mer" consists of approximately 9 miles of dirt path that can be affected by weather conditions.

Where You’ll Stay

Two options possible:
Comfort: swimming pools (except in Avignon and Arles).
• 5 nights in 3 star hotels
• 2 night in 2 star hotel
Superior: swimming pools (except in Avignon). In Arles, spa is available.
• 5 nights in 3 star
• 2 nights in 4 star

What’s Included

  • Hotel accommodation for 7 nights
  • Breakfasts & some dinners (days 2, 4, and 6)
  • VTC Hybrid Course lightweight (13 kg) 24 gear hybrid bicycle equipped with luggage rack, rear pannier bag, water bottle, and lock
  • Accessories including odometer, repair kit with pump, road book, handlebar bags (one set per booking)
  • Helmet rental (must be reserved in advance)
  • Luggage transfer between the hours of 9:30 am and 5 pm. It cannot be guaranteed that luggage will arrive before 5 pm. If you need your luggage at a specific time, please specify at time of booking. Supplement will apply
  • Local taxes

What’s Not Included

Extra Stay

Extra nights possible by request in Avignon.

Provence - Van Gogh Map

TourBike
TypeSelf Guided
SkillModerate
Length8 days
From€995 Rates
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Tour Dates

2020 Dates

Starts any day from April 1 to October 25, 2020
Please note: Arrivals after 6 pm on Saturdays are not possible.

Day-To-Day Itinerary

Provence - Van Gogh Map

Day 1: Arrival in Avignon
Day 2: Avignon - Barbentane, 43 mi. (69 km)
Day 3: Barbentane - Arles, 32 mi. (51 km)
Day 4: Arles - Les Saintes Maries de la Mer, 36 mi. (59 km)
Day 5: Les Saintes Maries de la Mer, day of rest
Day 6: Les Saintes Maries de la Mer - Fontvieille, 42 mi. (68 km)
Day 7: Fontvieille - Avignon, 30 mi. (48 km)
Day 8: Departure from Avignon

All distances are approximate.

DAY 1: Arrival in Avignon
Individual arrival in Avignon followed by a free afternoon in the city. In the evening, an introductory meeting and distribution of additional tour materials will take place. Meeting is possible every day from 3 - 5:30 pm (except on Sunday). In the event of late arrival on weeknights, the meeting is possible the next day in the morning at 9 am. Do note that the office is closed on Sundays so arrival on Sundays will have the meeting on Monday morning at 9 am sharp. If you are planning on a Saturday arrival, be sure that you are able to arrive in time for a meeting that day!

During the check-in at the hotel in Avignon:

Clients receive tour packet including  a map indicating how to reach Provence Bike. The receptionist will phone our local partner so that the time of welcome meeting can then be fixed.

DAY 2: Avignon - Barbentane, 43 mi. (69 km) +/- 625 meters of climbing
Leaving Avignon behind, you will cross the Gard vineyards via typical small Mediterranean villages to the famous Roman aqueduct "Pont du Gard". This aqueduct dominates the river from 50m high. Swimming possible. Before going to the hotel (with swimming pool), you will visit the Provencal village of Barbentane.

DAY 3: Barbentane - Arles, 30 mi. (51 km). =/- 278 meters of climbing
Crossing the town of Tarascon, you'll discover one of the most beautiful French medieval castles and the famous "Souleiado" factory where Provencal fabrics are made. Along the way, you'll come across Daudet's Windmill as well as Montmajour Abbey. Next will be the town of Arles filled with monuments and small animated streets where one should surely enjoy a drink at one of the many terrace cafés. Night in Arles.

DAY 4: Arles - Les Saintes Maries de la Mer, 35 mi. (57 km) +/- 121 meters of climbing
Leaving Arles, you will slowly enter into the Camargue landscape with swamps, lagoons, and rice fields. Crossing the Rhône by boat, you will arrive in Les Saintes Maries de la Mer where you'll spend two nights in a hotel with a swimming pool.

DAY 5: Les Saintes Maries de la Mer, day of rest
Numerous activities are possible, including horseback riding, boating, canoeing, 4-wheel driving, sightseeing in the village or to the ornithological park.

DAY 6: Les Saintes Maries de la Mer - Fontvieille, 42 mi. (68 km) +/- 219 meters of climbing
Through the Digue à la Mer dike, which is forbidden to cars, you'll cycle up north towards the small Alpilles massif. Here you'll be greeted by a charming landscape with vestiges of the old Roman setting. Night in Fontvieille, a nice little village at the foot of the Alpilles. Hotel with swimming pool.

DAY 7: Fontvieille - Avignon, 30 mi. (48 km) +/- 413 meters of climbing
You'll start today crossing the Alpilles from south to north and pass through the famous villages of Baux de Provence and Saint Rémy de Provence. Then through scenic fields back to Avignon.

DAY 8: Departure from Avignon
Your Provence tour will end with individual departure from Avignon following breakfast.

Looking for more?  View all our featured bike trips, specials, and news or look at our full list of bike tours in Europe.

Email or Call 800-951-4384 +1 570-965-2064

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Tour Reviews

  • Arvo Luik 4 years ago     Verified Reviewer

    The IBIS HOTEL we stayed at in AVIGNON did not meet our expectations. The maps were well laid out except there were too many descriptions that told us where NOT to go, poor directions in SAZE, got lost.. Eliminate that.
    The bikes were great for the trip. We will use you again.

     Reply

  • George Sled 4 years ago     Verified Reviewer

    Everything about the company and the trip was first class. I would not hesitate to use Tripsite again.

     Reply

  • Cindy O'Connell 4 years ago     Verified Reviewer

    We have enjoyed every trip we have taken and look forward to more in the future!

     Reply

  • Leslie Lami-Reed 4 years ago     Verified Reviewer

    Staff was wonderful. Weather not so good but we had a great time.

     Reply

  • Alan Bartlett 4 years ago     Verified Reviewer

    We found the map directions confusing at times--i.e. Cross bridge and 3 streets and turn right. Sounds easy enough, but actually it meant 2 major streets and a round about. We usually solved this by using Google maps. But it added stressful tens of minutes to resolve. It pretty much meant that we slightly dreaded arriving at even a little village, due to the almost guaranteed confusion. Having the route available as a google map path would have been much much much better.
    It's the service we pay for, not the specific route. It also made it feel like the route had not been retested for a while. Getting a bit lost wasn't all that bad, and we found some nice paths near Arles. The bikes were state of the art and high quality. None of our group liked the automatic transmission on the Bosch drive. It would frequently incorrectly shift in the middle of a climb and caused a bit of needless suffering. All in all it was a fun time. We couldn't have achieved the ride Read more… without the e-bikes.

     Reply

  • Bill Fleshman 7 years ago     Verified Reviewer

    We thoroughly enjoyed our trip. The accommodations and the dinners provided in the package were excellent. I can speak for all 9 of us that we would certainly use your company again and would recommend it to anyone in search of such a vacation. 

     

    Thanks for you excellent and prompt service. 

     Reply

  • Michele Wyman 8 years ago     Verified Reviewer

    Wonderful trip and well organized. However, would not recommend the hotel or restaurant in Stes.Maries

    Everything else was great and would recommend and perhaps book another bike trip in the future.

     Reply

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