good small group tour companies for Provence and Loire?

[poss]

I've looked into France Off the Beaten Track, but they spend too much time doing cooking classes for our taste; other aspects of their tours look terrific though.

I'd appreciate hearing about excellent, established operators that do week or so small group tours. I'm considering Tauck for Loire Valley, Normandy,Bordeaux, but they don't have one in Provence.

Thank you for suggestions.

[SuiteTraveler]

We used transferts-service.com for Sanary and Cassis in May - they were terrific!

 

This is the tour we did:

http://toulon-private-tours.com/prov-26.html

[poss]

Thank you SuiteTraveler. I looked at the website, but it seemed to be for groups who already are "a group," is that not right? E.g. for family members or friends who are traveling together. This will be just my husband and myself, and a private tour for just the two of us would be prohibitively expensive. Does this company do group tours of, say, 10-15 people where THEY form the group?

Thank you!

[hubofhockey]

http://www.provencereservation.com/

 

We used this company and had a great tour to Arles, Les Baux, and the Pont du Gard. The price was also very good. I recommend.

[poss]

Thanks ljberkow-- but what I'm hoping to find is a company that does a 5-7 day tour of Provence. Unless I'm misunderstanding the website, provencereservation just does single day tours, is that correct?

[hubofhockey]

There aren't many companies in this region and many are expensive.

[hubofhockey]

You may want to contact them and ask them about multiple day tours. My guess is that they will work with you.

[Hlitner]

One of our favorite vacations in France (and we have done quite a few) was a long driving tour (we were in France about a month) when we spent about 2 weeks in the Loire Valley. This region has many Chateaus, some of which are part of wineries and quite a few that are now hotels and restaurants. Many of these Chateau's do not work with any tour company since they are relatviely small inns (often less then a dozen rooms). On some evenings we would drive to an amazing Chateau (many are amazing) where we would both sleep and eat. Some of these places had highly regarded restaurants. If was a joy to just walk down the steps to the restaurant (did not have to worry about drinking and driving). There are several excellent web sites that have tons of info on the various Chateaus and we had a lot of fun putting together an itinerary, trading e-mails (for reservations) with Chateau owners, etc. We do understand that some folks do not like to leave their hometown street unless they are on a tour, but for those with a little spirit of adventure and the willingness to do a little homework (almost half the fun), France is a wonderful country to simply rent a car and drive yourself silly.

 

Hank

[poss]

We are in our 80's. What one is able to do at one point in life will not be the same as what one can manage at other points. We are grateful that we're still able to travel.

[Hlitner]

We are in our 80's. What one is able to do at one point in life will not be the same as what one can manage at other points. We are grateful that we're still able to travel.

 

Well that certainly does rule-out rental cars. We think it's teriffic that you are still traveling (we know a lady in her mid 90s who still travels) and hope you many good travel years ahead. Given your age we think Tauck is a perfect choice. It is one of the few tour companies we would use, but hate to pay all that money for those folks. Since you are looking at a luxury tour company (Tauck) you might also want to take a look at Travcoa's tour to the Loire and Bordeaux.

 

Hank

[Villcruise]

We have a cruise stop at Toulon / Provence in early November and are looking at the tour offerings. One that looks interesting is St Tropez. Have any of you ever been there and is it worth the time and $$ to visit ?

[Hlitner]

We have a cruise stop at Toulon / Provence in early November and are looking at the tour offerings. One that looks interesting is St Tropez. Have any of you ever been there and is it worth the time and $$ to visit ?

 

This would be one of those personal preference things, but we do not think St Tropez is worth it. To us, it is a tired "has been" sea resort which is still living on its fame from the days when Bridget Bardot used to walk its beaches. We tend to recommend that folks look into excursions (or independent) options that go into Provence. Unfortunately, some of the cruise lines have substituted Toulon for, what used to be, a port stop at Marseille which we think is unfortunate. Marseille (besides being the 2nd largest city in France) is must more convenient for visiting some of the highlights of Provence.

 

Hank

[SuiteTraveler]

Thank you SuiteTraveler. I looked at the website, but it seemed to be for groups who already are "a group," is that not right? E.g. for family members or friends who are traveling together. This will be just my husband and myself, and a private tour for just the two of us would be prohibitively expensive. Does this company do group tours of, say, 10-15 people where THEY form the group?

Thank you!

 

Sorry I'm so late in replying. They do different things, I would email them and ask what is available and what they recommend.

[hylasgirl]

I've looked into France Off the Beaten Track, but they spend too much time doing cooking classes for our taste; other aspects of their tours look terrific though.

I'd appreciate hearing about excellent, established operators that do week or so small group tours. I'm considering Tauck for Loire Valley, Normandy,Bordeaux, but they don't have one in Provence.

Thank you for suggestions.

 

I used this company last year for the Loire Valley and they were incredible! LOVED every minute of it!

 

http://www.loire-valley-tours.com/en/tours/private-tours/20,loire-valley-comfortable-8-passengers-peugeot-van-completely-tailored-and-private-tour-chateaux-and-vineyards.html

[Cruise Junky]

We are in our 80's. What one is able to do at one point in life will not be the same as what one can manage at other points. We are grateful that we're still able to travel.

 

I was going to suggest the same as Hank until I read you're 80 ;). What about French Rivera cruise?

[dpster]

We just returned from a cruise that stopped in Marseilles. We retained Laurent Catoni of All Provence Tours to give us a private one day tour of the Provence area. He was amazing. His English is perfect (I think he was an English major at his French university), and he seemed to know as much as you can imagine about the culture, history and geography of the Provence region, where he lives and works. He is very friendly. Wherever we went, shopkeepers, restaurant staff, city workers, etc. all knew him.

 

I do not know if he does larger group tours (I know that he used his mininvan for our private tour), or if he does week long tours, but I suspect that he does. We found his prices very reasonable (we were referred to him by another well known Provence tour guide whom we originally contacted but who was booked). His website is www.allprovence.fr. We dealt with him mostly by e-mail at contact@allprovence.fr. I hope this helps.