Horseback Riding Trip in PROVENCE : LUBERON TO CAMARGUE , MEDITERRANEAN RIDE

INDICATIVE ITINERARY *:

Day 1: Free transfer from Marseille airport (5 pm), Aix en Provence tgv train station (5:30 pm), Aix en Provence center train station (5:45 pm). Or meeting directly at Mas de Recaute in Lauris at 6 pm. Welcome aperitif and presentation of the trail ride. You will be introduced to your guide and spend a first friendly dinner at he «host’s table». Overnight at at Les Gargoulettes guesthouse.

Day 2: From Lauris to Mallemort. Departure from the southern foot of the Luberon, its pine forests, its cliff landscapes, along orchards, olive groves and vineyards to the Durance  river which we follow by pleasant trails, and cross (on a bridge in the event of a flooding river) before a pleasant shaded picnic  Picnic brought by our assistant on the other side of the Durance river. In the afternoon, we will ride along the Alpilles canal to the farm where the horses will stay for the night. Transfer with minibus to your accommodation, in Lauris, dinner at the host table overnight at Les Gargoulettes in Lauris.

Day 3: From Mallemort to Eygalieres. After breakfast, transfer to the horses. We will ride in a rich valley among fruit trees to Lamanon where we will enjoy the lunch buffet, The afternoon, we will enter in the Alpilles Nature Park, Van Gogh’s country. We will ride in hiils and we will reach the Roman village of Eygalière late in the afternoon after a stop by the beautiful « Chapel St Sixte », to take pictures. Dinner and overnight at a guesthouse near Eygalieres.

Day 4: From Eygalieres to Les Baux de Provence. A cultural day as you will ride in the landscape Van Gogh liked to paint. You will stop near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, in front of the hospital in which Van Gogh stayed and made his most famous paintings. Admire beautiful Roman monuments, before you make your way towards lunch. The afternoon ride will take you on the crests of the Alpilles: striking panorama on the surrounding area. At the end of the trail, we load the horses in the truck for a transfer to Camargue. You then have the choice between visiting the Baux de Provence medieval village or the Lumière quarries with an exceptional multimedia show, on the theme of Cezanne in 2021: to be reserved on the website www.carrieres-lumieres.com. After this break, minibus transfer to Sylvereal, the gate of the Camargue. Night in a hotel: an old Abbaye and dinner at the hotel's typical Camargue auberge.

Day 5: Astouin - Bull cattle drive - Les Saintes Maries de la Mer. On horseback to a Camargue ranch. After an hour on horseback in the heart of the Camargue, we will arrive at a "manade", a bull and horse ranch in Camargue. Mathieu, a passionate "guardian", Camargue cow-boy, welcomes us in front of the enclosure of one of his bull herds. We accompany him on horseback to "grab" the bulls, that is to say push them through the marsh to a sorting enclosure. Then he tells us about the "Camargue bull and horse races", the breeding methods, the traditions linked to the Camargue bulls, then he sorts a few bulls in front of us and ends his performance by offering us an aperitif "the friendship glass". Picnic on the place, prepared by our assistant. Then we leave on horseback to Les Saintes Maries de la Mer. After your installation at the hotel, you can go for a walk in the the village streets and do some shopping, take a stroll to the beach, or enjoy the hotel swimming pool. Meeting for dinner in a lively bodega in the village. Night at the hotel.

Day 6: A morning ride on the beaches. Nice gallops and walk in the sea. The lunch will be prepared at the hotel by your assistant, and the afternoon you will ride along the Vacares lake: you will discover a lot of flamingos and wild birds on a pleasant trail. Transfer to Lauris, for a last dinner, share memories, pictures, addresses ...

Day 7: End of the trip after breakfast. Free transfer to Aix-en-Provence train stations and Marseille airport (departure at 9:30 am).

* Indicative program: may be subject to modifications if necessary (weather, floods, fire risks, imponderables ...)