Self Guided Cycling: Provence & The Luberon - France

Our Clients’ Reviews

Here at Exodus we thrive on feedback from our customers. It's the only way we can ensure our trips continue to be the best they can be. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of the trip you're interested in, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers. Any feedback collected (Good or bad) from Exodus clients is posted straight onto our website - totally unedited. Read more...

Average Review Rating: from 8 reviews.

Gillian Robertson

CYCLE PROVENCE & THE LUBERON

Written July 2012
Fantastic week cycling through spectacular scenery and pretty villages. Hotels basic but adequate, everyone we met was very friendly and food and wine were superb!
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Highlight of the week had to be Mont Ventoux. Although my husband is a seasoned cyclist, it was the first time I had attempted something of this difficulty and felt a real sense of achievement getting to the top.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
You may want to think about taking your own bikes with you, as we were not overly impressed with the quality of our road bikes, especially if you want to climb Mont Ventoux.
Richard Stewart

CYCLE PROVENCE & THE LUBERON

Written June 2011
A fantastic opportunity to see the best bits of France at your own pace. The views were fantastic and the hotels quirky making this a unique experience to get fit!
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Making it to the top of Mount Ventoux! The satisfaction of passing professional cyclists going up the mountain was amazing! The long slog is definitely worth it and there is a cold beer and good food waiting at the top
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Buy good cycling shorts!
Remember that a lot of shops and restaurants in France close from 12pm to 4pm roughly. Yes some of the restaurants close at lunchtime!! Make sure you have plenty of provisions to keep you going
Sandra Jemson

CYCLE PROVENCE & THE LUBERON

Written May 2011
France the place to cycle, but so pleased my friend spoke french, the directions were awful.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Getting to the destination at the end of each days cycling. As we had always cycled much further due to poor directions and getting lost. ( Two Australians on same route also got lost everyday)
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Ask for (or research your own) directions. Need blown up maps of each days route.
Ask cost of taxi airpost to destination. Ours 100 eur. Trains don't always run that often.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Unlucky enough that a bird flew into our engine on take off, that delay caused us to miss train connection. Disapointed Exodus happy to leave us 5 hours waiting for train, thought guy out there might have picked us up. Also Phone number given in case of emergency was supposed to be an English speaking gent - although he was lovely, he could not speak english. YOU NEED TO SPEAK A GOOD DEAL OF FRENCH TO GO ON THIS HOLIDAY.
James Rix

CYCLE PROVENCE & THE LUBERON

Written October 2009
Great cycling and scenery
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Mont Ventoux
Is there anything else you would like to add?
The directions were not great and often gave the impression that they hadn't been written by someone who had actually ridden the route.
The first day had 2 examples of very poor directions, one of which instructed you to turn left when in fact you needed to turn right!
This all led to an unnecessary reliance on the map and the flow of the cycling being broken
John Taylor

CYCLE PROVENCE & THE LUBERON

Written November 2008
This was a really good holiday with a great variety between the 4 hotels booked for the week which made the holiday experience very good. There were about 3 poor examples of misdirections in the Expodus guide but the remaining directions were accurate. Although categorised as 2/3 cycling difficulty, I as a 50-ish fit but non-cyclist could cope well while enjoying the challenging climbs.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
The start out of CAVAILLON following the Tour de Luberon cycle route, was well planned and interesting on the back roads.
Day 2 Climb (in sun) from La Bastide des Jourdans up the hill and ending downhill to Forcalquier was a superb ride- the climb slightly surprising in the extent of the height (ugh) /length, but with the sun shining, fantastic.
Day 5, the Gorges- Despite being in the mist and cloud, a lovely ride up the Gorge with the clouds rising on plan to expose the views into the gorge at the top.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Cycling helmets provided by Cyclix- don't take your own.
If going late in October, bring warm winter cycling gear- our ride down the D1 to Villes -sur-Auzon (before the Gorges) in wet cloud was a very chilling affair.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Very enjoyable!!!!!
Barbara Crump

CYCLE PROVENCE & THE LUBERON

Written July 2008
The villages and towns included in this tour were well chosen and the distance appropriate (especially for the 35-40 degree heat). However the self-guided instructions were very poor and compared very unfavourably with smaller owner-operator companies with whom we have toured in Spain, Portugal and the Lakes District. I would look for a private, small operator rather than go with Exodus in the future.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Discovering the medieval fortress at Saint Saturnine des Ap, the long run down the des Gorges de la Nesque (instructions so poor that we went down instead of up).
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Take sunblock if you are cycling South France in July.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
The self-guided instructions should have been available before we left for our holiday. We received them at the hotel on the first night.
Exodus Response
Dear Mrs Crump,
I'm glad you enjoyed the area, route and villages along the way. Having set up the trip myself i know how spectacular the scenery is and hopefully it wasn't too hot. Some of the Provencal villages en route are very enjoyable to explore.
I'm sorry that you felt the route notes were not detailed enough. Having designed and cycled the route along with our local operator i will look into your concerns and re-visit any problem spots. With regards to 'the agent' mentioned in the route notes, on this self-guided trip we do not provide a local meet and greet however he is available 24hrs a day for any problems you encounter, using the number provided. The hotelliers and bike supplier are also perfectly happy to answer an queries you may have.
Many apologies that you did not receive your route notes in advance and please be assured that i am looking into this with our agent in New Zealand. All our bookings from overseas should receive the route notes in PDF format prior to travel from their agent.
All the best, Andy Buswell (Trip Manager)

- Exodus Staff
Paul McCormack

CYCLE PROVENCE & THE LUBERON

Written July 2008
Wonderful trip great scenery and the smell of lavender wow ! The food was excellent so much so I gained weight during the trip despite the Mt Ventoux climb
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
The descent from Cruis to Sigonce. The view from the cafe in Simiane -la -Rotonde. The last 100 m of Mt Ventoux climb. The descent from St Jean les Molieres to St Saturnin - les - Apt. The good road manners of French drivers towards cyclists
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Careful at Montfuron turn left before the village or you'll make a (nice ) descent into Pierrevert and end up doing three sides of a square and a long road climb !
The observatories are only open on Wed and Thurdays there is an information booth in St Michel so I'd check it's open before riding to it. We didn't !
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Great tour really enjoyed it good hotels friendly people