PROVENCE TOUR INFORMATION • Questions & Answers
Best Adventures in Provence Tour
By France Off the Beaten Path Tours
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR Provence Tours
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Click on the accordion menu below to read more Provence Walking Tour Information – Answers to our most frequently asked Provence Walking Tour questions. Still need help?
EMAIL US at christy@traveloffthebeatenpath.com
Yes. All tours are conducted in English and designed for English speaking travelers. The majority of OTBP Guests come from the U.S.A., Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and England. Guests have also come from the Caribbean, Singapore, the Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, Hong Kong, UAE and Israel.
Your OTBP Guide(s) will meet you at Avignon TGV train station and Marseille airport – We provide complimentary transfer from Marseille airport at 1 pm and from Avignon TGV rail station at 4 pm. Specific details on where to meet your guide will be included in the tour information package we send out 30 days prior to the tour.
Return transfers to the Avignon TGV rail station and Marseille airport. Complimentary 10 am transfer arrival at AVIGNON TGV Rail Station and a NOON transfer arrival at Marseille airport. We can organize earlier departure transfers for guests taking a flight or early morning train. Please contact us directly to make arrangements for an earlier transfer.
– NO HOTEL HOPPING!– We stay 5-nights at CONDE NAST recommended premiere boutique Hotel Gounod located in the historical heart of St. Remy de Provence. The perfect choice for our base to discover the region and experience the very best of Provence. Enjoy stepping into the pedestrian walking streets of the town to explore, shop and/or discover local sites independently during leisure time and/or enjoy a quiet moment with a glass of wine, beer, or tea in the beautiful and tranquil hotel gardens.
Yes. You may transfer from one trip to another before trip departure's balance payment due date without any penalty (excludes custom designed-private tours), as long as space is available on the tour date requested.
The ground transportation throughout our Best Adventures in Provence Tours is provided by comfortable and discreet Mercedes Sprinter minibus designed and tailored for small group travel. Our Sprinter is equipped with air-conditioning, and features reclining leather seats, overhead storage, tray tables and cold storage cooler so guides are able to provide guests cold bottled water throughout the day during our outings. The Sprinter accommodates up to 19 persons. We have a dedicated, professional driver who has been driving our groups for years.
Off the Beaten Path is a full service tour operator and it is our pleasure to assist you with all aspects of upcoming travel plans. Whether you are looking for a suggestion for a hotel in Paris or assistance with your rail tickets, simply contact us to request our “extended stay package” by EMAIL at christy@traveloffthebeatenpath.com or CALL 1.717.683.2827 with your tour questions. – Provence Walking Tour Information
Provence is a very comfortable dry climate and spring (April-May-June), early summer (June, July) and early fall (September-mid-October) are the best periods of the year to visit the region. April, May, June, September and October, day time temperatures in Provence range from the upper 70’s- to mid-80’s Fahrenheit and very comfortable, with evenings being slightly cooler. June, July, and August day time temperatures in Provence average in the mid 80’s Fahrenheit with evenings being only slightly cooler. Typically it is sunny, but be prepared with the proper rain gear. – Provence Walking Tour Information
Best Adventures in Provence Tours exclude – Airfare to and from the tour starting point, Train fare to and from the tour starting point, 1 lunch, 2 dinners, excursions not detailed in the itinerary, personal purchases, gratuities to guides and professional driver.
Our Provence Tours are designed for discerning travelers of all ages and backgrounds, from the seasoned traveler and independent traveler to the first time traveler to France. Join any one of the our tours as a solo traveler, a couple, a small group of friends or family, or bring your entire travel club, affinity group, women’s organization or wine society. No culinary, history or other type of experience is necessary. Join us for the vacation of a lifetime to discover the Best of Provence, as an insider, and make new friends along the way.
Not at all. The idea is to learn about French culture, traditions, wine, daily life, artisan lives and culinary practices in a fun and relaxing environment. Our tours offer great learning opportunities for everyone. Off the Beaten Path guides are very skilled at adapting their discussions to the general level of knowledge of the group, providing good introductory information for novices, and more advanced discussions for those who have more experience or a specialty interest. It’s vacation and our tours are all about having fun, enjoying new experiences and being active!
No. However France is a country of walkers. Our Provence Tours are designed for active travelers of all backgrounds. This tour includes options for travelers of varying interests and walking ability levels. There are optional, active walks designed for interested guests who enjoy walking, plus there is daily leisure walking.
PLEASE NOTE – Our Walks are nature walks that include walking through vineyards, forests, olive orchards, flower fields, a truffle farm, and other such landscapes in nature. These are country walks, enjoying the scenic backroads and natural landscapes of Provence. Our three scheduled walks feature walking through the Provence countryside on trails where loose gravel, pebbles, rocks and dirt are the norm. Appropriate walking shoes are recommended for all walks. We enjoy the “slow road” taking in the beautiful scenery of the countryside and local villages daily.
Yes, wine is included at all scheduled meals together. We expertly match premium wines from the region with each dish. Meals offer an excellent opportunity to try wines from appellations not available to guests at home, and to introduce guests to some select wines worth a favorable mention or that are exceptionally appreciated by the locals.
A traditional French picnic consists of the following : a large selection of cheeses, a couple of varieties of “saucisson” (a cured sausage made from pork and sometimes seasoned with herbs), traditional home-made French bread called “baguette”, sometimes grain or nut based breads (as the custom and preference is that cheeses be accompanied by a nut or grain bread), pates and other potted meat spreads, such as foie gras, country pate or meatier spreads called “terrine” where the meat has been slow cooked in its fat then pulled and canned or sealed in a jar, French style sandwiches, olives or “cornichons” (small tart pickles), condiments including French mustards and butter, a selection of fresh vegetables such as, tomatoes, radishes and/or melon (depending on the season), a choice fresh fruit from the season and a selection of local wines. Our picnics include all of these fabulous specialty foods and each picnic is designed to reflect the regional food culture and the local growing season.
A typical French breakfast is very simple and comprised of all or any combination of the following — traditional home-made French bread called “baguette”, “viennoiserie” known in English as pastries, such as croissants, pain au chocolate (a croissant with chocolate in it — yum!) or pain au raisins (croissant type pastry with custard and raisins in it), cereal and/or yoghurt or a fresh white cheese of the same consistency as yoghurt called “fromage blanc”, fresh fruits and jams, fruit juices and coffee, tea or hot chocolate. When in the heart of “farm” country, one might be offered a small selection of local cheese and French charcuterie which would be a selection of cold cuts. The breakfast description provided here is exactly the type of breakfast offered on all of our tours. If a hotel in Paris, another major city or the occasional country hotel offers omelettes, pancakes, hot sausages and/or bacon, this is not part of the typical French breakfast and has been added to the morning menu to attract non-French tourists. France does not have breakfast specific restaurants like what you would find in your home country.
Celebrating 31 years in 2025 in the France tour travel industry, specifically with small group touring, we have found that our guests are generally more interested in active experiences, culture, people to people experiences and guided tours of museums and sites. Our guests like to visit private homes, and pursue their hobbies when they travel. Our guests enjoy being able to shop locally for items, such as, collectibles, art and local products. Our guests tend to do more homework and want a meatier trip, but also want to enjoy down time or leisure time to explore independently. All of our trips are designed based on these factors. Each trip offers organized activities and excursions daily combined with periods of leisure time each day. Our tours encourage individual approach and pursuit of your interests, as well as introducing you to new experiences and people during each trip.
Pack comfortable light weight, casual clothing. It’s vacation and we want you to feel and be as comfortable as possible during our daily activities. For walks, we recommend comfortable pants, shorts, or capris that breath, such as, those sold at REI, Patagonia, North Face, and other outdoor activity clothing stores. Yoga style pants are also a good choice to wear for our day activities. Unlike Paris which has a much more formal dress code, Provence is in the countryside, and different rules apply. It is acceptable to wear casual outdoor clothes and sneakers during day-time activities. Our dinners together include Michelin-star and bistro style gourmet restaurants. For men we suggest a business casual ensemble (no tie or jacket necessary unless it’s your personal preference) and for women we recommend a casual dress for dinners. We also classify our dinner dress code as “resort chic”. Please no jeans or gym type sneakers at dinner.
Please limit your luggage to a size that you can easily manage while traveling around France through the airport(s) and on the French rail system. Try not to over pack; you will not wear all your clothing, and laundry service is available at our Provence hotel, and in town! A suggested packing list will be enclosed in your tour information package.
All travelers to France are required to have a valid passport. Please make 2 copies of your passport and personal identification before you depart. Keep one set of copies with you in a separate location from your travel documents, and leave the other set of copies with a contact at home before you depart. If you are not a U.S. citizen, please check with your consulate general for entry requirements.
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