DATES:  AUGUST 31st- SEPTEMBER 11th  2025  ( 12 days/11 nights )

COSTS, SHARING A DOUBLE/TWIN ROOM AND FERRY CABIN

COSTS: €tbc per person, based on two people per car sharing a ferry cabin and hotel bedroom

The costs include the following:

• Accommodation in 4 star hotels
• 3 course dinners each night in hotels
• Continental breakfast daily
• Rally plates
• Comprehensive roadbooks with daily itineraries and detailed route notes
• Michelin Atlas of France with highlighted route
• Copy of DK's Eyewitness travel guide "France"
• Services of a CCTI Tour Director throughout the tour
• Brittany Ferries outward Plymouth- Santander overnight crossing
• Return afternoon ferry from Caen to Portsmouth

NOT INCLUDED ARE THE FOLLOWING :

• Lunches, snacks, coffees etc.
• Drinks with dinner
• Entry to places of interest
• Autoroute tolls

TOUR SUMMARY

A 12 day tour incorporating several of France's stunning gorges and over a dozen of France's most beautiful villages, ( Les Plus Beaux Villages ) Our tour starts with an overnight ferry from Plymouth to Santander. From Santander our route takes us to Ezcaray in Spain's Rioja wine region then north through the Pyrenees to Oleron Sainte Marie, near Pau. We then drive east across the north Pyrenees to Carcassonne where we spend two nights in a Chateau Hotel. We then continue, via three of France's Beaux Villages, into, arguably one of France's most scenic gorges, the Tarn Gorges in Aveyron where we spend 3 nights in a 16th-century chateau hotel. Over the next two days we explore this most scenic region. Leaving the Tarn Gorges we head west via several Beaux Villages to Conques and then the magnificent Rocamadour . In the afternoon we continue to the Dordogne Valley where our chateau hotel for the next two nights is located. The next day we explore the Dordogne Valley visiting four of France's most beautiful villages, Domme. La Roque Gageac,, Castelnaud La Chapelle and Beynac et Cazenac. On our penultimate day we drive through the Vezere Valley, via another Beau Village, to the Loire Valley where our hotel on the final night of the tour is located. The following day we drive up to Caen to catch the afternoon ferry to Portsmouth.

TOUR ITINERARY

Day 1 Sunday, 31st August 

The overnight ferry leaves at 16.45 from Plymouth to Santander, northern Spain

Our ferry arrives Monday at 14.00  in Santander

Day 2 Monday, 1st September

Santander to Ezcaray, ( 140 miles including 120 on motorways )

Our ferry arrives in Santander at 14.00

After disembarking in Santander we head southwest on the motorway to Santo Domingo de la Calzada.

From here it's just a few miles south to Ezcaray, a sleepy village in the Rioja wine region.

Here our Relais et Chateau hotel for the night is located.

The hotel is opposite a church an ancient church

We eat in the hotel's traditional restaurant

Day 3 Tuesday, 2nd September

Ezcaray to Oloron Ste Marie

We spend the morning driving into the Pyrenees.

After lunch, we cross into France then drive north out of the Pyrenees to our hotel in Oloron Ste Marie, near Pau.

Day 4 Wednesday, 3rd September

Oloron Ste. Marie to Floure, Carcasonne

We drive west to Carcasonne where our hotel for the night is Chateau Floure in the quiet village of Floure just east of Carcasonne. 

Day 5 Thursday, 4th September

A day exploring Carcasonne

Day 6 Friday, 5th September

Floure to La Malene, Tarn Gorges

We take a scenic mountain route northeast from Carcassonne to Millau driving over the Col de Salette,(913 metres), Col de Serrieres,( 685 metres ), Col de Uscats, ( 575 metres ) and the Col de la Baraque de Bral.

We then join the A75 autoroute at Lodeve and drive to our lunch stop La Couvertoirade a stunning walled village in the countryside south of Millau. We then drive over the Millau
bridge from south to north stopping to view the Millau bridge, arguably, the
world's most beautiful modern suspension bridge that spans the valley of the River Tarn near Millau in the Aveyron.

From Millau, we drive into the stunning Gorges des Tarn where Chateau de la Caze, a stunning 16th-century fortified chateau on the banks of the river Tarn,

This is our hotel for the next three nights.

Day 7 Saturday, 6th September

Tarn Gorge local excursion ( 55 miles)
Today, after four days on the road, we spend a leisurely day exploring the
stunning Tarn Gorge.

Leaving our hotel we drive 3 miles up the Gorge to Ste. Enimie, one of France's most beautiful villages and our morning coffee stop.
We then cross the river and drive south over mountains to Meyrueis our lunch stop.

After lunch, there is an option to visit the nearby beautiful caves at the
“Grotte de l'Aven Armand” before driving west through the Gorges de la Jonte
to Le Rosiers our afternoon coffee stop. We then drive north up the Tarn Gorge through La Malene stopping frequently, on the route, to take photos of the picturesque hamlets on the other side of the river.

From La Malene, it's just over 2 miles back to our chateau hotel.

Day 8 Sunday, 7th September

Tarn Gorges, local excursion

We drive right through the Tarn Gorge to Florac where we take a wonderful scenic driving road, the Corniche des Cevennes to St. Jean du Gard, our morning coffee stop.

We then drive on more scenic roads to Le Vigan then via Meyruies back to Florac where we take a minor road to Montignac then back to St.Chely du Tarn

Day 9 Monday, 8th September

Tarn Gorge to Beynac, Dordogne ( miles )

We leave Chateau de la Caze and drive 2 miles up the gorge to Ste. Enimie where we take a steep road with several hairpins climbing out of the gorge to La Canourgue. 

From here we drive across country on minor roads to St.Eulacie d' Olt, another of France's most beautiful villages and our morning coffee stop. 

We then continue west to Conques, another “beau village” and our lunch stop. After Conques, we drive north-west up to Rocamadour our afternoon coffee stop. From Rocamadour, we drive to Souillac then west through a gorge to Carsac.

We then drive a stunning route through La Roque Gageac and Beynac, two more of France’s most beautiful villages, to our chateau hotel overlooking the Dordogne river

Day 10 Tuesday, 9th  September 

A day exploring the Dordogne Valley

Day 11 Wednesday, 10th September  Beynac to Loire Valley

Day 12 Thursday, 11th September Loire Valley to Ouistreham/Caen Ferry

On the final day of our tour, we head north  up to Caen to catch the afternoon ferry which arrives in Portsmouth at 9.30 pm