Final-year school trip to the Ardèche: canoeing down the gorges, Chauvet 2 cave and via ferrata (6 days)

Day 1: Departure from your school and overnight stop near Lyon

• Departure from your school early in the morning, at the time agreed with you.
• Daytime drive via Luxembourg, Lorraine and Burgundy (about 650 to 750 km depending on your school, 8 to 9 hours excluding stops).
• Our drivers drive for a maximum of 3 hours, then take a 30-minute break, day and night.
• Arrival in the Lyon area in the late afternoon: check-in at the hotel for the overnight stop, dinner and quiet evening.

Day 2: Arrival in the Ardèche and Chauvet 2 cave

• Departure after breakfast through the Rhône valley (about 210 km, 2 hours 45 min).
• Arrival in Vallon-Pont-d’Arc in the late morning and lunch at your own expense.
• Visit to the Chauvet 2 cave, a faithful replica of the decorated cave and its 36,000-year-old paintings of lions, horses and mammoths.
• Stop at the Pont d’Arc, a 54-metre natural arch spanning the river.
• Check-in at the accommodation for three nights, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 3: Canoeing down the Ardèche gorges

• Safety briefing and handing out of equipment (life jacket, waterproof barrel) at the canoe hire centre.
• 24 km canoe trip down the gorges, from Vallon-Pont-d’Arc to Sauze, under the Pont d’Arc and below the cliffs of the nature reserve (a shorter 8 km route is possible depending on the group’s level).
• Picnic at your own expense on a pebble beach by the river.
• Return by coach to the accommodation in the late afternoon.
• Dinner and supervised evening.

Day 4: Via ferrata and Aven d’Orgnac

• Morning of via ferrata supervised by a qualified instructor, at a site in the southern Ardèche suited to the group’s level (harness, helmet and lanyards provided).
• Lunch at your own expense.
• Visit to the Aven d’Orgnac cave, a Grand Site de France, and its Cité de la Préhistoire (on request).
• Dinner and supervised evening.

Day 5: Gorges road and drive back to Lyon

• Rooms vacated after breakfast.
• Scenic road along the Ardèche gorges with stops at the viewpoints overlooking the river’s meanders.
• Lunch at your own expense in Saint-Martin-d’Ardèche, then drive to the Lyon area (about 220 km, 3 hours).
• Check-in at the hotel for the overnight stop, dinner and last supervised evening.

Day 6: Return to Belgium

• Departure after breakfast.
• Daytime drive back to Belgium with regular stops.
• Lunch at your own expense during a stop on the way.
• Arrival at your school in the evening.