Final-year school trip to the Ardèche and Provence: canoeing in the gorges, caving, the Pont du Gard and Orange (7 days)

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

• Departure from your school early in the morning, at the agreed time.
• Daytime drive via Luxembourg, Lorraine and Burgundy (about 650 to 750 km depending on your school, 7½ to 8½ hours’ driving excluding stops).
• Our drivers drive for a maximum of 3 hours, then take a 30-minute break, day and night.
• Arrival in the late afternoon in the Lyon area: check-in at the hotel for the overnight stop, dinner and quiet evening.

Day 2: Arrival in the Ardèche and the gorges road

• Departure after breakfast through the Rhône valley (about 210 km, 2 hrs 45 min).
• Arrival in Vallon-Pont-d’Arc in the late morning and lunch at your own expense.
• Scenic road along the Ardèche gorges with stops at the viewpoints above the river’s meanders, then a stop at the Pont d’Arc, a 54-metre natural arch.
• Check-in at the accommodation for four nights, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 3: Canoeing down the gorges

• Safety briefing and handing out of equipment (life jacket, waterproof barrel) at the hire centre.
• Full-day canoe trip down the Ardèche gorges (about 24 km), under the Pont d’Arc and at the foot of the nature reserve’s cliffs.
• 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: Caving and the Chauvet 2 cave

• Introduction to caving in a cave equipped for beginners, with a qualified instructor and all equipment (on request).
• 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 (on request).
• Supervised free time and swimming at a lifeguarded beach (in season), then dinner and supervised evening.

Day 5: The Gardon by canoe and the Pont du Gard

• Drive to Collias, in the Gard (about 1 hr 15 min).
• Canoe trip down the Gardon from Collias to beneath the arches of the Pont du Gard (about 8 km, on request).
• Picnic at your own expense, then visit to the Pont du Gard site, a Roman aqueduct almost 50 metres high, and its museum.
• Return to Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, dinner and last evening in the Ardèche.

Day 6: The Roman theatre of Orange and on to Lyon

• Rooms vacated after breakfast and drive to Orange (about 1 hr).
• Visit to the Roman theatre, whose stage wall has remained intact, and past the triumphal arch (on request).
• Lunch at your own expense, then drive to the Lyon area (about 210 km, 2½ hrs).
• Check-in at the hotel for the overnight stop, dinner and last supervised evening.

Day 7: Return to your school

• Departure after breakfast.
• Daytime drive to Belgium (about 650 to 750 km) with regular stops.
• Lunch at your own expense during a stop on the way.
• Arrival at your school in the evening.