walking & adventure holidays

Nature and culture

The Alpes Maritimes - natural history and culture

Flora, fauna and culture abound.

The Alpes-Maritimes is a microcosm of nature and culture. This week offers you the opportunity to explore the area with the assistance of local expert guides who will bring the area to life.

Lovers of wildlife will enjoy a trip to the wolf sanctuary in Le Boréon and a further day and a half in pursuit of the wolf and the myriad of other wild life that the area is proud of.

Enjoy a morning in the Alpha Scénoparc in Le Boréon, where you will come face to face with wolves.

The spring is a delight as wild flowers carpet the alpine meadows which spring to life after the long winter chill. The Mercantour is rich with more than 2,000 species of flowering plants, 200 of which are very rare.

Later in the week our geology guide Sandra Walsh will uncover the mystery beneath your feet, and Elizabeth Bernheim will offer you a fascinating in-depth tour round the ancient village of Saint-Martin-Vésubie.

Testimonials

Beautiful area. Loved the mountain walks and Gorges du Cians. Enjoyed the colours of the wild flowers, and the cats and the beautiful house. Thank you.

John Smith & Pauline - May 2006

Season

Early May to end September.

Departures to date

2008 - contact us for further information

Pricing

Standard weekly package :

Gite based - £475

Hotel or Chambre d'Hote B&B - £590

Hotel or Chambre d'Hote half board - £745

For non-standard periods and programmes, contact us to discuss the options. Read about our flexible way of working.

Walking Grades

grade

attributes	1	2	3
physical fitness	x	x	x
confidence with heights	x	x	x
technical ability	x	x	x
mountain experience	x	x	x

Our grades are explained in "essential info"

Your Accommodation

Gîte

Enjoy the beautifully secluded situation of La Zourcière in the small hamlet of Berthemont les Bains in the Vésubie valley. The gîte sits on the ground floor of the house and is fully self contained. There are shops about 10 minutes drive from the hamlet, and an organic farm just 200m down the road from the house. Follow this link for more details.

Hotel or Chambre d'Hôte

Le Chalet or La Bonne Auberge are situated in the town of St Martin Vésubie, a thriving small community that has been the centre of life in the valley since the 12th century. There are plenty of local shops and restaurants to choose from, and the Bonne Auberge has its own restaurant.
Le Grand Chalet is a homely chambre d'hôte run by Christine and Luc and is situated overlooking the small village of St Dalmas Valdeblore. A good week of outdoor activity is well fuelled by Christine's great cooking, crafted from home made (mainly organic and local) ingredients. Vegetarians are welcomed.

Other accommodation options can be found here.

What's included

Seven nights accommodation
Gîte Based : self catering, no meals or drinks included.
Hotel/Chambre d'Hôte B&B : Breakfasts only - evening meals can be taken at local restaurants, and packed lunches can be purchased at local food stores.
Hotel/Chambre d'Hôte Half Board : All meals, inclusive of packed lunches.
Transport : To and from all venues. To and from Nice airport, aside from gite guests who decide to hire a car during their stay in Berthemont. We offer supermarket visits for self catering guests who do not wish to hire a car.
Activities : Five days various activities - all guided.

Itinerary

Day 1 Arrive in Berthemont, or pick up from Nice airport.
Day 2 Visit to Alpha, followed by short walk in the afternoon.
Day 3 Spend a day in the Mercantour on the trail of wild life. Chamois, ibex, marmot and golden eagles are very likely to be spotted.
Day 4 Enjoy a day out with geology specialist Sandra Walsh.
Day 5 Elizabeth Bernheim will share her rich knowledge of Saint-Martin.
Day 6 Free day to enjoy the peace of the village and take a short stroll.
Day 7 A walk in the Col de Turini, renowned in the Monte Carlo rally, and the fascinating WWII site at Authion.
Day 8 Depart trip from Berthemont, or transfer to Nice for hotel guests.

Suitable for

Adults and young persons over 14 years.

Your welfare & protection

As a small enterprise, it's very important to us that our guests are professionally looked after during their stay with us.
Your protection : our operational base is in France, and our company in France is registered as a tour operator (habilitation touristique) and holds business failure cover and public liability cover.
Your welfare : all our activities are led by fully qualified local Mountain Guides and International Mountain Leaders (Accompagnateurs), thus ensuring that you receive not only top professional care, but that you will also benefit from their in-depth local knowledge of the regions that we operate in.

This web site is serviced by Futureservers. Contact John Short at john@webok.co.uk.
Copyright : Spacebetween Alpine Adventures Ltd registered in England, company No : 5154532.
SARL Spacebetween registered in France, siret No : 47784956600013 Habilitation Touristique No : H.A. 006.06.0007
Photographes courtesy of Ingrid and Ludo DeHertog - On the Trail of the Wolf 2007