Le Vercors in Camping-Car: rental, advice, areas, routes

Are you going to visit Isère and Drôme? Here is a mini-guide advice to visit the Vercors in camper!

Located on horseback in the departments of Drôme and Isère, the Vercors is a large mass of medium mountains, spread over an area of 135,000 hectares. Between Lyon, Grenoble and Valencia, it is the largest mountain range in the North Préalpes.

Renowned for its steep cliffs and high plateaus, the Vercors is one of the most beautiful travel destinations in France. With a remarkable natural and cultural environment, it is also a site full of history for outdoor sports.

Whether you're looking for a sport or a travelling camping-car trip and you're rejuvenating in nature, the Vercors has many surprises. The Wanderlix editor reveals how to visit the Vercors in camping-car.

Ideas of itineraries in Vercors by camping-car

The Vercors rises from Grenoble, facing the massif of the Chartreuse in the Rhone Valley, at the gates of Valencia. The Vercors is not just a mountain range of sites and monuments to visit. It is also a high place of resistance during the Second World War, rich in an exceptional historical and cultural heritage.

You only know what to do by visiting this contrasting territory between mountain and Mediterranean climates? Here are some essential steps to be taken in the Vercors by camping-car.

Constitute your route plan according to the duration of the trip: a week is enough to visit the Vercors by camping-car. However, it will take several days to stay in the same place to avoid a superficial visit to the massif.

Visit the Vercors Natural Park by motorhome on a weekend

Here is a course in the Vercors by camping-car if you rent your vehicle in Valencia :

• 1st day: Valencia, Romans-sur-Isère, Saint-Jean-en-Royans (48 km, 55 minutes);
• 2nd day: the tourist route of Combe Laval by the pas de la Machine, Bouvante, La Chapelle-en-Vercors (40 km, 55 minutes);
• 3rd day: Villard-de-Lans, Corrençon-en-Vercors, Gresse-en-Vercors (115 km, 2h).

For a long three-day weekend, countless alternative routes are obviously possible. For example, you can choose to visit Grenoble and the northeast of Vercors, for example Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte or Lans-en-Vercors.

But you can also stay west of the massif from Valencia, with the villages of Combovin, Peyrus, Léoncel. Or you can visit the south with Chateaudouble, Omblèze, Plan-de-Baix, Crest or Die.

Natural park of Vercors in motorhome on a week

Here is a course in the Vercors in camping-car if you rent your vehicle for a week in Grenoble :

• 1st day: Grenoble, Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte, Lans-en-Vercors, Saint-Martin-en-Vercors (55 km, 1h15);
• 2nd day: Saint-Agnan-en-Vercors, Vassieux-en-Vercors, Font d’Urle (ski station) (25 km, 30 minutes);
• 3rd day: The Chaffal (the Canyon of the Gueulards and the Gorge of Omblèze), Léoncel (Cistercian Abbey of Leoncel) (75 km, 1h50);
• 4th day: Barbières (by the pass of Tourniol), Saint-Nazaire-en-Royans, Saint-Laurent-en-Royans, Pont-en-Royans (60 km, 1h20);
• 5th day: Choranche (grottes of Choranche), Echevis (belvedère de Révoulat), Méaudre (le Trou qui Souffle), Autrans-Méaudre-en-Vercors (75 km, 2h) ;
• 6th day: the road to Presle, the Route des Gorges de la Bourne (from Pont-en-Royans to Villard-de-Lans) (70 km, 1h45);
• 7th day: Combovin and the hike of the Tour de Barcelonne, Crest, Die (130 km, 2h30).

Some of our steps are deliberately long: they allow you to visit the must-see sites of the Vercors Regional Natural Park. These routes include some tourist routes and some mythical passes of the massif.

The Vercors Natural Park in two weeks

Do you have another week? Here are some ideas of sites and villages to visit in Vercors Park for the second week. For the last days of the trip, you can also get out of the natural park to explore the surroundings.

• 8th day: Saint-Marcellin, Cognin-les-Gorges, the canyon des Ecouges (35 km, 50 minutes);
• 9th day: Saint-Eulalie-en-Vercors, route des Petits Goulets, La Chapelle-en-Vercors (45 km, 55 minutes);
• 10th day: the collar of the Rousset and the view of the Rousset, Bouvante and pass of the Battle (55 km, 1h15);
• 11th day: Crest, Montélimar, Nyons (140 km, 2h45);
• Day 12: Remusat, Buis-les-Baronnies (65 km, 1h15);
• 13th day: Carpentras, Avignon (70 km, 1h15);
• 14th day: Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Les Baux-de-Provence, Arles, Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (95 km, 2h).

This route leads you to the Mediterranean Sea, in the Bouches-du-Rhône. But from the south of Drôme, you can also enjoy an end to a sporting holiday in the Ardèche Mountains, in the Ecrins National Park or in the Chartreuse Mountains.

There are so many essential things to see and do from the Vercors on a camper, that we have to come back!

What budget to travel by motorhome in the Vercors Natural Park?

How much does it cost to travel to Vercors' natural park by motorhome? This is the least fun part of a trip: you must always estimate the holiday budget. Here are some travel-related spending ideas to make the Vercors in camper.

Average budget for 1 weekend:

• Rental + motorhome insurance : 105€ per day (315€ for 3 days on average);
• Essence: 20€ ;
• Parking : up to 10€ per day;
• Total: 365€ about.

Average budget for 1 week:

• Rental + motorhome insurance : 105€ per day (735€ for 7 days on average);
• Essence: 50€ about;
• Parking : up to 10€ per day;
• **Total:**850€ about.

Average budget for 2 weeks:

• Rental + motorhome insurance : 105€ per day (1 470€ for 14 days on average);
• Essence: 100€ about;
• Parking : up to 10€ per day;
• Total: 1 700€ about.

Of course, these rates are only indicative and depend on your way to travel and ride. Mountain roads can consume a lot of fuel by driving.

And in the Vercors, you can easily find many free parking lots. The budget of €10 per day for parking being a deliberately wide range.

Camping and driving in Vercors

You could have some research on driving in the Vercors Natural Park. Especially to visit it by camping-car. Here are the essentials to travel in the Vercors Mountain by camping-car.

What documents do you have on board?

• Driver's license (B) if the PTAC of the motorhome does not exceed 3.5 tonnes;
• Grey card of the motorhome;
• Certificate of motorhome insurance;
• The lease agreement signed between the two parties;
• A copy of the state of the place of departure.

Motorway to Vercors: what price for your camper category?

The Vercors nature park is not crossed by any highway. On the other hand, three very busy highways bypass it: A49 , A48 and A51 .

L’ A49 link Valencia to Grenoble and is managed in private concession by AREA: it is therefore paid . It runs along the Vercors on its northwest sides. The A48 motorway connects Lyon in Grenoble and connects to the A43 (releasing Lyon to Modane via the Fréjus tunnel). It runs along the northeast of Vercors. Grenoble, at the foot of the massif, is a direct entrance door. Here are some rates to be paid by motorhome (class 2) on these sections:

• Paris-Grenoble : 78,80€ ;
• Paris-Valence : 68,30€ ;
• Lyon-Grenoble : 19,30€ ;
• Chambéry-Grenoble: 8,90€ ;
• Annecy-Grenoble : 16,10€ ;
• Marseille-Grenoble (by the A51): 21,90€ ;
• Marseille-Valence : 26,70€ ;
• Montpellier-Valence : 28,80€.

Other information about driving in Vercors

The state of roads

It is important to know that the interior of the Vercors Natural Park is made up of small, sometimes very narrow mountain routes. The only large axes are those that belt the massif, linking especially the largest cities. Motorways A49, A48 and A51 in particular, to go from Valencia to Grenoble or Grenoble to Monestier-de-Clermont.

On motorhome, it will be easy to travel on the departmental roads of the outskirts of Valencia: for example, the D538 from Alixan to Crest by Chabeuil, or the D93 from Crest to Die. In the mountains and on the plateau, the crossings will be much more delicate due to the sinuous mountain pass.

Attention: Some roads are pierced directly into the cliffs and have tunnel passages. They will be very delicate to pass by camping-car. Some sections of roads are very tight inside the gorges and canyons. Trucks or cars and motorhomes, for example, will not be able to meet in some places.

Remember that in camping-car, you will need deport on the left to not rub on the rock , when the road is dug into the cliff.

Sometimes, it will unfortunately be necessary to avoid these difficult, yet sublime passages. This is the case of the Nan Gorge Route, for example. Looking for a very practicable road idea to cross the Vercors by camping-car? Take the D531 to Villard-de-Lans, the D103 (road of the Chute de la Goule Blanche) to La Chapelle-en-Vercors. Follow the tourist route of the Combe Laval by the D199 and the D76 (col de Carri) to reach Saint-Jean-en-Royans.

Circulate in the Vercors

On motorhomes, many portions of roads of the Vercors wind up on the mountain hut and are very little exposed to the sun. Therefore, these may be wet and slippery (especially winter). In general, prefer summer and avoid the days of infestation (pluie and snow) to penetrate the high-plates of the massif.

It should be noted that due to high altitude (the Grand Veymont is the highest point of the Vercors, at 2,341 metres), small mountain roads can be covered with snow and ice . In addition, the collars are closed in winter : Find information on the website of the tourist office to know the state of the roads.

Finally, it is highly recommended to klaxonner in turns to prevent your arrival when visibility is missing. Be careful in the corners: the park of Vercors is an open-air playground for bikers, in love with speed in laces and mountain passes.

Camping-car areas in Vercors: where to park?

Are you looking for where to park, how and where to find a spot where to sleep at night in the Vercors? In principle, camping wild is strictly prohibited in regional and national natural parks. However, many isolated places in the forest and the mountain become magical spots where to spend a night in camping-car. The police can't be everywhere!

Thus, you can try to park on a start-up parking or on a road on the margins of a road... Always make sure to be discreet in order not to interfere with premises or animal species. And most importantly, never rust the environment, leave the place as you found it.

To find service areas for camping-car, know that the offer is rare as you take altitude. There are only a dozen areas in the territory of the natural park. Generally speaking, service areas are free . They are paid when they are close to tourist sites and cities, such as Crest or Pont-en-Royans, for example.

The areas referenced on the Caramaps platform inside the Vercors massif are generally well noted. They allow access to all necessary services , i.e. water, electricity, parking, drain point of waste water, sanitary, etc. Hiking trips are often close to them.

How and where to rent a motorhome in France?

Would you like to go to Vercors with your Camping-Car or a van for example? It is now easy to rent a motorhome in the Hexagon. How? Using interrelationship platforms between tenants and particular camper owners as Yescapa For example.

How does it work?

• At first, you have to choose the motorhome in your city (For example Bordeaux, Nantes, Toulouse, Paris, Montpellier or Marseille).
• Be careful choose unlimited mileage, to check the number of beds available and if travel abroad is possible.
• Do your work online rental request and share your travel information (dates, rental options, mileage, etc.) to the owner.
• If your request is accepted and after payment, you will have access to the owner's contact information to organize a First meeting.
• Day J, present your driver's license and pour bail.
• One. status of premises is executed and a lease is signed between the two parties. When you return, after shaking the roads of the Vercors, sign the state of the places of return and the tower is played!

What is the best time to travel by camping-car in Vercors?

What weather conditions will be for your travelling trip to Vercors by camping-car? The climate of Vercors is of a mountain type with oceanic and wet influence (northern) and Mediterranean (Southern).

While the north of Vercors is very watered, the south (Diois) is more arid. Despite the influence of the Mediterranean climate, the Vercors is a massif where the climate is contrasted due to the medium to high altitude. Logically, the best season to travel by camping-car in the Vercors is summer .

Due to altitude, temperature differences are important between winter and summer . The winter season is rigorous, with maximum temperatures between 2°C and 4°C between December and February. Jellies are frequent , without being very strong (-3°C/-4°C on average over winter), except at altitude.

In the spring, the average maximum values are gradually rising, with 8°C in March and 9°C in April, 13°C and 18°C in May and June. In summer, the Vercors takes air from Midi de la France: maximum temperatures exceed regularly 30°C to 35°C , or even close to 40°C during the waves of caricles (July-August).

But the mountain climate is never absent because even in the summer, the temperature drops rapidly in the evening: the thermometer can show at least 10°C on average, even in July-August. Finally, the beginning of autumn marks the fairly rapid return of freshness and precipitation with a rapid drop in temperatures in October.

The best time to travel in the Vercors in camping-car is therefore spreading between mid-May and early October .