The Gorges du Verdon in Camping-Car: rental, tips, areas, routes

Are you leaving for a travelling trip to Provence? Here is our mini-guide advice to visit the Gorges du Verdon by camping-car!

Located on the border between the Var and the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, the Gorges du Verdon are one of the most famous travel destinations in France. Visit the Gorges du Verdon by camping-car, the largest canyon in Europe, will give you a full view!

Are you going to visit the southeast of France? Don't miss out on offering you a getaway in the heart of the Verdon Regional Natural Park and in the homonymous massif. Here is precisely our guide to visit the Gorges du Verdon by camping-car!

Ideas of routes around the Gorges du Verdon by camping-car

The Verdon Regional Natural Park covers a total area of 188 000 hectares. On horseback on two departments in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur region, you will encounter a wide variety of landscapes. From the Provencal plateaus (Valensole) to the encaissé massifs of the Southern Prealpes, this travelling journey promises you beautiful steps. In the heart of the natural park, discover the high cliffs overlooking the Verdon bed at more than 700 meters above sea level.

But you will not visit the natural park in the same way as you go for a weekend, for one or two weeks. Also, do few steps if you intend to practice sports activities (hiking, climbing, swimming, etc.).

On the other hand, by visiting the Gorges du Verdon by camping-car exclusively, you will soon be on the road. If you have time, take advantage of it to discover the cities, sites and monuments to visit nearby (the Luberon Regional Natural Park, Castellane, Grasse, the Rayol-Canadel and the French Riviera, etc.).

Don't you know how to organize your itineraries to visit the Gorges du Verdon on a camper? Here are some steps ideas, to modulate depending on the duration of your trip.

Visit the Gorges du Verdon by camping-car on a weekend

• 1st day: Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon, Aiguines (lac de Sainte-Croix), Les Salles-sur-Verdon, La Palud-sur-Verdon (by the D71, D957 and D952) – (60 km, 1h) ;
• 2nd day: Rougon, Trigance, Aiguines, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, Castellane – (about 76 km, 1h40) ;
• 3rd day: Valensole, Esparron Lake, Aiguines – (about 100 km, 2h).

The Gorges du Verdon in camping-car on a week

• 1st day: Castellane (chapelle de Notre-Dame du Roc, centre historique, la Tour Pentagonale), Rougon (Point Sublime), La-Palud-sur-Verdon, Aiguines – (or opposite direction, about 62 km, 1h30);
• 2nd day: Trigance, Comps-sur-Artuby, Bargème, Montferrat, Figanières – (54 km, approximately 1h) ;
• 3rd day: Aiguines and the lake of Sainte-Croix, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie (the stairs of the Notre-Dame de Beauvoir chapel), Puimoisson, Riez, Valensole, Germany-en-Provence, Saint-Martin-de-Brômes – (70 km, approximately 1h30);
• 4th day: Vinon-sur-Verdon, Gréoux-les-Bains, Esparron-de-Verdon, Quinson, Les Salles-sur-Verdon – (70 km, approximately 1h30);
• 5th day: Castellane, Grasse, Antibes, Nice - (115 km, approximately 2h10);
• 6th day: Nice, Digne-les-Bains, Forcalquier – (200 km, approximately 3h20);
• 7th day: Manosque, Aix-en-Provence, Marseille – (90 km, 1h10).

This ambitious course is of course only indicative. You will certainly want to spend more time on some of the most important steps (camping in the Gorges du Verdon, on the plateau of Valensole, etc.).

These routes also depend on your desires, as you wish to couple a trip nature and city, mountain and beaches, or a stay 100% sport and nature.

What budget to travel by camping-car in the Gorges du Verdon?

Travelling by camping-car always has a cost, especially when the stages are multiplied. To better anticipate, here is an estimate of the budget of your trip, excluding meals and daily activities (rentals, cultural visits, museums, bars and restaurants, etc.):

Average budget for 1 weekend:

• Rental + motorhome insurance : 110€ per day on average;
• Essence + toll : 20€ (fuel)
• Parking : until 10€ a day.
• Total: 360€ about.

Average budget for 1 week:

• Rental + motorhome insurance : 110€ per day on average;
• Essence + toll : 70€ approximately (fuel);
• Parking : until 20€ a day.
• Total: 860€ about.

Average budget for 2 weeks:

• Rental + motorhome insurance : 110€ per day on average;
• Essence + toll : 100€ (fuel) and 25€ about (peages) ;
• Parking : until 20€ per day;
• Total: 1 685€ about.

Areas and driving in camping-car in the Gorges du Verdon

To anticipate your trip well and to visit the Verdon Gorges in a camping-car without a surprise, you must know a number of things inherent in driving within the Verdon Natural Park.

What documents do you have on board?

It is imperative that you always have with yourself:

• The Driver's license (B),
• Grey card camping-car,
• The Certificate of Insurance camping-car,
• The lease contract,
• copy of the state of departure.

Motorway pastures near the Gorges du Verdon: what price for your camper category?

Here is the good news of this article: there is no no highway within the Verdon Regional Natural Park. The two closest highways are A51 , which connects Gap to Aix-en-Provence via Manosque, and A8 from Aix-en-Provence to Nice.

These are toll-free highways, which must be paid for the Class 2 package (but in Class 1 for fitted vans and vans). You can borrow them to come to the Gorges du Verdon. Here are some indicative toll rates to visit the Gorges du Verdon in camper :

• Gap-Les Salles-sur-Verdon : 10,10€,
• Grenoble-Les Salles-sur-Verdon : 12,70€,
• Lyon-Les Salles-sur-Verdon : 39,90€,
• Nice-Les Salles-sur-Verdon : 12,70€,
• Aix-en-Provence-Les Salles-sur-Verdon : 5€,
• Montpellier-Les Salles-sur-Verdon : 21,80€.

Other information about driving in the Gorges du Verdon

In the Verdon Regional Natural Park, roads are winding and narrow sometimes very tightened. Consider the fact that traffic can be dense during the summer period.

Sometimes crosses can be difficult , especially in the heart of the Gorges du Verdon, on the Route des Crêtes. It is therefore strongly advised to drive at the pace. In any case, there are so many amazing views, that you will naturally be instigated to brake! Also, many parking spaces have been set up on the lower side, to allow road users to stop to observe the landscape.

Be aware also of motorcycles especially during the beautiful days. The mountainous massifs and turns are transformed into a playground and speed race circuit for motorcycle lovers. Be careful and stay well in your lane , tighten to the right as much as possible in the corners. It is even recommended to klaxonner in corners where visibility is missing, in order to prevent your arrival.

The camper areas in the Gorges du Verdon: where to park?

To stay inside or close to the Verdon Natural Park, you will need to park on some authorized service areas to receive motorhomes. As a reminder, the camping wild strictly prohibited inside the natural park.

You will find a lot of service areas for camping-car in the heart of the Gorges du Verdon, for a simple reason: the Verdon is a protected natural space and there are very few places where it is allowed to sleep.

The camper areas around the Gorges du Verdon are:

• Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon (8 €, showers, toilet, drain),
• Moustiers-Sainte-Marie (about €17 to park, have water and electricity, drain and snack bar),
• Aiguines, campsite du Galetas (18 € for changing, sleeping, water access and showers, parking, toilet).

In general, the service areas in the Verdon Gorges are expensive (nearly 20€), but comfortable. There are all the services you need to visit the Verdon Gorges by camping-car: parking, wastewater draining, access to drinking water, showers, electricity, trash, sometimes even snack and bar.

Apart from the gorge park and close to the Lac de Sainte-Croix, you will find a wider range of camper service areas: Riez, Trigance, Castellane, etc. These communes are among the must-see sites and cities to visit in the Verdon Regional Natural Park.

How and where to rent a motorhome France ?

Would you like to visit the Gorges du Verdon in a camper, but you don't have a vehicle? Now it is very simple to rent these vehicles between individuals, especially in France. Many platforms allow this type of rental, online, 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. You will have to sign it as soon as you get back from Provence, and once done, the tour is played!

What is the best time to travel by camping-car in the Gorges du Verdon?

What weather conditions will be during your travelling trip to the Verdon Gorges by camping-car? The climate in the Verdon Regional Natural Park is predominantly Mediterranean . But although we are in Provence, it is degraded because of the altitude of the mountains of the south of the Alps. A continental influence is also observed. As a result, the climate in the Gorges du Verdon is marked by stronger thermal amplitudes than in the rest of the Var.

In the summer, the weather is cold and unfavourable with maximum temperatures between 9°C and 11°C between December and February. The region can suffer heavy morning frosts and a substantial snowfall due to the mountain elevation.

In the spring, the average temperatures rose rapidly and rose from 15°C in March, 17°C in April, 22°C in May and 26°C in June. Spring is the second wetest season of the year, with unstable weather and poorly favorable to outdoor activities. But values above 30°C are already observed in May and are generalized in June, announcing the strong summer heats of southern Provencal.

It is possible to visit the Gorges du Verdon by camping-car all year . But summer is logically the best season to visit the Gorges du Verdon in camping-car, with maximum average temperatures of 30°C (July and August) and cool nights (around 15°C) as well as low rainfall. This is the season where the water of Verdon is the hottest, making it possible for outdoor sports activities (canyoning, swimming, canoeing-kayak).

The Verdon valley is not spared by the waves of canicles where the temperature reaches almost 40°C: caution, for hiking. September and October see a beautiful back-season, with between 25°C and 30°C until the end of September, but temperatures drop fast and autumn sees the arrival of the storm season sometimes violent.

The best time to travel by camping-car in the Gorges du Verdon is therefore spreading May to end September .