Family Holidays

Why Choose Velo Vercors?

We are based in a the charming town of St.Jean-en-Royans - a short stroll from cafes, restaurants, shops and swimming pool and the chance to experience 'Real rural France'

Team Rocket!Having only recently taken up cycling as a family our holiday at Velo Vercors couldn't have been better. While my husband and 2 older girls took on the challenge of the mountain climbs, I had the sense to keep to the flatter routes, stopping off for coffee and lunch breaks and generally enjoying the amazing views.. When we weren't cycling, we headed to the local swimming pool and lake with a picnic and just relaxed. A wonderful holiday in a wonderful region.

Margaret Killian, Waterford, Ireland, Aug 2009 

St.Jean-en-Royans

The town has a population of around 3,000 people and has a great infrastructure. Shops include 4 boulangeries, 1 butcher/deli / small supermarket / chemist / clothes and shoe shop /doctors / cafes / church /tourist office/horse riding centre and outdoor swimming pool with 3 pools and a water toboggan  – basically everything a town should have. It has a friendly, relaxed feel and is very much a 'local, rural French town' which has a nice buzz to it. During the holiday season there is an influx of visitors – generally French, Dutch and German but it still remains very local.We rent on a Saturday to Saturday basis but in non-peak times or if there is a availability we are flexible on start and finish days.

As well as activities there are numerous other things to see and explore such as local markets, wonderful medieval villages, rivers and lakes, walnut orchards, spectacular scenery, spring blossoms, fauna and flora and of course the local Rhone Valley wines and local foods...

 Our gites are available to rent throughout the year and are divided into low/med/high seasons.

Just a couple of things to note: The village pool is open June/July/August. Men and boys are only permitted to wear trunks. No swimming shorts allowed.

We supply towels in the gites but would ask you to bring your own for the swimming pool/lake. However, if you decide on flying you can hire a bathing towel from us for 5 Euro per towel per week 

Dimes FamilyBike Rental

Children bikes + helmets can be rented for £15/16.50E per day or £70/78 Euro per bike per week.

For adult bike rental see our choice of road and hybrid bikes.

Our large, secure bike room has tools and washing facilities.

Activities for all the Family

As well as being a magnificent region to explore on bike, the Rhone-Alps offers a wide range of other activities for all the family including canyoning, horseriding, swimming in lakes, acrobatic parks, caving, skiing, fishing and mountain climbing. St. Jean-en-Royans is situated in the National Park of the Vercors featuring hundreds of walking and mountain bike trails and is home to a staggering amount of wildlife, such as stags, deer, chamois, peregrin falcons as well as rare flora. (For more information location)

Skiing

In the winter months, the Vercors becomes a whole new adventure playground with small family ski resorts offering a number of activities such as cross country skiing, downhill ski and snowboarding, snow-kiting and dog sledging. We are a 40 min drive from the nearest resort at Font d'Urle.

Eating and Drinking

There are a 3 options to choose from and you may want to do something different each night. If you want a home cooked meal served by us you will need to give us 1 days notice but obviously, the more notice you can give us, the better for us.

Cooking for yourselves

The gites are self-catering and have fully equipped kitchens as well as BBQ’s on the terrace so you can eat independently as a family.

Eating Out

Stroll into town to eat at one of the local restaurants. serving a variety of dishes from pasta/pizza/steaks/fish etc. Pizzas range from £7/8Euro and steak and frites are around £11/13 Euro. A bottle of local Rhone Valley red wine would set you back £13/15 Euro.

There is also a very good burger and kebab place which can seat about 12 people outside and also does Take Away.

The local hotel has a lovely terrace overlooking the mountains and serves classic French cuisine. Set menus range from £21/25 Euro - £33/38 Euro and a bottle of wine is priced from £13/15 Euro.

Throughout France, lunchtime menus are cheaper and ’le plat du Jour’ is very good value priced at around £10/12 Euro for a 2 course meal.

Home Cooked Meals

Eating and drinking is very important at Velo Vercors! We offer Home Cooked dinners which are served in our garden. The majority of our vegetables are organically grown in our garden and our meat, fish and cheeses are sourced locally. We also serve a delicious local sparking wine, ‘Clairette de Die‘ and wines from the Rhone-Alps. We cater for Vegetarians and Coeliacs.

Velo Vercors Adult Sample Menu

(inc Aperitif and wine)

Price: £21/25 Euro   Vegetarian option also available

Teenagers Sample Menu

(inc drink)

Price: £10/11.50 Euro

Children's Sample Menu

(inc juice)

Price: £6.50/7.50 Euro

Shopping Service

There will be a small welcome basket of local products when you arrive at your gite. However, we can also offer a shopping service to stock your gite with general provisions needed for the week. For instance all your breakfast needs - eggs, cereals, jams, milk, fruit etc. and some other basics for lunch; salad, toms, meats, cheeses, various wines/beers. We can also arrange to deliver fresh bread/croissants by 8am every morning, but you may enjoy the experience of the 5 minute walk into town to buy it yourself.  The service is free and we will present you with a receipt in return for payment.

Picnic

We can pack you picnic with a selection of meats, local cheeses, salad, fresh bread, cake, fruit, juice and wine for £7.50/8.50Euro per person.

1 Week Suggested Itinery

There are easily enough activities to fill a 2 week holiday so this is just a taste of what the region has to offer.

Day 1 - Arrival day. Probably in the late afternoon. Settle into gites/get fitted on bikes followed by cycle/  /walk to swimming pool/stroll into town.

Day 2 - Trip into the Vercors! From St. Jean-en-Royans drive up the spectacular national heritage 'Combe Laval' - a classic road that clings to the side of the mountain looking down on an extensive gorge with magnificent tunnels cut through the mountains. Stop of at Lente to explore the trails in the Foret de Lente which harbours wild boar, chamois, deer, falcons, owls, peregrins and rare fauna. We can pack you a picnic to bring with you. The Vercors was the heart of the French Resistance so a visit to near-by Vassieux to see the cemetary and museum/cafe stop before the return.

Day 3 - Cycle to St.Nazaire (9kms) and take a boat ride down the Isere river finishing at Le jardin des Fontaines Petrifiantes - a wonderful fun, inspirational and educational garden for all the family. Followed by lunch at the garden on the Isere river and then a 6km cycle along the Bourne river ending up at St. Nazaire for a welll earned drink! and then cycle back to St. Jean-en-Royans (9kms)

Day 4 - Canyoning - swim through a gorge encountering waterfalls/tobogganing and a real adventure.

Day 5 - Horse riding in the morning followed by afternoon cycle to a lake

Day 6 - Acrobatic park for all the family. Drive south to Die (1 hour, very picturesque) to Acroparc Acrobatic Circuit set in a forest of cedars - monkey bridge/tarzan leap, zip wires, cable car and itinery for smaller children.

Day 7 - Cycle to the wonderful medieval village of Pont-en-Royans(9kms) renowned for its suspended houses which lik they are about to topple into the river Bourne. positioned at the beginning of the fabulous 'Gorges de Bourne' which heads up to Villard de Lans  Spend the day by the river enjoying fresh water pools and waterfall. Visit the Water Museum/cafes and restaurants before your cycle home (9kms)

Day 8 - Departure Day

For details on how to get to us Travelling to Us