We used a jeep safari tour in Arles last summer. It was a family- run operation based quite near the ampitheater and the ruined theater- there was a large sandwich board outside you can't miss- green jeeps! This was in early July, so even though that's the crowded season we didn't have a problem making arrangements the day before. I think it was maybe almost $100 US for 2 adults, but don't remember exactly, sorry!

Some thoughts: I had been very excited to see this area, despite Rick Steves negativity and warnings about mosquitos! The plus with this grandfather-son-little son tour was a chance to see the life of the guardiens up close, as they finished with a demo of herding their bulls and a picnic bench with pastis! I had to translate for my husband, however, as the guide's explanations were all in French. I am not sure there is an English tour with them as an option. I read that there are lots of other choices, jeep and horseback, when you are closer to St. Marie.

We did get to see the pink flamingos from a distance and despite my translation learned a lot about the two kinds of bulls. The stocky horses we first thought were wild actually belong to this family.

Living in the spectacular beauty of the Northwest, with wetlands galore, I was somewhat underwhelmed in terms of the physical beauty of the region. I was more interested to see the flat-bottomed boats and rice paddies and lifestyle.

Driving would be easy, it was very flat and paved roads. I do sort of wish I had been able to see the church and area a little further south. This was "poo-pooed" by the guide, who said there was nothing to see there except Roma people. (And I think a lot of other racist comments I couldn't decipher!)Especially since I have my "fleur de sel" salt that you must make sure to buy there.

Another night we went to a bull "fight" in the arena. I am a devout vegetarian, but still wanted to see the end result since the family with the bulls from the tour raises them for the fights. It was expensive and pretty silly.

Young men all in white darted about, as a bull ran in. It was hot at night! The bull looked bored and the guys tried to get him interested in chasing them. Finally he would get annoyed and make a move and the men would dramatically fling themselves out of the ring and splat against the walls. After about four rounds it was pretty boring!

So it's a trade-off- you'd have more options to explore on your own, but on the other hand, this tour afforded the opportunity to go onto fenced- off rangeland that belonged to the family.

I'm sorry I can't be more specific about the name!

Thanks sglass. Do you remember if you took the hour and a half tour, or a longer one? Was it enough?

I took a horseback trip into the Camargue from one of numerous 'mas''s or farms along the main road to Stes Marie... and found this a neat way to see the fabled wild horses - just dropped in

More info- sorry for not providing it before, but I had to look in my photo album. The jeep safari was called "Safari Robert". I think they might be online. It was late in the day when we went, I believe about 5 or 6 and I think it was for several hours.

We did not venture as far south as is possible (and which I wish we had done). I had thought about hiring horses which sounds very cool, but liked the "vibe" of the family when I went in to get the information. They are fiercely proud of their heritage and region and rather than it being a tacky experience I felt like I was being given a private tour of their family ranch land. I definitely learned a WHOLE lot about bulls! Do find out about English tours if you are not fairly fluent in French.

They gave us several viewpoints and opportunities for photos of the pink flamingos. The horses were beautiful!

With limited time and if you don't want/can't rent a car, several hours on this tour was enough to see part of the area and get an understanding. With a full day it would be great to rent horses and maybe drive to St. Marie- I did want to see the church and all the salt!

I had looked into using the bus to get down there but by this time I'd been using buses and trains for a month and I was getting pooped...

I think it was perhaps an easy 20-30 minute paved drive from Arles.

Thanks again sglass. We will have a car so I guess what I really wanted to know is if there is added value in taking a tour, rather than just driving around. I have read posts when people who drove around felt they didn't see much wildlife, and your description leans me in favour of a tour. I will, however, need to find one that speaks English!

Dear KatPen,

I'm glad the information was useful- I have gotten so much good advice from these forums! It seems like a fine line between one's own personal preferences and giving (even solicited!) advice for someone else's dream vacation.

The Safari Robert was carefully orchestrated, which is both a plus and a minus. On the one hand, they knew exactly where to go to see the flamingos, etc- "guaranteed sightings"... on the other hand, there is the loss of spontaneity and more personal discovery- which I suppose comes right back to the whole tour verus non- tour philosophy!

I do know that this particular tour's focus was definitely the bulls and way of life on a "mas" in the Carmargue. The horses we saw, while beautiful, belonged to the ranch, even though we originally saw them sans saddles and out on the "range".

I think if you want horse sightings it might be good to further research the riding options-because otherwise you might be limited to what you can see from the roads. There's a hike, too. Plus, of course, how much time you have in the area.

But at least you have a personal recommendation for this tour in Arles, should you opt for that! Lucky you- I want to go back!

There are boat trips into the Camargue from St Marie and Aigues Mortes



Peter

thanks Peter, I have read about the boat trips. But as we are especially interested in horses I thought the jeep safaris would be more suitable. Has anyone tried one that was not as bull-orientated as sglass's? We can't actually ride them because of my husband's back problems...

I am topping this as a few months have passed since I first posted, and we are now 3 weeks before our trip. SO if anyone else has had experiences with jeep safaris I would love to hear about it.

Hi KatPen!

I know that a few years have passed now since you visited Camargue - I was just wondering whether you could give me any tips as I am planning to visit Camargue and was considering the jeep safari tour. Is it worth the tour?

Thanks

Never taken a tour but visited several times. There are "lookout Posts where you climb steps to view
the pink flamingoes or white horse or black bulls but we often encoundered them on our drives. Luckily. we never were accosted by the mosquitoes I read about. There's a bird sancuary I didn't visit (regrettably)A few very good rstaurents there.