leslieq

Wild horses, flamingoes, hiking, water, birding...what's not to like?? Realize this is not everyone's cup of tea, but we really would like to visit in the second week of May.

Can you recommend how best to do this? We'll be driving from Arles. It looks like a huge place, so not sure how to best to spend the one day we'll have. Have pieced together some information from previous trip reports.

We're interested in visiting Aigues Mortes (thanks to kerouac's fantastic photos) and the
Parc Ornithologique de Pont de Grau for sure...as well as somewhere we'd be most likely to see flamingoes and horses (if flamingoes are around in May).

We'd appreciate a little more guidance on exactly where to go in this large area.

We're going to try to do this on our own, but are also open to a jeep tour if there are specific ones that are recommended.

Thanks.

Sarastro

<i>what's not to like??</i>
Mosquitoes

I assume you have a car, drive from Arles to Stes Maries de la Mer (the Ornithological park is on the way). Swing by Aigues Mortes on you way back. If you are interested, on rue de l´Espiguette near le Grau du Roi, visit the Maison Méditerranéenne full interesting regional products:
http://www.maisondesvins-lespiguette.com/

You can also visit the salt factory and the Listel winery:
http://www.sites-touristiques-gard.f...-Jarras-Listel

They are usually in the afternoon but in May I would make an attempt to see a bull fight. Don´t worry, this is a team sport and nothing happens to the bull. The circuit includes the towns of le Grau du Roi and Stes Maries de la Mer; check with them about schedules:
http://www.saintesmaries.com/
http://www.vacances-en-camargue.com/

The flamingos are there year around.

StCirq

I'm a huge fan of the Camargue and have wandered all over it. It's never seemed that huge to me, though I've rarely been in high season when I expect there's a fair bit of traffic. Anyway, I can't recommend a particular route, but I would highly recommend you plan a stop at La Telline for either lunch or dinner. Really marvelous experience!

PalenQ

I drove down there for a day from Arles - look for Mas signs - these mean farms that extend into the outback and signs for pony rides - take tame ponies out to the outback to see the famed wild horses of the Camargue and any other flora or fauna at that time - several of these places - we just popped into one and it was fine.

kerouac

Horseriding is indeed the main activity that you will find proposed all through the roads of the Camargue. I'm sure there are experiences for every budget, so I would recommend doing a bit of investigation about the various places if this interests you rather than just stopping when you see a sign along one of the roads.

michele_d

We were very fortunate to see a large grouping of the white horses during our drive through the Camargue. It was a nice relaxing way to spend the day.

Sassafrass

Leslieq,

I had already planned a visit, and several comments, especially one by St Cirq (Thank you St C) made me feel sure we would enjoy it.

We stayed three nights last fall in Aigues Mortes, and loved it. We had planned to stay only a night, changed it to two, then extended once we were there. We must have been lucky - not that many tourists, and nearly empty at night. We loved having dinner in Aigues Mortes, in St.Louis Square. I did not love the food, but DH enjoyed the bull dishes, and salads were great. What I liked was the square, so pretty and romantic with kids playing, musicians, fountain, huge plane trees - perfect.

Being tired and lazy and having no car, we opted for a fairly long boat trip and saw lots of flamingoes, horses, etc as well as salt flats and a bull farm with an extremely beautiful cowgirl and very handsome cowboys. Don't know if they are typical or not, but they would have stood out even in Hollywood, and they were not wearing makeup. The whole area that we saw is quite beautiful, but have to say, gorgeous young people on gorgeous horses in a working environment, were such eye candy, they were my favorite thing.

No bugs in Sept, but probably will be in Spring and Summer.

Though the boat was relaxing and lovely, it would be fun to have time to explore with a car. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

StCirq

Be sure to sample the local red rice and the sandwine. Not a huge joy for the tastebuds in either case, but interesting stuff you can't get anywhere else.

joannyc

Bookmarking

leslieq

Fantastic! Great to see these helpful responses. Was happy to hear from Sarastro that the way to go would be to head to Stes Maries de la Mer first (bird park on the way) and then visit Aigues Mortes on the way back. Also, good reminder about mosquitos! Bringing repellant; hope it works. We had a huge problem with stinging gnats by the Torc Waterfall in Ireland as forgot repellant.

Yes, we do have a car. Kerouac, am sad that hubby can't ride a horse, so the intriguing riding is out. We'll have a great time bird-watching, hiking and seeing Aigues Mortes thanks to the great suggestions.

StCirq, I looked up La Telline and it's in Arles, right? Wanted to make sure as it looks great. We're staying in St Remy so can try for dinner on the way back. Sandwine? Never heard of it, but will look for it!

After hearing back from you (and Sassafrass who enjoyed it so much) am confident that we'll really be in our element in La Camargue.

leslieq

Fantastic! Great to see these helpful responses. Was happy to hear from Sarastro that the way to go would be to head to Stes Maries de la Mer first (bird park on the way) and then visit Aigues Mortes on the way back. Also, good reminder about mosquitos! Bringing repellant; hope it works. We had a huge problem with stinging gnats by the Torc Waterfall in Ireland as forgot repellant.

Yes, we do have a car. Kerouac, am sad that hubby can't ride a horse, so the intriguing riding is out. We'll have a great time bird-watching, hiking and seeing Aigues Mortes thanks to the great suggestions.

StCirq, I looked up La Telline and it's in Arles, right? Wanted to make sure as it looks great. We're staying in St Remy so can try for dinner on the way back. Sandwine? Never heard of it, but will look for it!

After hearing back from you (and Sassafrass who enjoyed it so much) am confident that we'll really be in our element in La Camargue.

PalenQ

what's not to like - bugs and skeeters!

http://hubpages.com/hub/Visting-La-Carmargue

PalenQ

the above link says:

"Prepare for the Mosquitoes. Given that La Camargue is a marshland, it's no surprise that there are mosquitoes. However, these are not ordinary mosquitoes. They are known to be the most ferocious mosquitoes in all of France. Whether or not that is true, there are certainly a lot of them. Wear your bug repellent in the afternoon and evening (Deet or Citronella highly recommended), and you will have no problem. My group of 5 survived our day in La Camargue mosquito bite free using a Deet-based bug repellant.

StCirq

leslieq, the address of La Telline is Arles, but it's out in the country in the Camargue:

http://www.restaurantlatelline.fr/

It's just a small house in a village, owned by a fisherman and his wife. You'll get whatever he has caught that day - no menu to choose from. It's always wonderful!

leslieq

Love the links to articles on La Camargue (thanks, PalenQ). For some reason I wasn't having much success and didn't see that one. Am getting much more of a picture of what the Camargue is like and what to see there.

About those bugs...am so happy that you've warned me. Will come prepared with Deet which will hopefully ward them off. At least they aren't a horde of angry wasps...we went river rafting in Oregon a few years ago and our guide put the tarp right on a hornet nest. They attacked us just as we were struggling out of wetsuits...we managed to dive into the river, but only after getting stung many times.

StCirq - thanks for clarifying. Since I don't know the area, it wasn't obvious that La Telline was in the country. It looks very sweet...just the kind of small place we like.