Our Tour Prices for 2014

We hope you are all out there planning your vacations and holidays for next year. If you are, we've got some really good news.

We've decided not to increase our prices in 2014.

And for those of you who are really organised, we are offering 5% off all tours for 2014 that are booked and fully paid for prior to 31 March 2014.

If you would like to benefit from our special offer tour prices email us and let us know where in the Loire Valley you would like to visit. Whether you opt for one of our standard tours, or we custom design one just for you, you will be eligible for the discount if the tour is paid for before the end of March.

Step into History

Our Citroen Traction Avant tour vehicles are special. Every French person will know exactly what they are and can tell you the history of this iconic car. They often want to come up to chat and pass on their memories of the Traction in their family. If we are driving by they will smile, stop to look, wave or flash their lights in appreciation as we pass.

In their day, everyone from gangsters to the police used Traction Avants. They were the professional man's choice of car and the family man's. During the Second World War both the French Resistance and the occupying Germans used them. As a consequence many became casualties of war and were destroyed in the fighting. Both our cars are post war, and the remaining pre war examples are rare and precious. However, only minor details changed in the look of the car, and it is quite possible to imagine yourself back in those times when you are travelling through the forests or small villages of the Touraine.

If you want to get a feel for the past by stepping into a classic Citroen Traction Avant, email us and ask to spend the day in the Loire Valley with Claudette or Célestine.

Make a Wish at the Winery

We often visit really tiny wineries. We love being able to highlight the unique producers we have in the Loire -- those that don't export, that sell all their product locally. These are the people you won't get to meet anywhere else.

These small wineries all do things their own special way. Each of them has a particular way of managing their vines and converting the grapes into wine. They pay immense attention to detail, and are only too delighted to share their opinions and experience with visitors. Charmingly, they don't see themselves as tourist attractions, and there is no obligation to buy their wine in the unlikely event that you haven't enjoyed it.

All of them have quirky traditions and practices. Some of these rituals are widespread, but some are restricted to individual families or single wineries. For instance, at one winery we visit, you are encouraged to stick a coin to the yeasty goo clinging to the cellar walls. The wine maker explained that it is like throwing a coin into a fountain in Italy. You can make a wish and it will bring you luck.

If you want some good luck, email us and we will design a tour of the Loire Valley that includes one of these special small wineries for you. Santé!