7 Day Self-Guided Dordogne River Biking Tour from Bordeaux to Sarlat in France
France Cycling Tour
Embark on an enchanting biking adventure along the beautiful Dordogne River, exploring the renowned Gironde and Dordogne regions in the captivating South West of France. These two distinctive departments boast illustrious vineyards, such as Saint-Emilion, Monbazillac, and Bergerac, each with a distinct character and heritage. Immerse yourself in the cultural splendor of Bordeaux, a UNESCO World Heritage city, and the historically rich Perigord, teeming with ancient treasures. Indulge in their exquisite and flavorful gastronomic delights, promising a truly delightful experience!
Key information
- Trip type: Self-guided
- Lodging: Point to Point
- Terrain: Cycle paths and small roads
- Starts in Bordeaux
- Ends in Sarlat
- Total Distance: 134-148 Miles / 216-238 Kilometers
- Type of bike: Hybrid bike, ebike, or gravel bike (not included)
- E-bike: Available to rent / 280 to 310 EUR
- Group tour
Highlights
- 5 cycling days
- Luggage transfer and emergency phone call support will be provided
- Route notes and maps, regional information, and 1 GPS app are included
- Visit the vineyard and the medieval city of Saint-Emilion
- Explore the greenways on the banks of the Dordogne River
- Be immersed in prehistoric times in the Vézère Valley (Les Eyzies de Tayac, Lascaux, etc.)
- Bike through Saint-Emilion and Sarlat, jewels of the Gironde and Perigord regions
- 6 nights accommodation with daily breakfast
Skill level
- Intermediate
Accommodation
You will be welcome every night in 3- or 4-star hotels. This tour is offered in the “superior” category which means that the circuit mainly presents hotels classified as 3 and 4 stars (or equivalent) and charming bed and breakfasts
- Night 1 in Bordeaux: Hôtel de Normandie
- Night 2 in Saint-Emilion: Auberge de la Commanderie
- Night 3 in St-Foy-La-Grande: Le Grand Hôtel
- Night 4 in Bergerac: Hôtel de Bordeaux
- Night 5 in Les Eyzies: Hostellerie Le Passeur
- Night 6 in Sarlat-La-Caneda: Hotel le Compostelle
Program
To be more comfortable during your cycling tour, Evazio can offer bike hire or an e-bike as you prefer! The support team remains available for the duration of your trip.
Day 1: Arrival in Bordeaux
Arrive at your 3 or 4-star hotel in Bordeaux, where you will find the road book and bikes.
Bordeaux, the ancient Roman "Burdigala," indissociable from its vineyards, shines brightly in its stone finery to dispense with artifice. The Garonne River, the heart of the city, welcomes walkers on the banks and offers boat trips. Everyone can make the quays their own, in the hope of witnessing the stopover of a cruise liner, the "astonishing spectacle" of a giant of the seas right in the heart of the city. The capital of wine, Bordeaux, is endowed with a rich history and architecture.
Bed and breakfast accommodation in 3-star hotels in the heart of Bordeaux.
Day 2: From Bordeaux to Saint-Emilion
You'll leave Bordeaux going through the majestic Place de la Bourse, along the quays, then cross the Pont de Pierre before joining the cycle path Roger Lapébie. This route allows you to discover the Entre-Deux-Mers region with tracks or greenways and small roads. Enchanting! You will enjoy an ideal route for a bike ride in the heart of natural landscapes.
You will follow this pleasant track with its easy-to-ride surface, and discover Creon, a typical bastide village in the region. You will ride through a rich architectural heritage, medieval towns, country houses, fortified mills, abbeys, and Roman churches.
Overnight in a bed and breakfast hotel (2- or 3-star equivalent) in Saint-Emilion.
- Distance: 50 kilometers / 31 miles
- Elevation: 260 meters / 853 feet
- Terrain: Cycle paths, tracks, and small roads
Day 3: Saint-Emilion to Ste-Foy-la-Grande
On this new cycling day, you will discover the prestigious vineyards of Saint Emilion and its 5000 hectares of vines, the first vineyard to be listed as a Unesco World Heritage as a "cultural landscape."
You will then reach Castillon-la-Bataille, a land of history, before going along the Dordogne until you reach the bastide of Sainte-Foy-la-Grande.
At the gates of the Perigord, the oldest bastide town in Gironde was founded in 1255. Prosperous thanks to the wine trade, it still boasts a square surrounded by covered marketplaces, and its old houses - stone-built in the 13th century, and timber-framed and carved in the 16th century - are particularly remarkable.
Overnight in a bed and breakfast hotel in Sainte-Foy-la-Grande.
- Distance: 41 kilometers / 25 miles
- Elevation: 70 meters / 230 feet
Day 4: Sainte-Foy-la-Grande to Bergerac
The little roads of the Pays Foyen will lead you until Monbazillac and its chateau, in the heart of the vineyard of the same name. Perched on a pretty hill, Monbazillac proudly dominates the Dordogne valley, and is a real "jewel" of a wine village. You'll end the day in Bergerac, a town of art and history, situated on the edge of the Dordogne, where you can stroll along the quays and the old town to admire its half-timbered houses of the 15th and 16th centuries, before tasting the famous local products, an integral part of the Perigord heritage.
Overnight in a bed and breakfast hotel in Bergerac.
- Distance: 37 kilometers / 23 miles
- Elevation: 200 meters / 656 feet
- Terrain: Small roads
Day 5: Bergerac to Les Eyzies
From Bergerac, the itinerary runs along the Lalinde canal by a cycle track, taking you through charming and typical little villages. Lalinde, the first English bastide town in the Perigord, was built on the banks of the Dordogne and has kept remnants of its medieval past.
You will continue this stage by following the tributary of the Dordogne: the Vézère, which will immerse you in the Black Perigord and will lead you to the world capital of prehistory: Les Eyzies.
Les Eyzies is the place where Cro-Magnon man was discovered, and where you'll find the world's finest examples of cave art. Discover an exceptional concentration of prehistoric sites, most of them UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Meet the Homo Sapiens, the remains of its habitat, common activities, and its art.
- Distance: 63 kilometers / 39 miles
- Elevation: 380 meters / 1,247 feet
- Terrain: Cycle tracks
Day 6: Les Eyzies - Sarlat (direct or via the Lascaux cave)
During this last stage, you will continue your journey through time through several prehistoric sites punctuating the Vézère Valley, before reaching the famous Lascaux Cave. Here, Paleolithic men have produced a unique and accomplished work, made up of signs and animal representations. A masterpiece of prehistoric times, this priceless treasure is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
You can also go to Sarlat by a faster route to enjoy the gastronomic capital of the Perigord Noir, where you will savor regional cuisine: foie gras, truffles, duck, etc.
Sarlat is one of the jewels of the Perigord Noir which has managed to keep and preserve the imprints of its history. Listed as a city of art and history, it owes its fame to the richness of its built heritage. The medieval city is also famous for having the highest density of historical monuments classified or registered in the world.
Overnight stay in a charming 3-star bed and breakfast hotel in Sarlat.
- Distance: 25 to 47 kilometers / 16 to 29 miles
- Elevation: 400 to 650 meters / 1,312 to 2,133 feet
Day 7: Departure
Depart after breakfast.
Luggage
Evazio takes care of transporting your luggage at each change of accommodation so that you travel light and take full advantage of your daily hike. You'll leave your luggage at the reception of your accommodation before your departure. At the end of the afternoon, you will find them at the reception of your new accommodation or directly in your room.
Luggage accepted per person is 1 suitcase or travel bag (23 kilograms maximum) and 1 piece of hand luggage. Evazio reminds you that rental bicycles are equipped with saddlebags to be used to transport the things you deem useful for the day.
Support
For the duration of your stay, their telephone assistance service is available:
- 7 days a week
- from 07:30 to 20:30
Documents
Your travel record corresponds to the documents or files you receive before your trip (usually a month before) and upon arrival at the first accommodation. It includes a welcome letter with the main practical information:
- The time slot for baggage transport
- Details of the delivery and collection of bikes from the rental, if necessary
- Your local contact and telephone number/s in case of emergency
- Any additional information
- The logbook travel package including a map with the route (to the appropriate scale) and directional, tourist, and practical information
- The necessary voucher/s to be given to the service provider/s (only if necessary!)
On request and depending on the circuits:
- The “Evazio” application to download from a smartphone for GPS navigation with visual guidance (reading of the track on your smartphone) and/or spoken guidance.
- The application also contains practical and tourist information. Once the trip has been downloaded, no internet connection is necessary.
- Loan of a GPS device with pre-recorded tracks
- Send GPX tracks of each stage for use with your own navigation device
Bikes
On this circuit, Evazio suggests that they provide you with a choice of the following upon reservation:
- A hybrid bike adapted to the ride and the route (155 to 170 EUR)
- An electric bike adapted to the route (280 to 310 EUR)
- A gravel bike rental (265 EUR to 295 EUR)
With equipment:
- 1 rear bag
- 1 handlebar bag
- 1 repair kit
- 1 helmet (on request)
- 1 anti-theft device
- 1 charger (for the electric bike)
For younger children, depending on age and size, they can offer:
- A child’s bike
- A baby seat
- A trailer
- A follow-up bike
The bike is delivered to the first accommodation and is adjusted to your size. At the end of the tour, the bike must be left at the last accommodation with its equipment. They will take care of their recovery.
Location
After the biking tour between the vineyards and chateaux of Bordeaux and along the Dordogne River, you will enter the Purple Perigord. This area owes its name to the color of the vine leaves in autumn. The next step will be discovering the Black Perigord at the border of Limousin, the cradle of prehistory, and heart of the hundred years war, the most emblematic of the region! Black Perigord offers a diversity of remarkable landscapes between the Dordogne River and the Vézère Valley.
You will stay in Les Eyzies and can decide to enjoy the Cave of Lascaux (one of the most famous cave paintings). You will eventually end your tour in Sarlat, the jewel of Perigord. A feature of the Dordogne is that the buildings are “olde-worlde” and tend to be stone-built. Whereas the richer, original occupants used stone shingled roofs (which require bigger timbers to support the weight), the less well-off used thatch or clay tile roofing material, which has equal charm.
Food
Daily breakfast is included in the price.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Vegetarian
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
What's included
- 5 cycling days
- Road book with map and directions
- 1 GPS app
- Luggage transfer from hotel-to-hotel
- 24/7 technical assistance
- 6 nights accommodation
- Daily breakfast
What's not included
- Airfare
- Airport transfers
- Bike rental
- Personal expenses
- Other meals
- Additional activities
How to get there
Recommended Airports
Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport
11 km
Transfer not provided
Arrival by airplane
Please book your flight to arrive at Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport (BOD). Transfers from this airport are not included in the price.
From this airport, there is a tramway that goes directly to Bordeaux city center or a shuttle that goes to the train station. For more information, please send an inquiry.
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 30% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.
For this organizer you can guarantee your booking through Tripaneer.com. All major credit cards supported.