La Rochelle, Islands & Beaches

We’ve travelled with you many times and by and large loved it. We weren’t enamoured of this trip. Sea access was actually quite annoying. We managed to get into the sea at the far end of Ile de Ré just after the tide had turned and in the evening at Fouras. Ile de Ré was a shock. We cycled right to the end in the hope of getting some peace. Horrified to find gift shops, cafes and huge crowds at the lighthouse. Nothing ’slow’ there! La Rochelle eating out. Inclusive meal on the first evening (Saturday) great. Many restaurants then closed on Sunday until Tuesday evening. Your recommended ones were closed. We had to eat in the restaurants by the marina which were fairly mediocre, pizza & tourist based.

The choice and variety of the cycle routes was excellent. La Rochelle, Rochefort and Marans are all gems in their different ways. A personal highlight was the ride into La Rochelle. The included meal at La Bonne Femme was also excellent.

Great holiday. Organisation was very good and everything went to plan. Hotels felt very French and special. The bikes were really comfortable.

We found cycling over to Île de Ré fine, and so long as you don't go too far across the island would recommend it on your own bikes to save the time getting buses and hiring other bikes. This holiday could easily be made a 7 night holiday by doing a night in Châtelaillon-Plage which is very nice.

Omelette Delice, 2 Rue des Cloutiers in La Rochelle, in the market area, was a fabulous find for a different kind of restaurant experience. Omelette themed with plenty of different fillings, this made a welcome change from the usual three course meal.

We had a lovely holiday, with pretty ports and seaside towns to see. Everywhere is cycle-friendly. La Rochelle has a great range of ice-creams from guava to cactus to basil. We saw beavers in and around canals.

The cycling was lovely and we enjoyed the routes. We were blessed with fantastic weather which always helps. 

A great holiday and exactly as described. The bikes were good although lacked the usual map case arrangement and I wish I'd brought our own. The advice about taking the bus over to Ile de Re is good and we were glad we took the first bus in the morning and enjoyed the place with fewer people around.  

We really enjoyed staying in Fouras and La Rochelle, and Rochefort was a really interesting destination (a pity that the transporter bridge has been virtually dismantled during restoration!). The Ile d'Aix made for a lovely outing on a sunny day and we enjoyed the Napoleon Museum there. The cycling network on the Ile de Re, much of it apparently on former island railway lines, is a delight and you were, I think, wise to deter us from cycling all the way from La Rochelle. Fans of railway architecture will marvel at the stations in La Rochelle and Rochefort!  

This tour is an excellent  new addition to Inntravel cycling tours, perfect for anyone who is new to cycling holidays as it's so convenient and very pleasurable. We normally choose grade 2, but this was brilliant for relaxing cycling whilst enjoying the beauty of the sandy beaches, interesting islands and lovely typical french towns and villages en route. We extended our stay at La Rochelle and as the weather was 28/30 degrees we cycled back to Chatelailion Plage spending a leisurely day on the beach, perfect! 

Tips: Clients should ask hotels to confirm with taxi company actual arrangement for transfers.

The ferry with cycles to Ile d'Aix is easy, but as emphasised in the Notes, times are very much dependent on tides. Not much cycling but what a lovely visit.

Fouras must be one of the best towns in France for picnic provisions from shops and daily market - all within a short walk from the hotel.

If intending to cycle on the Ile de Re, an early start is recommended - bus times are not always convenient to allow visits to the better beaches/villages by cycle or by bus.

The nearest restaurants to the Hotel Champlain are not open on Sundays and Mondays - visits to the old harbour area are needed on those days.

The proposed cycling routes are sometimes subject to "Route Barre" when it is necessary to refer to the excellent maps provided to find an alternative way.

We thoroughly enjoyed our holiday. The hotels were all in great locations. The Inntravel recommendations for Restaurants were ’spot on’. The routes were on good cycle paths with beautiful scenery. The bikes were comfortable and sturdy.  

Fouras is a delightful little town. One day on Ile d'Aix is about the right length of time. We enjoyed heading out South towards Rochefort using the IGN map. Rochefort is well worth a visit which we did by car (in a thunder storm) as well as crossing the Charente and visiting the villages on the South bank. La Rochelle is full of attractions and history. Your notes were very useful and we could have spent the whole time there but Ile de Re is a 'must' and one day is insufficient. By the time you have taken the bus, collected a local bike hire in St Martin, you have to decide to either head West or not in which case you miss out places like La Flotte. We had booked an extra day and I'm glad we did because we managed to head North to Port de Plomb and other villages in that area.                                    

We had a problem with bike delivery which was resolved to our satisfaction. This was put down to a misunderstanding. As we were the first people on this holiday, we are sure it will not happen again. Taxi was excellent; staff at both hotels were also excellent; lady at 1st hotel with bike problem and lady at 2nd hotel with Ile de Re route (more on that later).

The booked dinner at third party was very good and the people lovely. We found the routes varied and interesting although the ride along the canalside on the last day did become a bit tedious with the long straight sections knowing you would be travelling back on them. We heard and saw loads of frogs, swallows, and cuckoos. We did cycle (against Inntravel's advice) to Ile de Ré from the hotel. We covered 88.5km to the lighthouse at the other end and only covered the same ground for a short distance in the middle. It was lovely weather around 24/26 degrees and little or no wind. The countryside and towns were amazing - no litter, no fly tipping. On the last night we had our meal at The Omelette Delize which you might not consider for an evening meal but it was exceptional - a thick omelette rolled with a choice of several fillings on a piece of toasted bread with chunky potatoes, lovely desserts. The attention to detail had to be seen, by a young couple who deserve to do well. Can't remember the street but it is just off the street you return on from the canal ride nearing the hotel with several eating places and bars.