3 Day Alpes Maritime

The Alpes Maritime run down the south east coast of France alongside the Mediterranean Sea. On heading north to the mountains, the hillsides are covered in umbrella pines, thyme and olive groves and travellers are accompanied by the singing of cicadas. This is certainly a beautiful part of the world, ripe for walkers looking for fantastic scenery, interesting archaeology and medieval villages to explore.

On this trip you will travel from Nice in the Côte d'Azur up into the Mercantour national park. You will stay for one night in St Martin Vesubie, which is a lively village populated by old stone houses painted in Mediterranean colours. The trip itinerary will take you to Lac Autier, one of the most beautiful lakes in the Mercantour region, surrounded by Alpine meadows and framed by the cliffs of North Basto. We will also walk through the amazing Valle de Mervailles that surrounds Mount Bego and is home to around 30,000 Bronze Age rock engravings, as well as more stunning scenery.

If you enjoy sun, mountain views and walking of a moderate difficulty, then this trip is for you! As you cannot reach the Vallee de Mervailles in one day, we will stay in mountain refuges en route, giving you a taste of the mountaineering experience. You will need to be relatively fit, as you will be carrying your backpack. Some experience of hill walking is preferable, though the routes are not too difficult.

• Location: Alpes Maritime, France
  
• Duration - 3 nights
  
• Arrive Nice Thursday, finish walk Sunday afternoon, back to Nice and home on Sunday evening
  
• Trip possible from late August to 15th September
  One night in comfortable hotel accommodation, two nights in refuges.
  
• Fly to Nice airport
  
• Experience - walks are of moderate difficulty taking in beautiful scenery

We normally run this trip over a long weekend, Thursday to Sunday, however if you would like to do this at any other time then please contact us.

You will meet your guide who will be a qualified mountain leader when you arrive at your accommodation. At this time they will go through the planned route and carry out an equipment check to ensure you have everything you need to enable you to enjoy the following days.

A typical tour itinerary may look like this:

Please note: This itinerary is a guide only. It can be subject to change dependent upon viability, course members' fitness, weather conditions or for any other reason the guide may deem necessary.

You should have some experience of walking in the hills. In terms of fitness, the fitter you are the better as there is at least one long day of walking and you will be carrying a backpack.

We recommend that you follow a fitness plan in preparation for your trip, an example of one will be sent to you when you have confirmed your booking.

Although the fitness plan we will send to you has been devised by a fitness professional, this is only provided as a guide and you should seek professional advice before starting your own fitness regime.

A detailed kit list will be issued once we confirm your booking.

This trip is best taken in early September; it is busy and hot before this time, while the mountain refuges close on September 15th each year.

This trip is available for individuals and groups. You can request the date for when you want to take part in the trip or participate in trips listed below. Please click on the link below to request a trip date. These will then be advertised here.

2010 dates so far are:

For 1 - 2 person booking on a trip we will advertise the trip here and upon meeting minimum numbers confirm the trip.

For 3 - 4 people on a trip we will advertise the trip here as a confirmed trip and reserve the right to add additional people on to it.

For 5+ people on a trip we will run an exclusive trip.

All requested dates are unconfirmed until minimum numbers have been booked.

• Professional organisation of the event.
  
• Qualified guides.
  
• Briefings on the routes and equipment checks to make sure that you have everything you need.
  
• One night's twin hotel accommodation with breakfast. Single rooms are available for a supplement.
  
• Two nights' dorm room accommodation in Mountain Refuges.
  
• All ground transport during the course to and from the airport to the trip locations.
  
• Group first aid with qualified first aiders.