The Loire Valley, bivouac style!
Can you imagine yourself in a reality TV survival show? Do you want to get back to nature? Or perhaps you are just looking forward to savouring an original experience in good company? As so often, the reality is probably to be found among all these good reasons.
There are more and more bivouac stays on offer in Touraine. The crackling fire, the running water, an owl hooting, the sound of insects… This little piece of paradise is yours during a bivouac evening alongside the Loire or on the banks of the River Vienne. It’s up to you how you enjoy this simple but totally exceptional experience, with your loved one or old friends! An original idea for a stag or hen party…
Bivouac near the Vienne River – CLAN
Bivouac beneath the stars
The originators of this kind of stay and specialists in Canadian canoes, the Canoe Company, can organise a non-guided bivouac stay (for two days with a night near Amboise or a customised trip) or the “Bivouac Initiatik” adventure. The Bivouac Initiatik is an immersion at the heart of nature. It takes place on set dates, in the company of a guide who can share all his experience of this truly unique environment.
Bivouac on the Loire – Canoë Company
Tours & Canoë (plus standup paddleboarding) and Loire Aventure (with stays of up to 21 days, from Roanne to Amboise) are two other canoe-rental companies organising bivouacs in the area for hiking tours on the water for a few hours or a few days.
A little further west, Kryzalid’nature provides a range of adventure formats, including “Beav’wak” (as in “beaver” and “bivouac”!): you set off without a guide between 7.30 pm and 9 am for a stay on an island (just 5 km away by canoe, from Langeais to Bréhémont). Here, in the silence, you might catch a glimpse of beavers, terns, ospreys, wading birds or cormorants.
For a trip on the River Vienne and perhaps later on the Loire, if you opt for a descent in a canoe for up to four days, and then on to Saumur. Chinon Loisirs Activités Nature (known as the CLAN!) will take care of everything.
The association La Rabouilleuse also organises trips down the Loire lasting several days in a traditional boat with a bivouac every evening.
Bivouac… in the forest!
And because the fun of a bivouac is not just reserved for fans of canoeing, Grégoire Paquet (Loire Valley ecotourism) has come up with 2-day hiking sessions with a bivouac in the woods. You can taste the joys of lighting a fire, gathering wild plants… and some fresh air and a very convivial experience!
Bivouac in the forest – Loire Valley ecotourism
A night on the water
To get close to nature, another option, apart from a bivouac, is to spend the night on the River Loire on board the Toue Reine boat. These are some of the little gems scattered across Touraine. Some great addresses if you want to explore the Loire châteaux, the towns and villages, the vineyards or follow the Loire à Vélo cycling trail.