Tour of the Vercors

For moderately experienced to strong walkers with a good level of fitness. The stages present no major technical difficulties but are fairly long. From 5 to 7 hours of walking per day, with an average daily ascent of 350 to 1000m.

You only carry your picnic lunch and the belongings you need for the day. Your luggage will be waiting for you at the hotel each evening.

Available for groups of 2 people or more.

7 days / 6 nights, 6 days of walking

A self-guided trip without a guide; we provide a digital travel pack containing access to our smartphone navigation app, a list of your accommodation, any relevant vouchers and all the information you need for your trip to run smoothly.
If you wish, we can send a printed travel pack with maps and route notes for a supplement of 35 € per pack. For requests made less than 45 days before departure, or for travellers outside France, we will make the pack available at the first hotel.

Accommodation

In 2* hotels and 3* hotels (3 nights), in rooms for two. Several hotels have a swimming pool.

Room, swimming pool and exterior of the Hôtel du Col de l’Arc in Lans-en-Vercors

Exterior, room and restaurant of the Hôtel Le Vernay in Autrans

Room, swimming pool and exterior of the Hôtel Le Marronnier in Rencurel

Meals

Half board: breakfasts and hot dinners are served. Lunches are not included.

You can buy supplies for your picnic lunches in Lans-en-Vercors, Autrans, La Chapelle-en-Vercors and Pont-en-Royans. You can order picnic lunches from the hotels by letting them know the day before. The hotel in Rencurel, however, asks for 2 days' notice if you would like picnic lunches. There are no shops in Rencurel.

Please tell us about any food allergies or special dietary requirements when booking; we will do our best to adapt your meals.

Hotel ratings

In France, increasing numbers of hotels and guesthouses choose not to have an official rating, including establishments that were still rated a year or two ago. This does not mean their quality has declined—far from it. Many of the guesthouses are charming places to stay.

If we indicate, for example, a comfort level of “3* or equivalent”, this means that the property does not necessarily have an official rating, but offers comfort comparable to that of a 3* hotel.

Start

On Day 1 in the afternoon in Lans-en-Vercors.

Finish

On Day 7 in the afternoon, after the hike, in Lans-en-Vercors.

By plane

Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport is one option for reaching the region. Check current coach or rail connections to Grenoble before booking.

By train

Travel by train to Grenoble, then continue by regional coach or taxi to the start of the walk. Check current train times on SNCF Connect and local coach connections on Cars Région before booking.

By bus

From Grenoble, Lans-en-Vercors is easy to reach using the Transisère buses, which run at intervals.

Route T64 connects Grenoble to Lans-en-Vercors (Office de tourisme stop). Check the official Cars Région timetables before you travel.

By car

Take the A48 motorway from Lyon towards Grenoble, leaving at exit no. 14 for Saint-Égrève, then follow signs for Villard-de-Lans (via Sassenage). In Lans-en-Vercors, turn left towards the village centre to reach your hotel.

You can check your route on ViaMichelin.

Parking your car

In Lans-en-Vercors, in your hotel’s car park.

A number of our trips offer opportunities to swim, either during the day’s route or at the end of the day. It would be a shame to miss out. However, we emphasise that you alone must decide whether it is appropriate to swim; any swimming is therefore your own responsibility and undertaken at your own risk.

Member of Agir pour un Tourisme Responsable (ATR)

Since 2012, Grand Angle has been a member of ATR, the leading association for more responsible tourism. We design our trips—on foot, by bike and on snow—to invite everyone to discover the world differently: with curiosity, respect and kindness.

As a member of the board of directors since 2018, we actively help the sector move towards more meaningful practices. In practical terms, we focus on:

• Transparency in our practices and pricing
• Respect for our partners and local communities
• Protecting the environment on every trip

We also share the values of the Traveller’s Ethical Charter, which encourages everyone to take simple steps to protect the places they visit and enjoy meaningful encounters.

Travelife Partner

Since 2025, Grand Angle has been recognised as a Travelife Partner, an international label that certifies our responsible environmental, ethical and sustainable management practices, both within our company and in our work with partners and the organisation of our trips.

This label, the second level of a rigorous international certification scheme, recognises our practical efforts to support responsible tourism. We are actively working towards the next level, Travelife Certified, in line with our sustainable development policy

In this section, you will find links to products from our partner Alpinstore, a French online retailer specialising in outdoor equipment, based in Annecy.

Carrying your belongings

• A comfortable 30 to 50 L backpack with a hip belt to carry your personal belongings and picnic lunch during the day
• A bag for luggage transfers: a backpack, a travel bag in good condition or a suitcase that is not too bulky. One bag per person, with a maximum weight of 15kg

Read our magazine article on how to pack your hiking backpack.

For hiking

• Hiking boots with ankle support, a sturdy heel counter, a sole with good tread and reliable waterproofing
• Comfortable hiking socks (at least 3 pairs)
• A fleece
• Comfortable walking trousers (made from quick-drying technical fabric)
• Comfortable technical shorts
• Technical T-shirts or base layers (made from quick-drying fabric)
• A long-sleeved shirt
• Walking poles (telescopic), which are very important for making walking easier. Discover all the benefits of walking poles in our dedicated article, or how to choose your walking poles

Note: synthetic technical clothing performs very well. New merino wool clothing is also available; it performs very well, is comfortable to wear and has the advantage of resisting sweat odours! As a general rule, avoid cotton, which chills you when wet.

For your picnic lunch

• Your eating kit: a plastic bowl, container or plate, and cutlery (spoon, fork, knife)
• 1 or 2 water bottles (a total capacity of at least 1,5 L) – essential –; an insulated flask for winter

Protection from sun and rain

• Sunscreen (high protection)
• Sunglasses
• A hat, cap or bucket hat
• A rain poncho or a waterproof jacket, such as a softshell or Gore-Tex jacket, and optionally waterproof trousers

After your walk

• A pair of running-style trainers for the evening
• A change of clothes and underwear
• Toiletry bag and small towel
• Swimwear and a towel for the wellness facilities
• A small first-aid kit: personal medication, surgical masks, hand sanitiser, plasters, sterile dressings and a bandage, gauze, disinfectant, arnica pellets and aspirin, etc. (Please note that this list is not exhaustive and should be adapted to your own medical needs.)

You can find these tips in our article #"What to pack for a hike".

This list is intended as a guide and should be adapted to your trip and the season in which you travel.

Vercors Regional Natural Park: 0476943826
Lans Tourist Office: 0476954262
Villard-de-Lans Tourist Office: 0476951038

Check the travel documents and any visa requirements that apply to your nationality before departure. The official France-Visas information is a useful starting point; requirements also apply to children.

The Vercors generally has a mountain climate; however, it straddles the climatic boundary between the Northern Alps (the Isère catchment area) and the Southern Alps (the Drôme catchment area), broadly located at the Col de Rousset. Rainfall is brought by weather systems from the west and north-west. While the northern part receives a fairly constant amount of precipitation throughout the year (around 100 mm per month, reaching 1500 mm per year in Autrans or Bouvante) and has a predominantly oceanic climate, the southern part sees a summer dip in rainfall (less than 50 mm in July and August, less than 900 mm per year in the Diois) and abundant sunshine, with a predominantly Mediterranean climate whose influence extends into southern Trièves, the Diois, the Gervanne and even some areas of the Royans.

In winter, precipitation usually falls as snow because of the altitude. The amount of sunshine the slopes receive, cloud cover and prevailing winds are also important factors. Temperatures of −15 °C are not uncommon in Autrans. The lowest temperature recorded in Isère was in fact measured in Villard-de-Lans on 7 January 1985, at −28 °C. However, averages over a thirty-year period range from −5 °C in winter to +15 °C in summer.

Here are a few interesting websites to help you learn more about the Vercors
www.parc-du-vercors.fr and https://www.alpes-isere.com/decouvrir-l-isere/grands-lacs/trieves/

And a few books
A la découverte du Vercors, Parc Naturel Régional, published by Glénat, by François Ribard (a Grand Angle walking guide)

Vercors Regional Natural Park has published a collection of photographs of the Hauts Plateaux reserve entitled “Vercors d’en haut”, with commentary by Daniel Pennac.

Finally, if you are interested in history, the local history association in Lans-en-Vercors has published 3 issues of Cahiers du Peuil, in a series entitled Jadis, au pays des Quatre Montagnes, at an indicative price of 13 euros per issue.

All these publications, and many others, are available from tourist offices and bookshops in the Vercors.

IGN Top 25 maps:

• 3235OT Autrans,
• 3236OT Villard de Lans