Bordeaux and the Dordogne in 7 Days: Vineyards, Bastides and Périgord Villages

That is your call, and you make it right on this page. With the private guide-driver option, nobody takes the wheel: a guide-driver is booked for every day that needs one, from the arrival transfer to the return to the station or airport, fuel, tolls and parking included, and he also walks the villages with you. With the rental car option, the car is picked up on day three in the centre of town and returned on day seven at Bordeaux station or airport; the first two days are spent on foot in Bordeaux anyway, hence five days of car rather than seven. Fuel, tolls and parking are then yours. The price shown adjusts to the option selected.

Yes, on both counts, because the guide-driver, the guides and the private visits are shared. Based on 4 travellers, budget €1,690 per person with the rental car and €2,330 per person with the guide-driver. Based on 2, that becomes €2,330 and €3,420 per person; based on 6, €1,650 and €1,860. Three or five travellers works perfectly well: we adjust the quote. These rates are per adult; the “from” price shown is the rental car option on the 4-traveller basis.

No. The trip runs for your party only: your car or your guide-driver, your guides, your visits. You never share the vehicle or the tour with other travellers.

Once. Three nights in Bordeaux, then three nights in Sarlat. The Bordeaux hotel is chosen right in the centre so that the next morning’s guided walk starts from your room.

It depends on the option. With the guide-driver, in practice yes: he stays with you all week, in Bordeaux as in the Dordogne, does more than drive, gets out of the car with you, walks the villages and tells you what you are looking at, in Saint-Émilion as in Domme, La Roque-Gageac, Castelnaud or Rocamadour. With the rental car, three guided visits stay included and do not change: the morning on foot in Bordeaux with its gourmet stops, the old town of Sarlat in the late afternoon on the day you arrive, and the village of Saint-Émilion with a private guide who meets you there. Domme, Castelnaud and Rocamadour are then visited on your own, at your own pace. Either way, the Rouffignac cave is visited with the site’s own guide, in English, and a further private guide can be added on the days of your choice, as an option.

Breakfast is included for all six nights, and so are two lunches: La Source in Tursac on day four, and Auberge Le Colombier near Castelnaud on day five. Both are booked and settled for you. Both are home kitchens working with local produce, on a card that follows the seasons, and you pick your dishes from the menu of the day. The menu is settled; drinks are yours. The other lunches and the dinners are yours, and that is deliberate: between the Sarlat markets and the Bordeaux tables, you are better off keeping the choice. We book the tables at your request.

April to October. In November and through the winter, several sites close or cut their hours sharply, notably the gabarre cruise at La Roque-Gageac and the Padirac chasm, which would strip two highlights from the programme.

A reasonable level is enough, but the programme involves stairs and slopes: the cobbled lanes of Sarlat and Saint-Émilion, the climb at Rocamadour, the descent into the Padirac chasm. Tell us if there is a mobility constraint, as some stops can be adapted.

No, it is offered as an option on day two: 90 minutes on the Garonne with a glass of wine and a canelé. The 50-minute gabarre cruise at La Roque-Gageac, on the other hand, is included in the price.