About Us
Provençal Adventures is a small-group hiking and wellness retreat in Provence, created for people who want to step away from daily life and spend time in nature in a way that feels both restorative and nourishing.
At the heart of each retreat are three beautiful days of guided hiking through the mountains, forests and quieter landscapes of inland Provence. Around those hikes, the experience opens out into something fuller - serene moments at the villa, good food and wine, time to rest, visits to local villages, and the simple pleasure of sharing it all with a small group of like-minded people.
This is not just about where you go, but how you feel while you are there: calmer, more present, well looked after, and more connected to the natural world around you.
The Essence of Provençal Adventures
Provençal Adventures was shaped around a simple idea - that time in beautiful surroundings, good company, nourishing food and feeling connected to this natural environment can leave people feeling restored.
Hiking is the main thread of the retreat, but it is only one part of what makes the experience special. There is also the quiet of the forest, the mountain air, the wildlife around the villa, shared dinners around the table, a swim in the pool, a glass of local wine at sunset, and the atmosphere of Provençal villages and markets that still feel rooted in local life.
Guests often describe the retreat as much more than a walking holiday - a chance to slow down, reconnect with themselves, and enjoy a more grounded and personal experience of Provence.
A personal connection to Provence
Provençal Adventures was founded by Remi Dubois, a Londoner with deep French roots and a lifelong connection to Provence.
Rather than building the retreat around a polished travel concept, Remi created it from the things that have long shaped his own life - a love of nature, a love of food, and a belief that some of the best travel experiences come from feeling genuinely immersed in a place rather than simply passing through it.
His connection to Provence is personal, and so is the way the retreat is hosted. Guests regularly speak about the warmth of the welcome, the thoughtful details, the sense of belonging, and the care that runs through the whole experience from arrival to departure.
Food, wine and community
Food is a central part of the retreat - not only because Provence is such a rich and generous region to eat in, but because meals bring people together.
At Provençal Adventures, food is about pleasure, quality and connection. Meals are made with fresh local ingredients, almost always organic where possible, and are designed to feel generous, seasonal and full of flavour. The wine we share, the vineyard we visit, and the restaurants and markets we include are all part of helping guests experience Provence through its produce and its table.
Shared meals are also where the retreat’s sense of community grows strongest. They create space to talk, laugh, reflect on the day and get to know one another properly - something guests often remember just as vividly as the hikes themselves.
Rooted in local life
A key part of Provençal Adventures is supporting the local community and staying connected to the region in a genuine way.
That means buying produce from local markets and producers, working with local vineyards and restaurants, and bringing guests into villages where daily life still has a strong local rhythm. It also means creating a style of tourism that contributes to the area rather than simply using it as a backdrop.
In this way, guests experience a more authentic side of Provence - not simply passing through, but feeling immersed in its landscapes, villages, food culture and slower way of life, while helping support the people and places that make the region so special.
A more meaningful way to experience Provence
Provençal Adventures is for people who want to hike, eat well, rest deeply, discover the local region and share the experience with others in a warm, welcoming setting.
It is a retreat built around nature, community, food, wine and the quieter beauty of Provence - designed to help people return home feeling both nourished and renewed.
Sustainable Travel
At Provençal Adventures, we are committed to responsible and sustainable tourism that preserves the beauty and integrity of the natural world while supporting local communities. Our experiences are carefully crafted to minimise environmental impact and provide lasting benefits to the regions we explore. Below is our sustainable travel policy, focusing on three key areas:
1. Reducing Carbon Emissions
We strive to minimise our carbon footprint by adopting sustainable practices across all aspects of our tours:
Renewable Energy: Our villa is equipped with solar panels, ensuring we harness as much green energy as possible to power our operations.
Transport Efficiency: We limit motorised transportation to essential journeys only, using a single car for travel to local destinations that are only accessible by car.
Locally Sourced Food: By growing fresh fruit and olives on our property and partnering with local food producers, we minimise food miles and support eco-friendly agricultural practices. Vegetarian and vegan food is also available on request.
2. Protecting and Understanding Nature and Biodiversity
Respect for the natural environment is at the core of our ethos. Our activities are designed to enhance, rather than disrupt, the rich biodiversity of Provence:
Harmonious Coexistence with Wildlife: We avoid the use of electric fences around our villa which is situated off the beaten track in a beautiful wild forest, choosing instead to live in harmony with local wildlife. We encourage the natural movement of animals around our property, which includes wild boar and deer. Even if they do on occasion dig up our smaller fruit trees! It’s about learning to work with the animals that have made this area their home, long before we came to live here.
Nature-Centered Activities: Our hiking tours emphasise environmental stewardship, providing opportunities for guests to learn about the local flora, fauna, and ecosystems of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. We encourage respectful interactions with nature, allowing guests to appreciate the biodiversity that surrounds them.
Biodynamic Practices: We collaborate with a local biodynamic vineyard that produces wine without pesticides or chemicals, fostering an agricultural system that works with nature and local animals in the most sustainable way.
Recycling: We try to avoid the use of plastics on our trips and when we do we ensure that plastics and everything else is properly recycled in the local village recycling containers. We also ask our clients to bring their own water bottles to refill using our water filtration system.
3. Providing Local Benefits from Tourism
We believe in the power of tourism to positively impact local communities, particularly by supporting small businesses and local producers.
Supporting Local Farmers and Producers: We source organic produce wherever possible and collaborate closely with local farmers and food producers, ensuring that our tours contribute to the local economy. This includes working with a nearby biodynamic vineyard and olive oil producers. We support the sustainable practices of small producers, which not only honour the hard work behind these exceptional products but also help preserve the ecosystems that thrive around them.
Partnership with Local Businesses: Our guests dine at local cafes and restaurants, enjoy a wine tasting at a nearby vineyard and explore local villages and markets, directly benefiting and supporting the communities we visit. Local handicraft products are available to purchase in shops and markets and this directly supports the local businesses of the area.
EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY AND DIVERSITY
We employ people from the local community and surrounding villages to help with the cooking and cleaning. We also believe in fair wages so we make sure that no one is ever underpaid and is paid almost double the minimum wage for their hard work and commitment.
Our trips are of course LGBTQ friendly and in no shape or form do we exclude a certain demographic of people from coming on our trips or working for us. Our trips however are not suitable to some people with mobility issues as hiking is the main activity and everyone is expected to have a good level of fitness and some prior experience hiking.
We are committed to responsible and sustainable tourism that preserves the beauty and integrity of the natural world while supporting local communities. Our experiences are carefully crafted to minimise environmental impact and provide lasting benefits to the regions we explore.
Through these initiatives, Provençal Adventures is committed to delivering memorable travel experiences that respect and preserve the natural environment while fostering positive social and economic change.
