Multi-day hiking in the Sud region: where can I sleep and eat?

• Sleeping

A little reminder: there are two types of mountain huts – guarded and unguarded. You can find them easily online or directly on the IGN maps and in some topoguides.

The guarded huts are only guarded for part of the year, often from the beginning of spring to the end of summer. Remember to book ahead! As to the price, it’s on average between 20€ and 30€ a night. Generally speaking, these are common areas, so don’t forget to take your earplugs if you want a good night! Among the most beautiful guarded huts in the French Southern Alps, you have the Refuge de la Blanche above Saint-Véran, in a sublime setting on the banks of the Lac de la Blanche, or the Refuge de Chambeyron beside the Lac Premier in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.

• Eating

In guarded huts, there is often a restaurant service supplied by the hut keeper. Choose yiour option and book either full-board, half-board or just for the night. And you can even bring your picnic.

• Sleeping

Unguarded huts are more rudimentary and their access is free. They are, of course, less well-equipped and much less well-insulated than the guarded huts, so if you go for this option, take a good sleeping bag with you! Shepherds, communes, associations or natural parks often make these huts available. So it’s up to all of us to protect them by following the best practices: clean up before leaving, take your waste with you, leave room for other hikers, and close the hut well if you are the last to use it… It can be a little house, like the Refuge du Seignas in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, a chapel or even a borie (stone hut), like the Chapelle Saint-Antoine or the borie at Col Clapier, in the Alpes-Maritimes.

• Eating

Needless to say, in an unguarded hut, everyone is independent, as there is no real kitchen, but there’s sometimes a fireplace.

• Sleeping

This is one of the cheapest options and the prices are generally somewhere between 7 and 15€ to pitch your tent in an authorised and developed spot. If you’d rather not spend the night in a tent, some campsites have comfortable accommodation such as chalets or mobile homes. For example at the Camping du Mont Serein, nestled at the foot of Mont Ventoux, you will be welcomed to a magnificent setting for one or several nights in its very cosy little wooden huts. According to the season, you can also make the most of the pool! Some campsites are even equipped with heated pools, like the Camping des Eaux Chaudes, in Digne-les-Bains. A good choice for recharging your batteries after an intense day of walking!

• Eating

Each to your own style: either completely independent, bringing your food or buying food in the local grocery, or a restaurant, unearthed in a neighbouring village or suggested by the campsite.

• Sleeping

This is more expensive, from 50 to 120€ per night, but often very comfortable, with quality beds, a kitchen area or restaurant service, sanitation… but remember to book ahead. They are generally in towns and villages on hiking itineraries. You can find a room easily on the site dedicated to bed & breakfasts or your stopover gite on the Gîtes de France site, where you can also find “Gîte Panda”-referenced accommodation which promotes environmentally friendly tourism. You can also have a look at the “Valeurs Parcs”-labelled accommodation in the natural regional parks which are recognized for their environmental commitment. Last of all there are « Maisons Forestières »,which are rustic but comfortable lodgings developed by the Office National des Forêts.

• Eating

These accommodations often offer a half-board package which includes the night and also dinner and breakfast. In the gites, you can bring your own meal and prepare it yourself. Some gites also prepare picnics for your lunch!

• Sleeping

Bivouacking is a 100% free solution. It’s a total immersion in nature in a tent or under the stars. It’s different from wild camping, which consists of setting up camp for several days as it’s only for one night. Nevertheless, you can’t just bivouac anywhere and some areas do not authorise it in order to protect the environment and biodiversity: protected natural areas, the seaside, trails and paths, areas which are under 200 metres from a water point… So be careful to find out beforehand what rules and regulations are in force from local town halls, parks or tourist offices. In the national parks, there are restrictions concerning periods in the year, times or specific areas. Some sites such as lecampingsauvage.fr list authorised bivouac spots and information concerning the regulations governing this practice. On the site Welcome to my garden, private individuals offer gardens where you can pitch your tent. And you can also set up your bivouac near mountain huts!

• Eating

A real adventure! Don’t forget to take food with you, and choose foodstuffs which aren’t too heavy in your backpack. According to your itinerary, you can also have lunch or dinner in the restaurants in the towns and villages you stop off in.