A one-week loop from Nîmes: the Pont du Gard, the Alpilles and Les Baux-de-Provence, Roman Arles, then the Rhône delta with its salt pans, its flamingos and its two ferries. The stages are short, you drive little and stop often, between Roman monuments and marshes.
| Days | Stop | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Nîmes | Start |
| Day 2 | Saint-Rémy-de-Provence | 77 km · 1h30 |
| Days 3 to 4 | Arles | 31 km · 55 min |
| Day 5 | Salin-de-Giraud | 41 km · 1h |
| Day 6 | Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer | 60 km · 1h05 |
| Day 7 | Aigues-Mortes | 30 km · 40 min |
| Day 8 | Back to Nîmes | 44 km · 40 min |
Road route calculated from the stops (OpenStreetMap). Driving times assume no stops and no traffic: add time for photo breaks.
April to June and September to October: bearable heat and flamingos present. In summer, up to 30,000 flamingos but crowds and mosquitoes; in winter, La Capelière closes for several weeks.
🚗 77 km · 1h30 of driving from Nîmes
A9 or D6086 to Remoulins and the Pont du Gard, then Beaucaire, the bridge over the Rhône to Tarascon and the D99.
🚗 31 km · 55 min of driving from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
D5 then D27 across the Alpilles via Les Baux, and the D17 via Fontvieille and Montmajour Abbey.
🚗 41 km · 1h of driving from Arles
D570, D36, then the D36B along the east shore of the Vaccarès, via La Capelière.
🚗 60 km · 1h05 of driving from Salin-de-Giraud
D36 north, the D37 along the north shore of the Vaccarès, then the D570 to the sea.
🚗 30 km · 40 min of driving from Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
D570, D85 and the free Sauvage ferry across the Petit-Rhône, then the D58 and D979.
🚗 44 km · 40 min of driving from Aigues-Mortes
Skip Salin-de-Giraud: from Arles, go straight to Les Saintes-Maries on the D570 and visit La Capelière as a there-and-back. Nights: Nîmes 1, Saint-Rémy 1, Arles 1, Saintes-Maries 1, Aigues-Mortes 1.
| Car hire only, July | ≈ €57 a day |
|---|---|
| Car hire only, January | ≈ €34 a day |
| Small car, annual average | ≈ €43 a day (Kayak Nîmes, Sept. 2026) |
| Your own car | The simplest option if you are driving in. Nîmes and Arles have no recorded low emission zone; Montpellier and Marseille do. |
|---|---|
| Vehicle | City car or compact: narrow lanes in Les Baux and Aigues-Mortes, a 2.08 m barrier on the way to Beauduc. |
| Where to pick it up | In Nîmes, at the station or Nîmes-Garons Airport; it is a loop, so no one-way fee. |
| Age | At Europcar, from 18 with 1 year's licence; under 26, €40 a day extra. |
⚠️ The Sauvage ferry stops from 12:00 to 13:30 and after 19:00 (20:00 from April to September): time your crossing.
The Gard and Bouches-du-Rhône keep 80 on departmental roads. Motorways 130, 110 in the rain.
Sauvage: every 30 min, 8 cars. Barcarin: from 04:20 to 02:00, every day.
40 species in the Camargue. Marsh mosquitoes travel 10 to 20 km on the wind.
0.2 g/l for probationary licence holders. Up to 0.8 g/l: €135 and 6 penalty points; above that, a criminal offence.
Motor vehicles banned since 2002. Park and carry on on foot or by bike.
At the Tourvieille viewpoint. No vehicles on the beach, no camping.
In the Regional Park, no vehicles outside roads open to the public. Use the car parks.
Wooded areas sometimes closed depending on the risk. Check bpatp.paca-ate.fr before a hike.
Privately driven speed camera cars. Detectors banned: up to €1,500 and 6 penalty points.
PrestoPark or PayByPhone; the town hall reports card theft at the parking meters.
Low emission zones (ZFE) in force in these two cities, off the loop. Sticker costs €3.85.
Probationary licence: 110 on motorways, 100 on expressways, 80 elsewhere.
Since April 2024, insurance has been checked via the number plate. Keep your licence and the vehicle registration document.
≈ €2.15 per litre of SP95-E10, €2.40 for diesel (23 Sept. 2026)
Price recorded in September 2026: it changes every week, sometimes by 10 to 20 cents in a month. Today's price: prix-carburants.gouv.fr →
⛽ 283 km at 7 l per 100 km: about €40 at September 2026 prices, to share between passengers.
National averages from French ministry data. Prices vary a lot between stations: compare on prix-carburants.gouv.fr before filling up.
| Barcarin ferry, Salin-de-Giraud to Port-Saint-Louis | €7 per car, €12 per motorhome, free on foot or by bike |
|---|---|
| Sauvage ferry, Petit-Rhône | Free |
| A9 around Nîmes | Short toll sections, avoidable on the D6086 |
| Pont du Gard car park | €9 per car per day |
| La Capelière, National Nature Reserve | €7, reduced €4, free under 12 |
| Pont de Gau Bird Park | €8.50, €5 for ages 4 to 12 |
| Domaine de la Palissade | €5, free under 12 |
| Towers and ramparts of Aigues-Mortes | €9, free under 26 |
| Carrières des Lumières, Les Baux | €16.50 |
| Gacholle lighthouse | Free |
| Sauvage ferry | Midday break, last crossing 19:00, 20:00 in summer |
|---|---|
| Barcarin and Sauvage ferries | Sometimes suspended: weather, Rhône water level, maintenance |
| La Capelière | Closed on Mondays and for several weeks in winter |
| Domaine de la Palissade | Closed in December and January |
| Wooded areas | Possible closures depending on the fire risk, from 1 June to 30 September |
| Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer | Pilgrimages on 24 May and in late October: village packed |
| Gacholle lighthouse | Open at weekends, on public holidays and during French school holidays, from 11:00 to 17:00 |
Allow a week for this loop of 6 stages and 7 nights from Nîmes: the Pont du Gard, the Alpilles, Arles, Salin-de-Giraud, Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer and Aigues-Mortes. Drives are short, often under an hour. In 5 days, skip Salin-de-Giraud and keep only one night in Arles.
Hiring from Nîmes, around €460 in July (€57 a day) or €270 in January over 8 days. Fuel is a small cost: the loop is about 300 km. Admission: Pont du Gard parking €9, La Capelière €7, Pont de Gau €8.50, Aigues-Mortes ramparts €9, Carrières des Lumières €16.50.
It crosses the Petit-Rhône 6.5 km from Les Saintes-Maries, on the D85, towards the Aigues-Mortes road. Free, it carries 8 cars and runs every 30 minutes, from 06:00 to 20:00 from April to September and from 06:30 to 19:00 in winter, with a break from 12:00 to 13:30. Riders on horseback and emergency services go first.
Yes: there are 40 species. Marsh mosquitoes hatch after each flooding, within 4 to 5 days in summer, and the wind carries them 10 or 20 km. They bite all day, especially at dusk. Repellent and long sleeves in the evening. Les Saintes-Maries is not among the communes treated by the EID (mosquito control agency).
Yes, on a track, provided you fit under the 2.08 m wide barrier at the Tourvieille viewpoint: wide motorhomes stay outside. Park in the designated area, as driving on the beach is banned, as is camping. The Digue à la Mer, between Les Saintes-Maries and La Comtesse, has been closed to motor vehicles since 2002.
At the Pont de Gau Bird Park, on the D570 north of Les Saintes-Maries: 60 hectares of marshland, hundreds of flamingos up close, €8.50. On the east shore of the Vaccarès, La Capelière (€7) has a trail and hides. In summer, the Camargue has up to 30,000 of them.
Driving rules, prices and closures checked in September 2026; hotels checked on OpenStreetMap and then on Booking. Rules change: read the official source before you leave, and check your own government's travel advice for the country. Stop photos: Wikimedia Commons, authors and licences under each image.
Off We Gooo road trip guide · offwegooo.com/en/road-trips/camargue · by Pierrick, updated 1 October 2026
