Loire Valley Wine And Castles Small-group Day Trip From Paris

This was an amazing day trip. The castles were so beautiful and the guide was very informative and helpful. The wine tasting was a nice touch to the day. Would highly recommend!

Marius was our tour guide. He was wonderful and personable. The tour was fabulous. Loire Valley was magnificent. The small group setting is amazing. Location pickup was amazing.

Good guide. Not outstanding but adequate, nothing exceptional however. Beautiful places we got to visit and I appreciate the mix of free time to explore and information by the guide. Wine tasting wasn’t the greatest, but maybe that was just my taste preference. Worst part was having to ride in the far back of the van. With traffic and some bumpy roads, this left me with a severe and pounding headache the last hour of the trip. The guide/driver heavy foot on the brakes at times (traffic) also made this problem worse. If you get car sick at all, ask to sit toward the front!

Highly recommend this tour and you’ll be so lucky if Marius takes you!! His driving was excellent, his stories quite compelling, great visual aids to complement his historical reviews. We had ample time to wander on our own and we were back within minutes of expected time. Marius even drove us to our restaurant just a few blocks away from the drop off. It was a very lovely day spent teeth a few other couples and Marius. Highly recommend this tour!!

Wesley our driver was great! We were disappointed with the wine tasting. The guy was hard to understand & no where to sit with wine. The store was very small. The castles were very nice.

Marceau was an excellent guide who provided the perfect combination of historical information with free time to explore. He also had very good recommendations for eating places. The three chateaus are each different but well worth visiting. What a beautiful day trip.

My daughter and I had a week vacation in Paris together….a dream come true! I have always wanted to see the Loire Valley so we signed up and had Karin Antony as our driver and guide. It was such an amazing tour, we loved everything about it. Three castles, a wine tasting and lunch in a darling town. I want to do Normandy and Reims next time!

My family booked this tour with us being 6 out of 8 of the group. Our tour guide Wesley didn’t tell us more than 10 minutes of information for a whole day tour about 3 castles. Gave us about 1-1.5 hours at each castle and given it was holiday time in France, he could have given us 15 minutes more at each so we wouldn’t have to rush. The tour covered entrance but no audio guide. At the price of 1400€ for 6 people and only 10€ or less per castle ticket, this was overpriced for just a driver and a 10 min “tour guide”. This tour is a waste of money.

The three castles were beautiful and the trip was flexible enough to tour independently. The small group/van was very comfortable and easy.

Amazing trip! Visiting the Loire Valley castles was an unforgettable experience, and it was made even better thanks to our guide, Wesley. His explanations were, informative, and full of interesting historical details. He was always attentive, friendly, and happy to answer our questions. On top of that, his driving was excellent! we felt completely safe and comfortable throughout the journey. We highly recommend this tour!

Great castles to visit, we left on time and were back an hour earlier. I would have enjoyed to have the wine tasting after lunch, and to have more time at the last castle. But it was overall well organized trip. I enjoyed having time to explore on my own.

Thank you Karim Antony for a great trip - despite the brutal heat wave. All parts of the trip from pickup to passes and breaks were perfect. Recommended.

We really enjoyed the day. Ryan did a wonderful job of filling in the history and helping understand what we were seeing. He was very thoughtful and a lot of fun. We had a couple of us that had some mobility issues and he accommodated as much as possible. I definitely recommend this tour to anyone.

Exactly as advertised. The castles are phenomenal. The guide gives a 5-minute presentation before each castle then you explore on your own at your own pace. Bring a hat, water, sunglasses, and very comfortable shoes - it’s a LOT of walking and a LOT of steps/climbing. Definitely worth the value but it’s a long day!

Great way to see a lot of castles in one day. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. Be aware that this is A LOT of time in a van in one day..... about 6 hours total. It was nice not to have to figure out routes, etc. and just relax and enjoy the day. If you have a tendency to get car sick this might not be the best tour for you.

Family of 4 (two kids ages 15 and 11) took this all-day tour with Julien. We were very thankful for the air conditioned van, especially with record breaking temperatures this week in France. We were the only family on this tour and Julien was extremely informative and helpful as our guide. We had enough time at each castle and even had time to grab a drink or snack at each location. Highly recommend this tour. Our kids weren’t as engaged in the history so we also enjoyed forced learning on holiday!

The Loire Valley region is so beautiful and offers many must see destinations. This trip included visits to 3 remarkable castles, lunch on our own in an excellent local restaurant, and a wine tasting which was very fun. Our guide, Julian, was the perfect host. He was the exact right amount of information and guidance and then time to explore on our own. He was an excellent driver and a great communicator. Julian is a lifelong Parisian and he is very knowledgeable. The castles are all very unique and the gardens and surrounding grounds were beautiful to explore. This was a great value and well worth the time. We especially enjoyed the countryside after a week in the city.

Great trip, beautiful places, wonderful guide. 3 sisters, age 66-70 and they took great care of us. We couldn't have asked for a better trip.

Great experience! Ryan was a fabulous guide and made the trip really enjoyable. He also told us lots about the history in the region!

Beautiful chateaus and a wonderful way to get outside of Paris for the day and see a little of what’s beyond. Amboise is a lovely place and could easily spend a day there.

Such a great day with a very small group. We all loved our guide Julian and enjoyed our time together. Perfect way to get to see the chateau’s without being on a huge tour bus. Lunch was great and the recommendations were perfect.

Highly recommend this small group tour to the Loire Valley castles. Perfect meeting location in Paris at a cafe that is open early enough that we were able to have a coffee and croissant before heading out with our group. Our guide, Ryan, was the best. So cheerful, friendly and knowledgeable. Also, a very competent driver for the long haul to and from the Loire Valley. We accomplished a lot for a one day tour. It went by fast, but I felt like we had enough time to take in everything at each castle. Expect some walking and many stairs to climb if you choose to explore inside the castes. Can’t recommend enough to do the small tour rather than the larger bus tour. It just moves along much more smoothly, especially with such a knowledgeable guide like Ryan. Will definitely book again with Blue Fox!

Excellent tour and Will was great. Very focused on chateaux and less so on wine. Our day was unhurried and very pleasant. Lunch in Amboise was nice with plenty of restaurants from which to choose.

Very nice paced tour with visits to 3 chateaus. Our guide Clement was an amazing, knowledgeable guide.

We had an excellent day visiting Chenonceau, Amboise and Chambord. Ryan’s energy, enthusiasm and knowledge were greatly appreciated by our small group. I would definitely recommend!

What a fantastic day. I have been to the Loire Valley before on tours and I have to say that this was the best. They gave us a perfect amount of time at each of the 3 stops and just the right amount of historical background! I would highly recommend this tour if you want to visit a few of the chateaus of the Loire Valley from Paris and only have a day to do it. Excellent all around.

My friends and I had a great time with Martijn as our guide for the Loire Valley. It was a very small group and Martijn was able to make it fun even with the weather being a bit temperamental! Would highly recommend.

An amazing way to see the castles of the Loire Valley! The meeting spot was easy to find, and our guide was fantastic — very informative and engaging throughout the day. I especially appreciated the balance of guided touring and free time. We had time on our own for lunch and to explore the castles at our own pace, which made the trip feel relaxing instead of rushed. It allowed us to focus on the parts we were most interested in. Overall, it was a great way to get out of the city and experience the beautiful countryside and stunning Loire Valley castles. Highly recommend!

Carlyle (carlo) was an amazing guide. He was professional but fun and provided so much information. He answered all of our questions and happily took pics of us. He was super friendly and I wish all of my tours were with him! Castles were awesome and the history behind them fascinating. Loved every minute of this tour!

Going to the Loire Valley castles was an amazing experience only made better by our guide Carlyle. He was exceptional.

It is a long day but really worth it! Do not think twice. You will visit three castles and more. A lot of history. Our guide was the best.

Ryan was an outstanding guide. He was informative and fun. The castles were beautiful, and we had plenty of time to explore each. I highly recommend Blue Fox.

Great tour and fantastic tour guide - would highly recommend. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and professional, and of course the castles visited were beautiful!!

You will have the best time visiting the best three chateau in the Paris area! It is a 2 1/2 hour ride but worth it

Great tour, locations, on time and comfortable in transit, even though this is full day long trip. The best was Augustine, our guide, he was exceptional! The castles were amazing too.

Overall a good day … visited the three chateaus as advertised … tour guide was ‘average’ compared with other tours we had been on … the tour guide didn’t enter the chateaus with us and ‘guide us’ he basically handed out the tourist pamphlet obtained at the ticket station and told us to explore the chateau ourselves …. We weren’t able to purchase an audio guide as they weren’t part of th ticket purchased for us at each chateau … within the chateau many other tour guides led their groups and we ended up listening in on other tour guide’s presentation … our guide was back in the van waiting for us to return after an hour …

Excellent guide (Marius). History, well-paced, culture and fun. By far the best experience of the French tours we took.

We had a wonderful day touring 3 awesome castles. We had a stop in Amboise with time for lunch and a wine tasting. Our guide, Marius was outstanding! He was very knowledgeable and provided details at each stop. Marius was kind and very personable with each member of the group, taking time to learn our names and a little about us, while sharing a bit about himself. He is truly an asset to the team at Blue Fox Travel.

Nice enough tour guide, but what colored the day was that the van was stifling HOT on a cool day. I was in the back of the van and asked twice to cool it down to no avail. He never bothered to check in on our comfort for the whole 2.5 hour ride. It was only partway to the return trip to Paris that another guest asked him AGAIN, and he finally figured out how to do it. The chateau/castles were beautiful. Wine tasting was fun enough though sitting down during it would've been nicer. Overall, just a so-so experience.

The castles were amazing and great to see! The guide was cordial and on time. The wine tasting is a simple splash at a store so not a tasting at a winery. The exploration of the castles was a lot of fun. A little long ride from Paris. About 4hrs round-trip.

Once again Blue Fox tours was great and our guide, Marios (?), was excellent. He was dressed impeccably with a jacket, tie and dress shoes and was very knowledgeable about the region, art history etc. Once again, we really only book small group tours and this one will never have over 8 people. You visit Chenoceau, Amboise and Chambord. You will eat lunch in Amboise and we had plenty of time. The town with shops and restaurants is right outside the castle. You get ample time to walk the grounds, go inside each castle and all admissions are included. You can do a free wine tasting in Amboise after lunch, if you'd like. The meeting point for all of their tours in Cafe La Flamme, very easy to get to by the Arc de Triomphe. You can use the bathroom there too as well as grab a coffee, pastry if you'd like. We even ate dinner there after one of our tours. Blue Fox tours will also send reminder emails prior to your tour date.

Wonderful day in Loire Valley. Our Blue Fox Travel Guide was Marius. He was knowledgeable, engaging, & made for a fun day. It's a full day tour, which covered 3 beautiful Chateaus, Chenonceau, Royal d'Amboise, & Chambord. Each Chateau was different & distinctive. Stopped in Amboise for a lunch break. Lots of restaurants to choose from.

Philippe was great! Very knowledgeable and friendly, he made the entire day enjoyable.

It was a long drive and I was very happy that our guide, Ryan, was driving! He was knowledgeable, courteous, great personality and a superb representative for Blue Fox Travel and the country of France. The castles and countryside were spectacular and I would highly recommend Blue Fox Travel.

While the setting was beautiful and chateaus absolutely breathtaking, we were very disappointed to not have an enthusiastic or knowledgable guide. With the high price of the tour we expected to learn more about the Loire valley and France's rich history, but this was not our experience with Wesley or Blue Fox. For example, the car ride was almost completely silent and when we asked questions it was we clear he did have much knowledge or wish to talk. He seemed very bored to be there and didnt make a much effort with the group. At each castle we got about 30 seconds of information and he did not even know where the bathrooms were. The wine tasting was another big bummer as there was little description, extremely small pours and the value was 6 euros total as listed on the wine machines. The icing on top was unfortunately the "luxury van" (which was a stretch) air conditioning did not work in the back and Wes didnt seem interested in helping us to get it working. All in all it was a great line up of chateaus but we felt we could have booked a much cheaper coach bus tour..

The trip was awesome… led by a phenomenal guide, Valeria (sp?). She was knowledgeable, engaged and a great sense of humor. The small group was a great way to visit this site.

Wonderful tour and very good guide. Small group is best. Easy drive from Paris in a very nice van. We had plenty of time at each stop

We had a wonderful time on our Loire castles tour, exploring three castles in a day. Our guide Martin was friendly and knowledgeable about the culture of the region. We had ample time to enjoy the historic castles and wander the gardens, as well as sampling the Loire wines in a brief tasting. Martin shared great viewing tips and lunch recommendations, and made sure everyone was comfortable throughout the day. We appreciated his professionalism and enthusiasm, and we would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting the area. I would note that there is a lot of walking and stair-climbing in this tour, which may be a consideration for some.

The Loire Valley is gorgeous and the castles were amazing to see! I do not feel the "tour" we received was as advertised. Our "guide" was more like a chauffer and simply dropped us off at each location, he was not certified to go in with us anywhere to give an actual tour. We also were very rushed all day, there was not the stated free time to have lunch or see the town, and the wine tasting was standing in a wine shop quickly sampling 4 wines and leaving. While I'm very glad we were able to see all the castles, this is overpriced for what we got and mis advertised.