Suggestions for private tour guide for Le Verdon

[jtonra]

We're looking to hire a local guide / driver to pick us up at the port and take us to some of the Bordeaux wineries and lunch.  Don't need to go all the way into the city proper but would definitely like to get to Bordeaux rather than staying in the Medoc area; preferably Saint-Julien or Margaux.  Does anyone have any recommendations?

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

I've researched Le Verdon, and apparently there is very, vey little there.  Cruise ships basically go there only to await favorable tides for sailing the river to Bordeaux if they're overnighting there OR to stay there and offer excursions from Le Verdon without sailing the Garonne to Bordeaux.  One person who wrote something (in this thread, I think) mentioned she was able to get a short tour from someone who picked her up at the ship.  However, she didn't sound 100% satisfied with the arrangement, as I believe the group grew a little in size.  But our cruise line (Oceania) is offering ship excursions on the day we're in Le Verdon 3 hours and then travel to Bordeaux.  The excursions start in the Medoc region but might possibly go to other areas.  Then they drop people at the ship in Bordeaux.  

 

You may want to google for a tourism site in Soulac, which is a small town not far from Le Verdon.  I emailed them to ask if they provided a shuttle from Le Verdon to Soulac or if taxis might be available in Le  Verdon.  They told me taxis could be hired in Soulac and that sometimes (or often? forget which) cruise lines arrange transport to Soulac.  I suppose you could try Get Your Guide or Tours by Locals or just google tours or excursions in the area.  Or contact Bordeaux tourism folks.  I believe the tourist office there offers tours to wine lodges around there. They may not be private tours, but at least it's a start. 

Edited March 2, 2023 by IWantToLiveOverTheSea

[achalker21]

Does anyone have an update for the port of LeVerdon? Is there a “best” way to travel to Bordeaux? We aren’t really wine people but would love to just explore Bordeaux. It’s kind of misleading if the only way you can get there is to book a cruise line sponsored excursion?! We are cruising there with NCL in May. Thanks in advance for any advice! 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Hi achalker21.  When we were there last year (after I posted the info above), our ship (Oceania Sirena) cruised the river and tied up in the city.  We had about 3 hours in LeVerdon, but it was just a stop due to tides with nobody getting off.  In Bordeaux, we tied up on the river, right in the heart of Verdon, and were there for the rest of the day and I think until mid-day or late afternoon the next.  People were free to go off the ship, and there was a tram that went up and down the river that was convenient for people wanting to go farther than just the immediate area.  I walked about and had a great time. There was maybe a 3 minute walk from the ship to where you could get outside a little barricade where the ship was (for security). Then once out, you walked another minute or two to get to the large buildings along the waterfront.  I know there was a tourist info center up that way, but I didn't try to find it when there.  I just walked around.  The famous wine museum Cite du Vin was a very short tram ride away or you could just walk maybe 10 minutes.  I took a little boat back that I found behind the museum. 

 

But of course, this my experience was on a smallish ship, and NCL's are pretty big.  So your experience may be different.  But I think one of Oceania's larger ships (Marina or Riviera) had already been to that same spot on the river before us, so at least it's apparently doable by more than just the ship I was on.  But if a ship can't, I suppose they might offer an excursion that's just transportation, leaving 4 hours or whatever in a city to do as you want on your own.  Oceania sometimes does that when the port is quite a ways from the city of interest.  So that might be an option if NCL can't tie up on the river. 

 

https://pbase.com/roothy123/bordeaux__le_verdon_france&page=all is a link to photos I took. The pictures and captions may give you an idea of what's within walking distance of where we were assigned to tie up.  And there are a few more here: https://pbase.com/roothy123/bordeaux__le_verdon__more&page=all 

Edited March 21 by IWantToLiveOverTheSea

[achalker21]

Thank you so much for your reply!!!!