We do not run canyon trips in the Estérel: our descents are in the Alpes-Maritimes, and the first, in the Gorges du Loup, is about 1 h 05 from Saint-Raphaël. Half day at €55 from age 8, full day at €80 from age 16, equipment included, with a state-qualified guide. +1291 reviews 5/5.
From Saint-Raphaël · 83
Saint-Raphaël stands at the gateway to the Estérel, but our canyoning trips do not take place there: you take the road into the hinterland, and the Gorges du Loup come after about 1 h 05.
That makes a little over 2 hours of driving there and back. This is why our clients come for the day: the descent, a swim in the gorge, a hilltop village, a good meal.
You go down with a state-qualified guide from Ailéments, a family school founded in 2013, with 8 people at most per instructor. No experience needed, but you must be able to swim.
The price includes the 5 mm wetsuit, helmet, harness, supervision and insurance: €55 for a half day (€50 from 5 people) and €80 for a full day.
North-east of the town, in the Alpes-Maritimes. All eight of our routes are there, three as a half day from age 8 and five as a full day from age 16; our canyoning in the Alpes-Maritimes page presents them all.
| Canyon | Access from Saint-Raphaël | For whom | Age | On site | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gorges du Loup | About 1 h 05, meeting point in the gorge | Families, beginners | From age 8 | 2 h 30 | €55 |
| Gours du Ray | After the village of Gréolières, itself 1 h 15 from Saint-Raphaël | Families, beginners | From age 8 | 2 h 30 | €55 |
| Cramassouri | Tinée valley | Family introduction | From age 8 | 2 h 30 | €55 |
| Cascades de Courmes | Loup valley, facing Gourdon | Sporty | From age 16 | 4 hours | €80 |
| Riolan | Estéron valley | Sporty | From age 16 | 4 hours | €80 |
| Clue d'Aiglun | Estéron valley | Sporty | From age 16 | 4 hours | €80 |
| Saint-Auban | Estéron valley | Sporty | From age 16 | 4 hours | €80 |
| Imberguet | Vésubie valley, in spring | Sporty | From age 16 | 4 hours | €80 |
Is this your first canyon? We recommend the Gours du Ray. The Gorges du Loup, near Gourdon, have abseils of up to 6 m, and the Cramassouri is in the Tinée valley. On the first two, the abseils can be avoided.
From age 16, the full day moves up a level: a 60 m abseil at the Cascades de Courmes, two cirques on the Riolan, or the Clue d'Aiglun, the Saint-Auban canyon and, in spring, the Imberguet.
The canyon is chosen when you book, according to the option and the weather forecast, and it is most often the Gorges du Loup. The day before, after a last look at the water flow, your trip is confirmed by text message.
The season runs from 1 April to 31 October. From June to September, the descent is more pleasant: 19 °C in the water in summer. If the canyon cannot be done, rescheduling is free.
We do not run canyon trips there: our descents are in the Alpes-Maritimes. The massif, with its red rocks and pine trees, can be explored on foot another day; to go down a canyon, you head towards Grasse and the Loup valley.
The same goes for the Var and the Verdon, where we take no one. If you are around Castellane, see our canyoning Castellane page. Staying in a neighbouring town? The same canyons can be reached from Fréjus (right next door), Saint-Tropez, Toulon and the rest of the Var. See also our canyoning Fréjus page.
Take the A8, then Grasse: about 1 h 05 to the Gorges du Loup. From Agay or Boulouris, add a few minutes. The village of Gréolières is 1 h 15 from Saint-Raphaël.
The meeting point depends on the canyon. For the Gorges du Loup, we meet on the D6, once through the tunnel. For the Gours du Ray, it is after the village of Gréolières, on the Andon road. You receive the exact GPS point by text message the day before.
Including the drive, a half day in the gorge takes about 4 h 40: 1 h 05 each way and 2 h 30 on site. For a full day, allow 4 h on site and bring your picnic, it is not included.
Without a car, you will need a ride-hailing service: no shuttle leaves from Saint-Raphaël or the rest of the coast.
Having made the drive, you might as well stay: our clients come for the day and take time to enjoy the valley.
After the descent, go back for a swim in the Gorges du Loup, walk the Cheiron trails or go up to the hilltop village of Gourdon. Tourrettes-sur-Loup and Bar-sur-Loup are in the same valley.
For a meal, Gréolières and Coursegoules have places to welcome you: ask your instructor for an address.
Back in Saint-Raphaël, the old port and the red rocks of the Corniche d'Or are still there to enjoy. The Sentier des Douaniers, towards Agay, can wait until the next day.
For another day, more ideas are on our what to do around Fréjus page.
This short film gives an idea of what awaits you at the end of the road: slides, jumps into pools and abseils under waterfalls, with a state-qualified guide.
At the bottom of the gorge, you pass where no trail goes, between high walls and pools of clear water. Everyone moves at their own pace, and jumps are decided on the spot. To keep your own images, the video of your trip is an option at €30, transferred to your phone.
Leaving from Saint-Raphaël changes nothing in the price: equipment, state-qualified guide and insurance are included.
For a half day, 2 h 30 on site from age 8: €55, or €50 per person from 5. For a full day, 4 h on more committing canyons, for ages 16 to 70: €80. Does your group want the canyon to itself? A private trip costs €400 for a half day, €640 for a full day. You will find all the prices on our canyoning prices page.
A flight and a descent on the same day: that is the paragliding + canyoning combo, at €190 per person, with the flight in the morning at Gréolières, 1 h 15 from Saint-Raphaël, and the canyon in the afternoon. You can book it even as a pair: for the canyon, you then join a group already under way, because our trips open from 5 people. As for ages, 8 for the canyon and 5 for the flight. To fly without the canyon, see our paragliding Saint-Raphaël page. Staying closer to Draguignan? See our paragliding Draguignan page.
Nothing to pay in advance: you pay on site, after the descent.
From age 8, the half day suits children who can swim and accept putting their head under water. Jumps are decided on the spot, and the instructor adapts the pace to the youngest.
To prepare the trip, read our family canyoning page, and beginner canyoning if it is a first for everyone.
From 5 people, we open a trip on your date; from 15 July to 31 August, 4 are enough, provided a 5th signs up. With 2 or 3, you join a trip already organised. One instructor supervises 8 people at most.
A hen or stag party can be done as a private trip: see hen and stag parties in Nice and hen and stag parties in the Var.
From the welcome to the return to the car, your state-qualified guide is with you, in four stages.
Meet at the GPS point received the day before: your instructor gives you the 5 mm wetsuit, helmet and harness.
Jump position, descender, signs to understand each other over the noise of the water: just what you need to know, without jargon.
20 minutes at most on half-day canyons, on foot through the forest, to reach the start.
Slides, pools and abseils follow one another at the group's pace. Back to the car park, debriefing, and the valley is yours.
Nothing is imposed, everything is supervised: a jump can always be bypassed, and your instructor goes before you at each obstacle. At the Gours du Ray and in the Gorges du Loup, the abseils can be avoided too, which is not the case everywhere. No need to be sporty: being able to swim and staying calm in the water is enough.
Wear your swimwear under the wetsuit and bring old closed-toe trainers, a towel and dry clothes. No suitable shoes? We can lend you some free of charge. For a full day, bring a picnic. The details are on our what to wear for canyoning page.
Ailéments is a small team that has been going down these canyons since 2013, with state-qualified guides and trips adapted to your pace.
Before each trip, 5 mm wetsuits, harnesses and descenders are checked, and conditions are reviewed the day before. +1291 reviews 5/5, free rescheduling if the canyon cannot be done, payment on site.
Do you have a question? Contact us or call us.
Book my descent
We do not offer a canyoning gift voucher: the trip is booked directly. To give an adventure to someone staying in Saint-Raphaël, choose a tandem paragliding flight instead: our gift vouchers (Child, Ascending or Prestige flight) can be personalised, are sent by email and stay valid for 1 year, with no extension, for a birthday, a celebration or a hen or stag party.
Do you have a question? Contact us.
Give a paragliding flight
Canyons, Estérel, river hiking, drive, prices, age, swimming, safety, equipment, season, duration, combo.
In the Alpes-Maritimes, north-east of Saint-Raphaël. Our first canyon is the Gorges du Loup, about 1 h 05 away; the Gours du Ray and the Cascades de Courmes are in the same valley, the others in the Estéron, the Tinée and the Vésubie. The GPS coordinates are sent to you by text message the day before.
We do not run canyon trips there: our descents are in the Alpes-Maritimes. From Saint-Raphaël, the first is in the Gorges du Loup, about 1 h 05 away via the A8 and Grasse.
No, we do not offer it: our trade is canyoning. If jumps worry you, choose the half day: they remain optional and, in the Gorges du Loup as at the Gours du Ray, so do the abseils.
About 1 h 05 to the Gorges du Loup, and 1 h 15 to the village of Gréolières, after which you reach the Gours du Ray. From Agay or Boulouris, add a few minutes.
By ride-hailing service: the meeting point is in the valley, and no shuttle leaves from Saint-Raphaël.
Stay in the valley: a swim in the Gorges du Loup, a walk, the village of Gourdon, a meal in Gréolières or Coursegoules. In the evening, back in Saint-Raphaël, the Corniche d'Or and the old port are still there to enjoy.
€55 per person for a half day (2 h 30, equipment included), from age 8, and €50 from 5 people. The sporty full day costs €80, from age 16, and the combo €190.
From age 8 for a half day, on routes such as the Gours du Ray or the Gorges du Loup, if the child can swim. The full day is for ages 16 to 70.
Yes, it is compulsory, and you must accept putting your head under water, because some pools are crossed by swimming. You will not be asked for any certificate.
Yes, it carries real risks, like any outdoor sport. Your state-qualified guide reduces them without making them disappear: water flow and weather checked before departure, anchors checked, equipment inspected. We go through all this on our is canyoning dangerous? page.
Swimwear, old closed-toe trainers, a towel and dry clothes for the way back. The rest is provided: 5 mm neoprene wetsuit, helmet, harness, lanyard, descender and canyon bag.
Closed sports shoes that can stay wet throughout the descent, with a sole that grips, because the rock is sometimes slippery. No sandals or flip-flops. If you do not have any, we lend them free of charge.
From 1 April to 31 October, more pleasant from June to September, with water at 19 °C in summer.
About 2 h 30 on site for a half day, 4 h for a full day, picnic to bring. Add 1 h 05 of driving each way to the Gorges du Loup.
Yes: the paragliding + canyoning combo (€190) lets you fly and go down a canyon on the same day, even as a pair. And the valley can be explored before you drive back.
4 key points for your descent.
No canyon with us in the Estérel, but eight routes in the Alpes-Maritimes, with the Gours du Ray to start with, from age 8. A day to spend in the valley.
The half day at €55 (€50 from 5 people), the full day at €80 from age 16, the combo at €190 per person, all included.
Weather and water flow checked by your state-qualified guide, confirmation by text message the day before, free rescheduling, payment on site.
+1291 reviews 5/5 and state-qualified guides. The flight can also be booked on its own: see paragliding Saint-Raphaël.
1,291+ 5-star reviews
