VAN-COMPARATOR Guide
Vercors and Chartreuse by campervan: the other Alps
Roads carved into cliff faces, plateaus at 1,000 m, villages without crowds: from Grenoble, the Vercors and Chartreuse deliver spectacular mountains without the prices or the queues.
Everyone races to Chamonix and the famous passes. Meanwhile, twenty minutes from Grenoble, two pre-alpine massifs offer more dramatic roads, quieter nights and gentler prices. The Vercors and the Chartreuse are the other Alps — and in a campervan, arguably the better ones.
The Vercors: a fortress with balcony roads
The massif is entered by roads literally carved into the cliff: the Gorges de la Bourne between Villard-de-Lans and Pont-en-Royans (with its hanging houses), the Presles road, the southern approaches. Up on the plateau, Vassieux-en-Vercors and its Resistance memorial, the pastures of Font d’Urle, then the descent of the Col de Rousset with its hairpins facing the Diois. Watch your dimensions: several passages are height- or width-restricted — a van or converted van under 6 m goes everywhere, an A-class will need to pick its roads.
The Chartreuse: the monastic mountains
More intimate, more forested: Col de Porte, Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse, the Grande Chartreuse museum (the monastery itself cannot be visited, which is exactly as it should be), the Guiers gorges. Silence is a local religion here — discreet van travel is tolerated, noisy encampments are not. Re-read the wild camping rules for Europe: in regional nature parks, overnighting is governed by local bylaws posted at site entrances.
Practical notes
- Season: May-October for the high roads; autumn, with russet forests and empty car parks, is magnificent.
- Budget: campervan €75-130/day in Grenoble — noticeably less than Annecy for the same vehicle, and availability holds up even in August.
- Duration: 4 days per massif, a week for both — with a food stop for Saint-Marcellin cheese and walnut everything, the Isère valley’s twin specialities.
- Driving: engine braking on the descents, a horn tap before the narrow gorge tunnels — locals do it, so should you.
To place these massifs in a bigger itinerary, see our Alps motorhome road trip.