Truffle Hunting in Provence

Awesome Hospitality and very informative

About an hour outside of Avignon is this cute little town with a hidden gem of a tour. Don’t miss this if you have a few hours. Our tour guide, Johann, dogs and truffle hunter were awesome. Johann was very engaging with each of the guests and gave us a great education on the truffle industry in a very entertaining way. My husband wasn’t sure he would enjoy this and surprise, surprise, it was terrific. Not only did we learn how this difficult process works, but we got to eat the truffles.!!!

Learned so much and loved seeing the dogs in action. The tasting was great. A wonderful experience all around.

We had a fabulous afternoon learning about truffle farming and then went truffle hunting with the adorable dogs. The tastings at the end with champagne were delicious. Overall it was a really great experience and thoroughly enjoyable. Thank you .

It was an excellent truffle hunting experience. The host was funny, passionate, and extremely knowledgeable about truffles. We had a wonderful time learning about truffles, hunting for them, and enjoying them afterward.

The truffle-hunting experience at Les Pastras in November was absolutely fantastic: Johann and his crew did a wonderful job of explaining the cultivation of truffles, taking us out with the dogs to search for this "black gold", and serving delicious truffle hors d'oeuvre and champagne. This was probably our most memorable adventure while in Provence...highly recommended!!!

The best! I am not usually excited by outdoorsy experiences. Host was fantastic, well informed, & gracious. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly the time flew by! Highly recommend.

Highlight of our trip to Provence! Couldn’t have had a more perfect day. From the welcoming entrance to the champagne and truffle goodbye; this is an experience you won’t want to miss! The explanation of terroir, the hunt, and the correct usage of the truffles once found was executed in an educational and entertaining way keeping us laughing for hours. Did I mention the cute truffle hunting dogs? Adorable!

I really enjoyed my morning with Johan, learning about truffles and finding some with his dogs. The activity was less "outdoorsy" than I expected. A lot of it is learning about truffles, seeing the trees and how the truffles are farmed, etc, then a fairly short truffle hunt with the dogs, then time spent tasting different truffle dishes with champagne. You don't need to walk too far, do wear a hat, lots of time in the sun. Johan is really funny and entertaining, and we learned tons. It is something very unique and unusual, and I would recommend it to anyone, as a unique French countryside experience.

As the evening unfolded we all hoped it would never end. Johann is the perfect host. Generous, informative, funny and patient. The dogs, caramel and éclairé, were focussed when in full flow but friendly and gorgeous when we were allowed to cuddle them. We loved Jean-Marc’s enthusiasm leaping and capering in pursuit of the dogs and his gentle encouragement when they found something else to interest them non-truffly. The visit begins with a VERY interesting talk at the start, we all learned loads. The truffle hunt is exciting and really interesting to watch as the dogs quarter the ground on the hunt of the scent of truffle. Afterwards truffle is served in a variety of ways, each of them delicious, along with a choice of Champagne, grape juice and water. It’s one of those experiences we’ll return to next year as it’s not just about the information. It’s about the welcoming feel that Johann and Co provide. The sense of warmth and joi de vivre that you drive off with into the darkness of the gorgeous Provençal countryside is worth it for the entry price alone. Our teenage boys spent the whole 55 minute journey home reliving the experience. Fantastique! À bientôt, j'espère l'année prochaine. Mark et sa famille