JClare

Can anyone recommend the best way to get from Lourmarin to Marseille using public transportation? Is there a direct bus or do you need to go to Aix? We need to pick up a car in Marseille. Would it be best to get the car at the airport? After picking up the car we drive to St. Remy.

DebitNM

Can't you rent a car either in Aix or other nearby town? Why go all the way to Marseille to rent a car and then drive to St Remy? Seems like a long way to go about it.

JClare

We are going on a walking trip in Provence that ends in Lourmarin.... But good point, we could go to Aix and rent a car. We fly out of Marseille at the end of our trip so eventually we need to get back there . So does it make sense to take a bus from Lourmain to Aix, rent a car there for a week in Provence based in St. Remy, return car to Aix and get a bus from there to Marseilles? This is our first trip to Provence so I am unsure of the best way to navigate.

DebitNM

I would rent a car in Aix, drive it around and then return it to Marseille. There is no need to return it where you rented. We did that using kemwel.com. I called on the phone to be sure they would not give us rental company that charged a one way drop off fee. We ended up getting Europcar thru Kemwel. Also, I highly suggest using an AMEX credit card to pay for the car and buying AMEXs car rental insurance which is $24.95 for first party insurance. We had damage to our car and AMEX paid for all charges( almost $900).

JClare

Thank you for your excellent advice. Much appreciated. As you seem to have good knowledge of Provence, any special restaurants to recommend?

DebitNM

Where? Provence is a pretty broad stroke? We had a wonderful meal in Marseille and one near Apt, neither inexpensive but wonderful.
http://www.unetableausud.com/ in Marseille

La Coquillade's restaurant in Gargas
http://www.relaischateaux.com/en/sea...llade/services

For an overview of the area, check this out, it is where we stayed:
http://www.accommodationinprovence.com/The_Region.html

JeffTWA

Go for a croissant, then pick up morning coffee at Cafe Gaby. They'll let you take the morning coffees home, then bring the tray back later. Lourmarin is a lovely village with so many art galleries and sights/villages nearby when you have a car. Enjoy.

DebitNM

The market in Lourmarin is one of our favorites. We used to get several of the rotisserie meats for our weeks dinners. They were delish and reasonable. They are at the far end of the market, just a bit around the corner

JClare

Are there buses from Lourmarin to Aix? We will rent a car there and return it to Marseille. Thank you for the suggestion of Kemwel.com and using AMEX. We are staying in St. Remy and will use that as a base to explore before returning to Marseile.

HappyCheesehead

There is also a Europcar location in Pertuis if you are picking up during the week - that office is closed Sat and Sun. It is about 20 kilometers from Lourmarin, perhaps there is a bus or taxi you could take? The price seems to be the same from Pertuis to Marseille airport as Aix to Marseille airport when I picked a random week in Sept. Can you drive a manual? It is much less expensive and that is all they seem to have in Pertuis.

Is your walking tour an organized one? Perhaps you can ask them for ideas about how to get from Lourmarin to your car rental pick city.

Along with Kemwel, check prices on AutoEurope - both brokers are huge favorites here on Fodors. Sometimes they are the same, sometimes one co has a better price than the other. They are some kind of sister companies located in the same office in the US and their customer service is terrific.

I use the Amex premium coverage as well. I am waiting on a claim as we speak - our iPad was stolen from our car (while we were in it!) in Marseille by a petty criminal on a motorcycle. He got us as we were waiting for the gate to go up at the Marseille train station so that we could drop off our rental car. Ack - we were just FEET (meters?) away from handing the keys over.

JClare

Thanks to everyone for all this good advice. I will be careful with my iPad! Sorry to hear yours was stolen and so close to turning in the car! I have another question. We will be returning to Marseille with our car and plan to spend three days there before our flight home. I don't think my husband or I will enjoy driving there. I am thinking we will return the car when we arrive. What is the best place to return the car? I see there are many options for car return.

Again, many thanks in advance. Everyone here has helped me so much!