mmojll63

We are traveling to Provence from April 25 through April 29th. Staying in Avignon. Interested in seeing the following:

- day trip to Luberon
- St. Remy/Arles/Les Baux
- Marseilles/Aix-en-Provence
- Any Other Suggestions are Welcome!

Interested in small group tour guide(s) (6-8 people) recommendations. Have found several that will travel from our base in Avignon but really want to take a day and see Marseilles/Aix. Haven't been able to find any tour guides that will meet us in Avignon and take us to Marseilles/Aix and then back to our hotel.

Appreciate any suggestions that you may have in terms of tour guides. We prefer not to get a car. Even though we've traveled extensively, the trips have mostly been on Silversea or Seabourn and we find tour guides and or use the ship tours. As a result, we really haven't traveled much "in country" via vehicle transportation.

Thanking you in advance. Michelle (Florida, USA)

greg

Marseilles/Aix/Arles are connected by frequent trains from Avignon. What value are you expecting a tour guide to provide you?

St. Remy is reachable enough from Avignon by bus, while Les Baux is easier to reach by bus from Arles. St. Remy is not that far from Avignon, and Les Baux is not that far from Arles, so hiring a taxi, by meter or by a fixed price, might come out less than booking a small group dedicated tour. Of course, you don't get a guide with a taxi.

Luberon mountains area would require a car/tour as bus connections are very poor.

ira

Hi mm,

www.voyages-sncf.com will take you first class from Avignon to Marseille or Aix-en-Provence in 35 min or less for about 28 Euro pp each way.

From there, you can arrange for a tour of the cities.

I suggest having your guide pick you up in one and drop you off in the other. It will save 1/2 hr travel time at no additional cost.

Edward2005

I just found France Prestige Tours which may be worth a look. I have not used them as I'm presently researching my first trip to the area.

http://www.provencesightseeing.fr/PB....asp?ID=712352

Sassafrass

There is a bus that does kind of figure 8 trips: Arles, Les Baux, Avignon, Les Baux, Arles, etc.

In Arles, it picks up and let's off just across the street from the train station and is super cheap, just a few Euro, and sometimes big discounts down to a euro. In Les Baux, it lets off a short walk from the entrance to the city.

By train between Arles and Avignon is a very short, cheap ride. You can take shuttle/bus from the station to the city center of Avignon.

For Arles, pick up a guide book and map. The train station is about a 15-20 minute walk into the city center.

You do not need a guide for Arles or Les Baux.

It would be kind of rushed, but you could take the bus from Avignon to Les Baux, walk and sight see, take the bus on to Arles, walk, sightsee, have dinner, take the train to Avignon. Just be sure of train times from Arles. You could also do the trip in reverse: Arles in the morning, Les Baux in the late afternoon, back to Avignon, but you would not have as much time in Arles.

Personally, would not try to see Marseille and Aix in one day. There is a relatively new museum in Marseille that is beautiful and the harbor is really pretty, but Aix (one of my favorite small cities anywhere) is lovely, and I would spend the day there. It has huge Leafy trees, beautiful little plazas, fountains, nice markets, good shopping, excellent breads and fabulous food. There is a shuttle (think it was free, but can't remember), that you can take from place to place, though it is walkable. Absolutely no guide needed, just a map and small guide book. If you take the train, save time and grab a taxi to take you to the city center. Save your legs for walking in town.

grandmere

Forgive me for hijacking this thread, but I'm looking to do something similar, only leaving from Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. So, correct me if I'm wrong: I could take train from ISLS to Arles, where I could spend some time, then take bus or taxi to Les Baux, and then the reverse to get back to ISLS. Sounds like a lot for one day, but I do want to go to both Arles and Les Baux. Anyone have any better ideas for seeing these places from ISLS w/o a car? I might have to do this in 2 separate trips rather than all one day. Thank you!

I will be with my teenage granddaughter, and this is my first time in this area w/o a car, and I'm trying to plan some interesting day trips.

Sassafrass

To the OP and Grandmere,

There are posters who are much more expert on France and Provence than me, but hope this helps some.

Things change and I am not current on them but be sure to check bus schedules from Arles because I think the schedules change from summer to year round, so reduced in Fall and Winter, and there are week day schedules and weekend schedules.

Grandmere,
Yes, it is possible, but not really a good plan IMHO because train time from ISLS to Arles takes about 1 hour and 1/4. Travel time from Arles to Les Baux takes a bit over 30 minutes, so 1 & 3/4 hours each way making total time coming and going
3 & 1/2 hours. In Arles, walking to city center - 20-25 minutes, about 10 minutes uphill walk from bus stop to Les Baux.

I would not do both in one day from ISLS, but if you do, go straight on to Les Baux in the morning for a couple of hours, then spend the afternoon and evening in Arles, giving you a bit more time there.

If you do it on different days, I think it is a under and hour and a half to go to Les Baux via Avignon. You could go to Les Baux in the morning, have lunch there and spend the late afternoon in Avignon.

grandmere

Thanks, Sassafrass: yes, I think it's pretty crazy for me to try to do this all in one day.
To clarify: I can get to Les Baux by bus from Avignon w/o going to Arles first, though, correct?

In retrospect seems like renting an apartment in Avignon would have made more sense, but the charm of ISLS was the deciding factor.

Sassafrass

Yes, bus from Avignon to Les Baux is possible. Check schedules.
You could also rent a place in Arles. I liked it, but it may not appeal so much to others. Sunny days are pretty in Arles and the food market is wonderful, but it can also be gray - atmospheric, but also gloomy.

grandmere

Sassafrass, I've already rented the place in ISLS, and do find Arles to be a bit gloomy for a week-long stay. But again, Arles might have been better, transportation-wise. Thanks for all your help!

grandmere

Sassafrass, you say that it's a 10 min. uphill walk to Les Baux from the bus stop; as I remember, it's then a climb up to the main part of the village itself. So a lot of uphill walking to reach where we'd want to be. Last time I was there was over 20 years ago, and we arrived by car and easily parked, etc. Is the walk from the bus stop along the side of the road, etc., or is there a path? Thanks; don't mean to belabor this but I don't want to get myself into something that might be too difficult.

Sassafrass

Sometimes I just walk and don't pay close attention, but as I recall, your memory is correct. We walked upward first along the road, then on a path/walkway, then more uphill walking into the village center. Views as we walked were pretty, so I didn't think too much about it as we walked, but it was a bit of a hike. Good to have as much info as possible, and you know your own strength. Truthfully, I am not in fit shape and was about 69 when we went, and it was doable for me.

greg

The seasonal bus #57 Avignon-Les Baux-Arles schedule is here: http://www.lepilote.com/ftp/FR_docum...57ete-2015.pdf Look at the pink schedule on the right.

And the bus stop in Les Baux is shown here: http://www.lepilote.com/plan/index.a...n_id=651#Carto

See the bus top sign? Now look up. See how much you would climb to get to the top?
https://goo.gl/maps/DbYHMjuQaGQ2

Ackislander

These are the kinds of answers that keep me coming back here: responsive, non-snarky, informative.

Greg, I can only say these are brilliant.

Of course, good questions elicit good answers.

Well done, All!

grandmere

Well put, Ackilander! All responses have been so helpful; my thanks to all.

Greg, those are great links; thanks so much. I think I can do that walk!