P_M

Hello all. My sister and I will be docking on June 26 in Marseilles We would like to see the lavender fields but the ship excursion is booked. Does anyone know a guide or driver who would take us? I've thought of renting a car but I can't get very excited about that.

Thanks.

mjs

I am sure there are Viatour tours to Provence. Viatour is a reseller but it should give you some ideas. How long are you in port?

StuDudley

Lavender fields on the Valensole Plateau would be your best bet. With a side trip to Moustiers.

Stu Dudley

PJ94

Hi,
On the Musement website, search for lavender tour from Marseille.
I've pinpointed 2 tours :
Lavender in Sault and tour of Gordes and Roussillon
Lavender tour to Valensole from Marseille
Have a great tour !

P_M

The ship will dock at 8am and sail at 6pm, but of course we want to be back on the ship around 5pm.

P_M

PJ94, I will check the website now, thanks.

Stu, I sure wish you were going with us. 😀

P_M

PJ94, unfortunately we have exactly 10 hours in port, and the shorter of those tours is 9 hours. I can't seem to find the departure/return times, but even if it does fit our schedule, we would have a very narrow window of time to get to the joining point and to get back to the ship.

It was very good of you to look into this and I appreciate you.

StuDudley

I will actually be in the region when you are there. We'll be just outside of Nice - up in the mountains!!

Stu Dudley

Christina

That would be possible from Avignon or Aix, probably, they have some half day tours. I've seen one that might fit but it doesn't go on that day of the week. This is the one

https://bonjourprovencetours.com/gro...lds-valensole/

You could easily visit Cassis if you want, but I'd just spend the day in Marseille, there is enough to see there.
https://www.marseille-tourisme.com/e...ubagne-by-bus/

But if you really want to hire a driver, you can but it will be very expensive. I can't recommend one but you can find options on getyourguide.

HEre is one by Marseille Driver Service, costs $771 for a group up to at least 6. So that might be worth it to you if you could find at least one other couple to go with you. Four others would be ideal.

https://www.getyourguide.com/valenso...ields-t659920/

Green83

I would go to the cruise critic boards for advice because most cruise ships now dock at Gares du Mole Leon Gourret (Fos) a few miles away from the old port. You want to make sure you sign up for a tour from the correct port. The good news is this port is a little closer to your destination.

mjs

Maybe not what you want but are there often rental car offices at many cruise ports. With GPS you could do it although sometimes navigating cities are a pain.

P_M

Thanks again everyone, I put a note on roll call in Cruise Critic.

gooster

Just a quick note, late June is the earlier part of the lavender, so you'll have the most success at the lower elevations, like the Luberon Valley. The Valensole plateau is the largest but you'll be on the front end of the season, depending on the spring weather. Sault is the last to come into full bloom, due to a higher elevation.

P_M

Gooster, you gave me an idea. The ship does have an excursion to Roussillon. There's a stop at Chateau de Lourmarun and a viewpoint near Gordes. Will we be able to see the lavender fields from any of these places?

StuDudley

We were in the Luberon for the entire month of June last year. Lavendin (stuff planted on the Valensole plateau) was in "good" bloom mid June, and in full bloom the last week of June. We visited it twice - around June 15 and June 28. There is a lavendin field between Goult & Bonnieuz on the D36 that was in full bloom the last 2 weeks of June. We stayed in Goult the last two weeks, so we saw it quite a bit. If your field trip goes from Lourmarin, over the Combe de Lourmarin, to Bomnnieux (the only route that is practical ), and then to Gordes, you will go past this field. However, the "lavender cops" often patrol this D36 road and will not let anyone out of the car to admire the field. They caught us once. The views of Bonnieux from this route are fabulous. However, if the bus goes from Bonnieux to Roussillon, the driver may take the D149 and you will not see lavender.

We also visited the fields around Sault the last week of June & it was in bloom. But this is normal lavender and not as robust as lavendin.

We've visited the field in front of Senanque Abbey several times in the past 25 years, and sometimes the bloom was poor in late June. We did not visit it last year. Once, there was not lavender planted at all!

Last year the weather was mild & rainy at time the first 2 weeks of June, and then a scorcher the last 2 weeks.

Stu Dudley

P_M

Thanks for your input Stu. I would hate to be arrested by the Lavender Cops, but what a great story I could tell when I got home. 😀

It was a long time ago when I went to Roussillon, but I remember the town being on a hilltop. Are there any views of the fields from Roussillon?

StuDudley

Nope - I didn't see any when we were there last year. You want to be close to the fields for the full experience. But watch out for the bees.

Stu

P_M

Oh rats. 😞 I'll find a way. Thanks again.

StuDudley

Bribe the driver to take the D36 between Bonnieux and the D900 (main road in the upper Luberon).

Stu Dudley

StuDudley

The lavender field is on the west side of the D36. The D36 is also the D194 when it leaves Bonnieux.

Stu Dudley