I'm planning to start my journey from Marseille and visit Aix and if possible go up to Cavaillon and explore Le Petit Luberon. Do you think I should definitely rent a car for visiting les Calanques, Cassis and the small villages of Luberon or can I just take the train/bus combination out of Marseille or Aix?

So perhaps two or three days to visit les calanques (a boat excursion?) and cassis for swimming and sun bathing and spend the rest of the trip (5-6 days) visiting the local markets, eating excellent food, wine tasting and exploring the cultural sites?

Any suggestions will be highly appreciated. Thank you.

You definitely need to rent a car. If you click my name, I have a few trip reports of similar trip, that you can read. We spent a single day visiting Cassis and thought that was sufficient. We preferred spending more time on The Luberon.

Thank you DebitNM, I'll check out your trip reports.

Agree you need a car. Here's the link to my trip report - which includes the Luberon towns and Aix

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...swiss-alps.cfm

You don't need a car for Cassis, but you would for the Luberon.

I just came back with pretty much the exact same schedule (plus Nice) and have to say that you need a car to see Provence. I also have to say that the driving was super easy!

Thank you Monica!