Marseille to Avignon/Arles/Chateuneuf de pape
 

Rent a car for $185 for the day or take a private car and driver for $430? We are on the Seabourn Legend and arrive Aug 15...

catch the train surely

Why is it $185 for the day? Have you shopped around? I guess it could be that much for a single-day rental.

If, as it seems, you're doing a day trip from a cruise, I'm not sure taking trains would work well at all, especially as you want to see Avignon, Arles, and CndP (I don't think you can see all of these in a day anyway). I also wouldn't pay that kind of money for a private driver.

So yes, rent a car, but do compare prices with a bunch of companies.

Sorry I had no idea what a Seaburn Legend was, are there many? Yep it depends on what time the guards will let you off.

I assume it was a typo and was supposed to be Seaborne.

not Seaburn, in any case. I never heard of it, either, but deduced it was a ship, they always have names like that and Marseille was a big clue.


You know, that is a lot of stuff to see and do in one day when you aren't familiar with the area. Both Avignon and Arles are major cities on the rail line. If money is no object, I'd take the private driver. If it is, I'd use the train and forget about Chateau whatever, it cannot be worth it. You can easily get to Avignon and/or Arles by train. What I really would suggest is you pick one of those that you most want to see and do that for the day. YOu are going to take up time just figuring out schedules and the tickets.

At today's exchange rate, that is around 300 euro for the private driver, right? I bet you could get one cheaper, but if that's 8 hrs, that isn't really an outrageous rate given that itinerary.

The following is a site for an Italian driver we hired in Perugia in 2009. It cost around $200 for the day. Stefano, the driver, does go to other countries as well or he might be able to suggest someone. http://stefanomogini.com/

I fell in love with Arles but was lukewarm about Avignon-to each his own though if it's on your list. Chateau Neuf du Pape I have not visited so can't give an opinion. Without looking at schedules, I would think you wouldn't have much visiting time trying to see 3 towns in one day by train. Agree that a driver would be better.

You could also check for van tours in the area.

I would not necessarily head to Avignon or to Chateuneuf du Pape on August 15th. It will be hot-hot-hot, no doubt, and Avignon is not a small village. There will be lots of walking and exploring to do, not at all a fun thing to do in the heat. As far as Chateuneuf du Pape ("CdP"), we were somewhat disappointed with our visit. We were talking that tourists' expectations of CdP are comparable to tourists' expectations of Hollywood here in SoCali. The name is way mightier then the site. It is just another village, not particularly scenic, with a multitude of tasting rooms, some of which will not let one taste anything prior to purchasing wine. So, not being a party pooper here, but I would probably visit several villages in the Luberon and have a nice lunch in one of them instead. As far as whether you want to drive yourself or hire a driver, I would be inclined to let someone else do the driving and narrating, perhaps.

The pope's palace in Avignon is a good visit (book with bridge visit) and the wine tasting room attached is ok if you avoid the mass visits and chat the guy up a bit)

I prefer Nimes and Arles

I was thinking Seaburn Highlanders but I'm getting old