We have one day left in Arles that we have not scheduled yet. We were thinking of perhaps driving back towards the Luberon but another idea that seems appealing would be to drive down to the Mediterranean and spend a day relaxing on the beach. Might be a nice way to end off our trip. There is a town about 30 minutes drive from Arles called Saintes Maries De Le Mer that looks like a possibility. Is anyone familiar with that town or does anyone have any other suggestions for a day on the coast?

Saintes Maries is a good choice. It's in the Carmargue area, so the drive down there is also interesting. Quite a different town compered to the rest of the towns you are visiting, so I think it is a good choice. Cassis east of marseille is also a really nice city to visit if you want to see the seaside.

In my mind you have way too much on your agenda, it seems hard to experience the places when you have to rush through like that, but that is just my opinion.

Alb.

Albatrost.... Perhaps we are too ambitious with our itinenary but we both have agreed that we will not be driven by a schedule. We plan to take it easy and adjust depending on how we feel. I did cut back on the Luberon drive based on Stu's schedule. Do you see any other particular day or days that are too full or is it the overall schedule?

I also have 2 days to plan and am considering Stu's Luberon itinerary for 1 day. Staying in Marseilles overnight and have a car, is it worth splitting that Luberon agenda into 2 days or is there another area worth visiting from Matseilles as a base?

Great advice! I am saving for next year.

Hello Jim143 - I was wondering how your Day 2 (Day 2. Tour Luberon area. Circular route; Gorges/ Menerbes/Bonnieux/Saigon/Sault/Lioux/Roussillon) worked out for you. Was it too busy, stressful? Was it difficult to find parking? We are planning to visit the area in July 2015 for the first time - my husband (although a very good driver) has never driven in a foreign country (other than Canada) and I wanted to make sure we the trip will be enjoyable for him as well. Sometimes driving can be stressful. Thanks.

Milaedg - Our Luberon tour was a highlight for sure. We started our day at the Senanque Abbey which was on our way towards Gordes. It was July 2 and the lavender was in full bloom. Great photo opportunities there. Gordes is not far from the abbey. There is lots of parking in the middle of town. Touristy but some nice little shops. We bought some sandwiches and had a picnic just outside town. From Gordes we drove to Menerbes. Easy parking just at the edge of town and public toilets. We never had any problem with toilets....all the towns we visited had public facilities. From Menerbes we drove towards Lacoste but following Stu's advice, never actually went into town but took some great photos across the valley of Bonnieux. We then drove to Bonnieux. After strolling around Bonnieux we drove north towards Roussillon but stopped at the old Roman bridge at Pont Julien. Roussillon was the last town of our day. Again parking and public toilets were no problem. Our initial plan had a couple of more stops but we modified as the day went on. We probably didn't leave our hotel until mid morning so that shortened our day somewhat. But we both found the day very relaxing...no stress... very enjoyable. If we had left earlier we probably would have visited Oppede de Veux. This was my first time driving in Europe as well. I was a little nervous taking that on, but you take it from me that there is nothing to worry about. Driving was no different than driving in any rural area in Canada. Traffic was very light, which I found surprising, and I didn't have any problem with the infamous French drivers. Parking was never a problem...all of the towns we visited had lots of parking. The main difference I found was that many of the rural roads are quite narrow and there are lots of round a bouts. Your husband will enjoy the drive. One thing I did find invaluable was a GPS. You could rent a car with one but we brought our own. It made getting around a breeze plus it removed any stress from my wife who would have had to copilot otherwise. To get the route I wanted to drive I found it useful to put in intermediate towns...there may be easier ways to program it but that worked for me. So every now and again I hauled out our map and plotted the next leg of the route.

Thank you for your wonderful account of Day 2! What a fun day you had ---and it sounds like driving and parking are not a big deal! We will definitely bring our own GPS (to complement the good, old-fashioned map which my husband prefers anyway) - since I will be a passenger and navigator, I will have the GPS to blame if we get lost!

We were so happy we had gps and so happy to have a Smart Car! It fit into small places and it held two large suitcases. We are a decade older and have no problem driving in France.