Dear Fodorites
I need advice and suggestions for a tenth anniversary trip to Provence next June.
My mom was from France, so I have been to France several times, but only to Paris or to visit family in the Vosges, which is beautiful however I have never been to other parts of the country as trips have always been centered on visiting family.
My wife and I, along with another couple will be spending a week in Provence, but we are not exactly sure where. We would like:
A villa/house/farm/ with a pool and a view that does not have a Saturday to Saturday renting requirement as we will be arriving on a Monday. Our budget is 2500 Euros max for the week.
To have the vacation mostly relaxing with 3-4 day trips 1 of which will be bicycling through the camargue. Would love suggestions here as well. We like wine tasting, outdoors, and people watching. Roman ruins do nothing for us.
After the week, we will be splitting up with our friends for three days alone time. We were thinking of a spa in the area, any suggestions on a spa or something very romantic.
To sum up: ideas on non Saturday villa rentals, where to base, and what to do?

Thanks

topping for mitch

What does that mean??

"Topping" means your question is moved to the top of the listed topics--more likly others will see and respond to your question.

Your budget is generous but you realize that your Monday entry and departure cuts into two weeks of a landlord's season. I think you will have to negotiate to make your plan work and your budget may allow you to be successful.

What areas of Provence interest you?

I think you must go with the landdowners dates, no matter what kind of accomadations you want. If you want to bike in the Camargue, you should maybe base yourself in Arles or St Remy.

What made you choose the Camargue for a bicycle destination??

I would have chosen the Luberon or around Bedoin/Mt Ventoux/Dentelles.

BTW, the gite we rent with a large pool, 3 bedrooms/2 baths & a walk to town costs around 750E per week in June. 1,500E if you want Monday to Monday.

Stu Dudley

I would check out Provence Paradise in St. Remy. Great central location and fabulous hamlet of villas. www.provenceparadise.com

Thank you all, Stu, due to its flatness, the Camargue was suggested by some articles I had read. After investigating further, I thought it sounded fun.

Where do I find the gite you rent, is there a site I should look at? Can I contact you directly?

Suz, thanks for the website.

We are stuck with our Sunday departure.

Thanks for the ideas and help

I don't divulge specifics about Gites we rent - the competition is already stiff. If find them on the Gites-de-France site
http://www.gites-de-france.com/gites/uk/rural_gites

If you want my 27 page Provence & Cote d'Azur itinerary that I've sent to around 1,500 people on Fodors, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail.

Stu Dudley

I know that PP has some Monday through Monday rentals. Don't know about size and cost as we rented Sat. through Sat.

I understand the appeal of the flatness of the Camargue but from everything I've read the mosquitoes are ferocious. Be aware and prepare.

Please contact a very professional and reliable agency called "Just france" (Berwyn, PA)http://www.justfrance.com/
they ahve a huge selection of villas and rentals in Provence. I would also suggest St Remy de Provence, Maussane or Fontvieille as a base, but the Luberon region is just stunning.
For your excursions, we know a native chauffeur-guide, Marlene BOYER .She's great ! her tour company is EXPERIENCE PROVENCE;
www.experience-provence.eu

Hope it helps !

For the spa/romantic portion of your trip, check out Hotel Particulieur in Arles (http://www.hotel-particulier.com/v2/en). We stayed there in the summer of 2008 and it is one of my all time favorite hotels ever. The grounds are beautiful and the food was amazing. It is located just outside the city center of Arles, easily walkable to shops and restaurants. The hotel has a spa, but I didn't do any spa treatments. Based on the quality of everything else at the hotel I would guess the spa is wonderful as well.

If you do book there, know that it is hard to find. It is tucked into an alley surrounded by several other buildings. Once you enter the gate, though, you feel like you have been transported to another world. I can't wait to go back!!