My husband and I are planning a trip to Provence, probably in May, 2011. Tentatively, we're thinking of 2-3 nights each in Avignon, Arles, Aix-en-Provence and Nice. We will NOT be renting a car for any part of this trip and thus would like to hear from others who have made this trip via train and/or bus with particular interest in mini-van tours to Roman sites, hill towns, wine regions etc. Hotel and dining recommendations would also be appreciated.

I stayed in Provence once without a car -- I stayed in Avignon and Aix and did day trips by train. Of course that limited me to places with a train station, but it was my first trip and that was okay with me. Oh, I also went to St Remy by bus from Avignon. I've also stayed in Nice without a car one year, for doing day trips from that point by train or bus (I took the bus to Grasse from there).

I didn't do any mini van tours, but am sure there are things like that, I remember seeing brochures in the tourist offices. I've seen some online, also, but can't make any recommendations. However, I think some of those van tours are good for things like Roman sites (not sure what you mean by that, as the main Roman sites I wanted to see were in towns, like Arles or Nimes--maybe you mean Pont du Gard) and hill towns, but I personaly would not recommend one for win regions. You don't6 really have time for that, anyway, it seems, and I'm not sure what wine region you are even thinking of touring. There are some vineyards around the Luberon, I guess.

oh, sorry, for hotel recommendations, I think you need to state your expectations and what you are willing to spend. I go pretty cheap so it may not suit you what I might know.

We really enjoyed our stay at the Hotel Cardinal in Aix. We had a 110 euro suite in the hotel annex -- it was a very large bedroom with traditional furnishing, including a sitting area with couch, a nice bathroom, and an eat-in kitchen (as I remember, I don't think there were full cooking facilities in the kitchen, but fridge, sink, and maybe a microwave or toaster oven, maybe a hot plate type setup).
It's located in a historic part of the city and we felt it was a very nice value for 110 euros -- if you're on a tight budget they do have significantly less expensive rooms although staying in the annex we did not have an opportunity to see them.

We stayed in Avignon and there were frequent buses to St. Remy. And there were organized tours easily available from Avignon, but we didn't take any. We didn't take any trips from Aix.

Stayed in Nice last year and on the advice of hotel concierge did a mini bus tour to Eze and Monaco which was a rip off! Realised later that we could have done it for a couple of euro each by bus as opposed to the 50 or so euro each it cost us. We were taken to Monaco and dumped near the palace and told not to catch the train down to Monte Carlo but told to be waiting to be picked up at a certain time and we would be taken down....which we were on our way home.....no scenic drive as advertised....tunnel all the way. Apparently driver just did what he wanted not what you had actually paid for.

We complained to the hotel and they organised a free full day trip which included Gourdon and St Paul de Vence as compensation. We did enjoy this day but wouldn't have paid the 75 euro each they normally charged given that you can catch bus 400 to St Paul for 3 or 4 euro each. Going again in April for 7 days and won't have a car. Will be using public transport which is excellent and cheap.

50 euros is a complete rip off for the eze village /monaco trip

Its easy to do a combined trip to Eze village and monaco by buses 82 or 112 to eze village [one euro] then bus 112 to monaco [one euro], then return by bus 100 [one euro] or train [under 3 euros] - the bus 112 runs any day but sunday or public holidays.
Also many of these trips drop people off at the perfume factories in Eze village and give them practically no time for sight seeing elsewhere

Bus to st paul de vence is one euro

Its easy to get just about anywhere from nice by train or bus

Of the towns on your list, Nice and Avignon offer the most choices in daytrips by public transportation or private bus tours. So maybe schedule more time in those cities, fewer days in Aix and Arles.

I'm a little worried about 2-night stops. That plus moving between destinations just doesn't give you much time. You need to take things a little easy to enjoy the Provencal lifestyle, allot time for an afternoon in a sidewalk cafe on the Cours Mirabeau etc.

Unless you have a great deal of time, much of Provence cannot be reached without a car. However, if you only have a week or so, there is still a good amount to see simply by taking the train or bus.

Avignon has good connections to much of western Provence and I would possibly spend a good amount of time here. You will want to stay within the city´s old walls, a list of hotels and restaurants is found here:

http://www.ot-avignon.fr/

Nice is similarly situated and an excellent base for exploring Eastern Provence.

You could easily make these two locations hubs and still visit all of the areas on your list.

DH and I stayed at the Aquabella Hotel in Aix. We absolutely loved the location and the hotel itself. It has a heated pool and it was perfect at the end of the day. Slippers and robes provided and my cheap DH didn't balk at the reasonable prices.

We traveled by bus or train but took a great tour that hotel booked for us to areas where car is needed. Yes, it is more expensive to take a guided tour but someone else is driving and all tickets (and even lunch sometimes) is booked by someone else! Select my name and look for "Provence Sandwich" trip report if you want to see where we went.

We had traveled by train to Arles and Avignon from Montpellier on a different trip.

The local tourist offices have multilingual van tours, and as everyone says, the local bus system will get you many places. We did Aix-Arles-Les Baux-Aix on local numbered buses, and it was fine.

Ackislander makes an excellent point. The TIs are good sources.

I can't tell if you are planning 12 nights or 8 nights (2-3 nights each). If only 8 or 10 nights, I'd pick only two places and relax a little.

I'd only visit Provence with a car, personally, but I suppose the van tours might work too. You can visit Arles from Avignon pretty easily so no need to actually stay overnight. Try to find a tour guide who will do both Van Gogh and Roman sites there, unless of course they just drop you off and let you do what you want.

Thanks so much for all your helpful replies. We will probably have to settle for 9 or 10 nights, but cannot decide which of the four cities to eliminate. Arles, Aix and Nice are most appealing to us, but Avignon sounds interesting and has van tours to Nimes, Uzes and the Pont du Gard, all places of interest to us. We also hope to visit St Remy, Les Baux and Orange from either Arles or Avignon. Our daughter recommends Aix (from which to visit Marseille and/or Cassis) and Nice from which we havent't planned any day trips. So perhaps Nice could be a 2 night stop with return to CDG from there.

I realize it would be better to have several weeks, but we're too old (70) for anything that long. We're considering Le Bristol in Avignon, Le Calendal in Arles, Le Globe in Aix and Mercure Marche aux Fleurs in Nice. Has anyone stayed at any of these? I do not have a guidebook at hand so names are approximate.

I'm with your daughter about Aix and Nice. Nice has great trains. DH and I only used bus and the van tour from Aix.

Don't know your exact plans, but there is a nice airport in Nice.

You should also realize that most of the towns and even villages in Provence have bus service to any number of places. The schedules are not necessarily tourist friendly but generally still doable. That's how many of the locals get around.

That said, you would proably be better off in a larger city ( Nice, Avignon, Arles or Aix).

You say you're 70 and that is too old for several weeks in Provence. I beg to differ! You're on your own, not on a bus tour. You can set your own schedule. Provence is the most relaxing of destinations. To get the most out of it, you must spend a lot of time relaxing at sidewalk cafes, eating good meals, trying kir and pastis and the local wine. Maybe taking a siesta.

DH (70) and I (67) are planning a driving tour in France in May. We will be gone 4 weeks. But especially with a car we can come and go when we wish. And we have done this before, most recently in Croatia and Sicily, but also in England, Italy and Germany.

We think this the ideal time in our lives to travel. No work or family responsibilities, relatively good health, lots of free time -- for researching as well as traveling.

So don't be forced into a packed itinerary. Take your time and you're younger than you think.

Don't worry about your age. When the owner of the apartment I rented in Aix was giving me tips on towns and restaurants in the area she mentioned a restaurant in a small village that was a favourite of the previous tenants --a woman in her sixties who was travelling with her 92 year old father. They were there a month and went everywhere by bus and train, as did my friends and I.

Using trains and local buses takes a bit of planning, but it can be fun. You have no worries about parking and can enjoy the scenery on route. A car is great, that's for sure, but not for everyone. I think Mimar's advice is excellent---take your time and spend a lot of it relaxing at sidewalk cafes etc. Wherever you end up I hope you will be able to visit the Pont du Gard, it is an amazing structure.