Hi everyone - I have read some great suggestions on other forums on travel itineraries for spending 3 full days in Provence. We are going to be staying just east of Arles from Sept 20-23.
In as much as I would like to "see it all", I am trying to opt for quality vs quantity and trying to group places of interest by what makes sense geographically taking travel times into account. I would love to see Aix and visit a market, but not sure where I can fit it in.
This is still a work in progress and would appreciate any feedback on what I am proposing

Thurs:
* arrive in Avignon mid-afternoon; pick up rental car
* time depending-see Palais des Papes
* make our way to accommodations east of Arles (~ 40 mins fr/Avignon)
* Arles somewhere for dinner (suggestions?) and do a walking tour after dinner

Friday: Explore the Camargue in the am (drive-thru and do a short hike), Pont du Gard (pick up some food and have a picnic lunch along the river?), Uzes, Les Baux or St Remy (late afternoon - dinner?)
(Can I reasonably get anything else in?)

Saturday or Sunday: Explore the Luberon -
Lourmarin? (see below)
Bonnieux (view from outside the village only)
Apt (explore market - should we go there first?)
Saignon
Roussillon (lunch here?)
Gordes (take picture from "the spot")
Abbaye de Senanque? worth a visit?
Lourmarin (on the return instead of the beginning?)
* I have read that the traffic can be really nasty on Saturday here due to the market in Apt - would it likely be bad late Sept as well? If not, then we would opt to see the Luberon on Saturday.

Sunday:
* explore Aix in am (lunch)
* Marseille in pm (dinner)?
* or back to Aix for dinner before we head home? Honestly, I am less interested in seeing Marseille, but it is closer to Aix so I added it in. Anything else I would be better off seeing rather than spending time in Marseille?

Many thanks in advance for any and all feedback!

Wow!

That is one very busy itinerary.

You might check the distances between Arles and these cities. It will eat up a lot of time for traveling.

Have cash for the tolls as some American CC won't work.

www.viamichelin.com for routs and times.

It's about an hour to Aix, that is, if you can get to where you want to go, and parking, etc....

I would hit isle sur la sorge on Sunday for their amazing market. Keep in mind most other towns will be shut up and closed on Sunday so do your luberon drive on the Saturday. Also towns close up midday for lunch.

It may be dark by the time you are finished dinner as they tend to start later, like 7:30-8:00ish.

Search for Stu Dudley and email him for his Provence file, it is fantastic!

Your Saturday or Sunday day is pretty packed. I'm not sure you will be able tto enjoy your destinations as you will have so little time in each. We love the Gordes, Rousillon area and the Abbaye de Senanque is definitely well worth a visit although the lavendar will be long gone.

I don't know what to suggest you drop but, in the case of Provence, less is more. Try to visit a Provencal market - we love the Arles market but I'm not sure it will fit with your schedule.

Have a wonderful trip.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

Rastaguytoday: thanks for the viamichelin link. Times/distances will interject alot of reality!

Jamikins: I was wondering about Sunday and whether there would be any point going to towns, so thank you for confirming. Maybe that's a good day to wander the Camargue. Have read some of Stu Dudley's suggestions... I will contact him. Thanks!

Mamcalice: I will bear in mind your mantra "less is more" when rejigging this itinerary.

Looks like still alot of work to be done on this. Back to the drawing board.

Regarding the Camargue: You can neither drive or hike through the Camargue. I strongly recommed to explore the Camargue on horseback in order to see the flamingoes. Even a short ride will be a great experience. Be prepared to change clothes after the ride (they will be wet).

Here are the websites of stables:

http://www.camargue.com.fr/pages/aajcheva.html

The lavender fields in by the Sénanque Abbey are now used for growing wheat.

traveller1959, we drove through the Camargue, seeing the horses and bulls along the way. Not all parts of the Camargue can be reached by car, of course, but one can still see at least some of that iteresting area.

freedom2011, think of the old adage about taking half the clothes and twice the money and apply it to your itinerary. If you prune it severely you will have a much more pleasant trip.

Of course you can drive through and hike in the Camargue; there are roads and paths everywhere. Of course horses can go places cars can't, but you can still wander all over the Camargue with a car.

freedom2011, I think you'll actually end up executing about half of what you're planned, but that's OK.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and advice.

traveller1959 - the guidebook I am using offers some great drives and walks through the Camargue, which is what gave me the idea. The couple we are traveling with sadly are not "horse people" otherwise, I would love to do the horseback tour.

Underhill & StCirq - At heart I know you are right, but the urge is still there to cram as much in as possible. OK, I am motivated to slash my days down considerably, so I have more time for leisurely cafes and du vin!

Why don't you have the plans and see how your days unfold...you can decide what to cut on the fly...

Jamikins - I expect that is probably a good way to approach it, since it is sounding like we won't get to everything on my itinerary. Can you tell me how to find Stu Dudley's email? It is not listed on his profile. Thanks again!

What great advice! I am filing this away for next summer.

I just did a search for Stu Dudley's address, and it's

[email protected].

Underhill - thanks for supplying Stu Dudley's email address. I understand he has put together a suggested itinerary for seeing Provence and would love to contrast and compare.