Arles, Les Baux, St. Remy, and Aix in one day

[LostFan#1]

We had a port stop in Marseilles on the Crown Princess trans-atlantic sailing which left April 27. We were in Marseilles May 10. Below is my review of the company and what we saw. Let me know if you have any questions.

***

Eight of us from our Roll Call booked Provence Connection Tours pre-cruise for an 8-hour day at E498. Silvio kept in good email communication with us before we ever left, and I want to especially commend him for working with us on his company's deposit and cancellation policies. Silvio was willing to take us wherever we wished to go, so we chose Arles, Les Baux, and St. Remy with Aix-en-Provence if time allowed (it did, easily).

 

 

 

While Silvio was late picking us up and we were getting mildly worried, the traffic was bad, and he was apologetic. From there on, we had nothing to complain about. Silvio talked to us during the drive, answered questions, and accompanied us as we walked around each spot (except Aix). I did not expect the latter. I figured he'd park, point us in the right direction, and give us a time to meet. Not at all!! So it was an expected delight to have him walk us around, introduce us to sights, and explain them. We had a couple of slow walkers (health reasons) in our group, and to his credit, Silvio never made them feel rushed.

 

 

I wanted to see Arles, but I am not sure I would place it high on a list again. There are so many Roman ruins, it was like bring in Rome, and I wanted France!! Be sure, if you see Arles, to ask your guide (or get a good guide book) about Van Gogh and see where he painted “Starry, Starry Night.”

 

 

Les Baux was amazing! I wish we’d had more time there, so if you’re considering booking a tour with Silvio, ask for less time in Arles and more in Les Baux if wandering around that mountain-top abandoned citadel and hiking to its top levels interests you. It definitely did us, but you’d also want to make sure everyone in your group wanted to do this.

 

 

St. Remy was where Van Gogh was hospitalized (mental) for a year, and you can take a Van Gogh Walk and see reproductions of his paintings from the spot where he (probably) painted them. Doing the whole walk would probably take more time than allotted, but if this is important to you (as with Les Baux above), just tell Silvio, and I know he’ll accommodate your wishes.

 

 

Traffic was bad at times along our drive, but Silvio assured us we would have plenty of time to see Aix, even spending almost 2 hours there, and still make it back to the ship with plenty of time to spare. He was right. He did not stay with us in Aix, but before he dropped us off, he drove us around, explained the history of Aix, and suggested things to do and see. Aix seemed much more French to me, and we enjoyed just wandering around. I am not sure I would want an entire port day here, though, unless a leisurely French lunch was on my agenda.

 

 

I highly recommend this company and am a loss as to why they do not have more of a presence on Cruise Critic and even Trip Advisor (only 15 reviews).

[luckybecky]

Thanks for the excellent review of your day in Provence. A group of eight of us from my roll call have booked another company for our tour. Your guide was less than what we are paying. It's good to know that you were able to fit all of that into an eight hour day. I was wondering how much we will be able to see, as our ship sails early (4pm). We are planning a seven hour tour from 8am to 3pm. It's a market day in Aix, so we plan to go there first and visit the markets. After that, we are still open. Based on your experience, perhaps we will try to fit in Les Baux and St. Remy.

 

Thanks again for sharing your experience!

 

Becky

[LostFan#1]

You're welcome! The markets sound like fun. When we were in Aix, market stalls lined the main street, but after we wandered a while and came back to meet our driver, we thought we had to be on the wrong street as the stalls were gone! Perhaps they are a morning occurrence only? That was a Thursday.

 

Enjoy your trip - I am sure your guide will be great. I hope you can see a couple other places besides Aix; Provence is beautiful.

[Jade13]

Thanks for the excellent review of your day in Provence. A group of eight of us from my roll call have booked another company for our tour. Your guide was less than what we are paying. It's good to know that you were able to fit all of that into an eight hour day. I was wondering how much we will be able to see, as our ship sails early (4pm). We are planning a seven hour tour from 8am to 3pm. It's a market day in Aix, so we plan to go there first and visit the markets. After that, we are still open. Based on your experience, perhaps we will try to fit in Les Baux and St. Remy.

 

Thanks again for sharing your experience!

 

Becky

 

Who are you using? We will be in Toulon and so far all the guides I have contacted are either booked or are too far from where we want to go.

 

Are these guides all cash that day with no deposit upfront? Thanks.

[LostFan#1]

I can't speak for Becky above, but we used Provence Connection Tours. I do not know if they go into Toulon, but find their website here

http://provence-connection-tours.com/

 

We paid a deposit with Paypal and then the remainder in cash at the end of our day (+ tip).

[luckybecky]

Who are you using? We will be in Toulon and so far all the guides I have contacted are either booked or are too far from where we want to go.

 

Are these guides all cash that day with no deposit upfront? Thanks.

 

We are using Catherine D'Antuono at Provence-travel dot com. She is not requiring any deposit from us. We will pay the full amount in cash on the day of the tour. She has been very quick to respond to my emails. She is charging 520 euro for 8 passengers for a 7 to 7 1/2 hour tour, picking us up at 7:30 am and going til about 3pm.

 

You may also try alain@ventoux-decouvertes.com . I emailed him a couple of times and he was also very quick to respond and helpful, but we just decided to go with Catherine instead. If I remember correctly, he was also cash payment on the day of the tour, with no deposit required.

 

I have never used either of these companies before, so I can't vouch for them. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we've chosen a good one!

 

Good luck! I hope you find someone.

[hubofhockey]

I wanted to see Arles, but I am not sure I would place it high on a list again. There are so many Roman ruins, it was like bring in Rome, and I wanted France!! Be sure, if you see Arles, to ask your guide (or get a good guide book) about Van Gogh and see where he painted “Starry, Starry Night.”

 

 

Les Baux was amazing! I wish we’d had more time there, so if you’re considering booking a tour with Silvio, ask for less time in Arles and more in Les Baux if wandering around that mountain-top abandoned citadel and hiking to its top levels interests you. It definitely did us, but you’d also want to make sure everyone in your group wanted to do this.

 

I highly recommend this company and am a loss as to why they do not have more of a presence on Cruise Critic and even Trip Advisor (only 15 reviews).

 

We saw three cities/attractions in Provence from Marseille last summer. Our guide did take us to see the setting for Van Gogh's Garden of the Hopsital. That was outstanding as well. I would recommend Arles to anyone with a Marseille port of call. I am not sure if you entered the arena. It, of course, is modeled after the Colisseum, although smaller. However, the great thing about Rome in Provence is that the buildings are preserved and even in use today (as opposed to Rome, where all you have are ruins). The Arena is still in use today and visiting it should be high on a tourist's list. As you say, Arles is still France and all of us enjoyed crepes for breakfast.

 

I agree with you on Les Baux. If there is another place like it, I haven't seen it. A city built into the rocks is something to see.

 

Our third stop was the Pont du Gard. That's an amazing structure and shows off the brilliance of the Roman empire (again, in what is now Provence).

 

Our tour was with Provence Reservation and I highly recommend them. Margeline was our guide. 5 to 8 people is 480 euros. http://www.provencereservation.com/01-private-tours/124-arles-les-baux-saint-remy-de-provence-01-private-tours.html

 

 

One of the reasons that you don't see much on Cruise Critic about guides and companies in Marseille (and Provence) is that Marseille is a growing port and more and more cruise lines are just now starting to use it. Using the guides/driver guides is important in this region because it is a great way to see multiple places. There are trains from Marseille to the cities (including Arles). But to see more than one, you'll need other transportation and that means renting a car or using a guide. I am glad that we splurged a bit at this port. It was well worth it and I don't know we'll ever have the opportunity to return.

[Jade13]

We are using Catherine D'Antuono at Provence-travel dot com. She is not requiring any deposit from us. We will pay the full amount in cash on the day of the tour. She has been very quick to respond to my emails. She is charging 520 euro for 8 passengers for a 7 to 7 1/2 hour tour, picking us up at 7:30 am and going til about 3pm.

 

You may also try alain@ventoux-decouvertes.com . I emailed him a couple of times and he was also very quick to respond and helpful, but we just decided to go with Catherine instead. If I remember correctly, he was also cash payment on the day of the tour, with no deposit required.

 

I have never used either of these companies before, so I can't vouch for them. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we've chosen a good one!

 

Good luck! I hope you find someone.

 

Catherine was booked for our date. So was another Alain (I think a differant company).