Anyone have a an excursion to recommend from Marseille?

[bluecruisin]

Thanks for any help. Currently Celebrity has none listed. Any private companies?

[mskaufman]

Pick one that goes to Provence.  We went to Les Baux, Avignon and Arles.

[Hlitner]

4 hours ago, mskaufman said:

Pick one that goes to Provence.  We went to Les Baux, Avignon and Arles.

Just as a matter of info, Marseille is part of Provence :).   We would also add Aix en Provence and Arles to your list.  A bit further is Pont du Gard which is also interesting, especially for history buffs.

 

Hank

[bennybear]

We enjoyed visiting Cassis and the beautiful Calanques.   

[Hlitner]

Marseille is a "gateway" port to many places in the Provence district of France.  There are many decent options for excursions or simply going on your own.  The city of Aix en Provence is very convenient since it is relatively close to Marseille and its a nice place to visit for shopping, restaurants, art, etc.  Many cruisers like to take an excursion all the way to Avignon which is a city with a lot of history and a terrific downtown shopping area.  Les Baux is another popular excursion.  An excursion that includes both Avignon and Les Baux is a good combination trip.  Some of these excursions will also add a quick stop at St Remy which is a smaller town with lots of charm. If you are more interested in ruins you might look for an excursion that includes Pond du Gard and the city of Arles and there are also some decent Roman ruins located just outside of St Remy.  

 

My point is that Marseille gives a cruiser a terrific slate of options and one should do some homework and reading with the idea of learning the many options and deciding what best fits your own wants.  In fact, that is the secret to enjoying Europe.  Learn as many options as you can and then make decisions based on what interests you...not others.

 

Hank

[notentirelynormal]

 

Hank

I know you always venture off on your own but I am at a loss what to do here.  There will be 7 of us.  Two with limited walking and standing and 4 kids ages 16, 14, 13 and 11.  I'm having trouble coming up with something that the kids would like to do or that doesn't require a lot of walking.  For me a lot of walking is more than 20 or 30 minutes.  We will be seeing enough ruins in the other ports so I wanted to focus on what else there is to offer.  Any suggestions?

 

 

[bennybear]

I would arrange a trip to Cassis and enjoy the boat ride along the Calanques.  I think that is something different that should appeal to most.  Not much walking and maybe the kids can swim.  

[notentirelynormal]

 

Thanks for the suggestion.  I will research it and let you know what I come up with.  I do appreciate ALL suggestions made because I know nothing about this area.  I have to admit, I am not a big spur of the moment person.  It is also difficult to come up with fun and education mixed together.  I am trying not to bombard them with "culture" but again that is the lure of being in these locations.  They are kids and just driving looking at scenery all day can't be that much fun either.  They will not be allowed to play on computers and spend time texting.  I will be bringing downtime activities that include paper and pencil (crayon) along with board games.  Jenga is on the list.

 

Not to hijack this thread but - LOL - I started a thread "somewhere" and can't find it so don't know if I've gotten any responses.  I am having trouble finding something good for Seville (Cadiz) Spain and Ceuta Spanish Morooco.  In Sardinia I'm just going with a ship tour and we'll have a day of sailing unless I can come up with something better.

[bennybear]

 Always worth it to check somewhere like tripadvisor for things to do recommendations or buy or borrow some Guide books such as Fodors or Frommers or lonely planet.  

 

To find your thread Check under content I started. 

 

All kids are different, ours enjoyed a visit to Pont du gard,  and Uzes to watch the running of the bulls.  

Edited June 2, 2020 by bennybear

[notentirelynormal]

5 minutes ago, bennybear said:

 Always worth it to check somewhere like tripadvisor for things to do recommendations or buy or borrow some Guide books such as Fodors or Frommers or lonely planet.  

 

To find your thread Check under content I started. 

 

All kids are different, ours enjoyed a visit to Pont du gard,  and Uzes to watch the running of the bulls.  

 

Tripadvisor so far has been useless.  The links have not given me enough to go on to do more research on what it is about or with who.  Good idea on guide books.  I will stop by AAA once they are back open.

 

Can you give me a little more guidance on finding my thread?  What exactly do I click on?  The kids would LOVE something like the running of the bulls.  My biggest issue would have been holding them back.  They would want to be front and center.  I was trying to find flamingo dancing but all I could find were evening shows.  It isn't about adult things.  It is about ruins.  They can only see so many ruins.  We have a full day in Rome and Pisa/San Gimignano and I've hired a guide for the Colosseum.  I want to make sure it comes alive for them.  For me, I enjoyed seeing it but I wanted to relive it and that wasn't possible on our own.

 

[bennybear]

Click activity, then my activity streams then content I have posted

 

check out a book store or library, Our AAA is pretty limited.  

[bluecruisin]

There are a few company's that offer private tours that could be tweaked for your family's interests. They are ore costly but still a good deal for 7 people. Check Viator, Provence tours, cruisingexcursions .com

[Hlitner]

On 6/1/2020 at 12:55 AM, notentirelynormal said:

 

Hank

I know you always venture off on your own but I am at a loss what to do here.  There will be 7 of us.  Two with limited walking and standing and 4 kids ages 16, 14, 13 and 11.  I'm having trouble coming up with something that the kids would like to do or that doesn't require a lot of walking.  For me a lot of walking is more than 20 or 30 minutes.  We will be seeing enough ruins in the other ports so I wanted to focus on what else there is to offer.  Any suggestions?

 

 

4 kids on a trip!  I might look for a high bridge from which to jump or perhaps go to Pont du Gard and go off the viaduct :).  But seriously, it sounds like quite a challenge.  If there is one adult who can go off with the kids then perhaps the two with limited mobility might plant themselves at a nice cafe while the others go off exploring a town/city.   But it is not just about kids.  Once a group starts to grow in size, compromise becomes a necessity.   This can sometimes result in fun and may also result in everyone being miserable.  That is one reason why DW and I prefer to travel by ourselves and will continue to do so as long as health allows.  Even when we have cruised with some good friends we would often go off, separately, in many ports.  We would always meet for dinner (and cocktails) and talk about our day....but we would seldom travel as a group.

 

Hank

[notentirelynormal]

 

On 6/4/2020 at 12:59 PM, bluecruisin said:

There are a few company's that offer private tours that could be tweaked for your family's interests. They are ore costly but still a good deal for 7 people. Check Viator, Provence tours, cruisingexcursions .com

 

I made a note and will check them out.  Yes, private can be expensive BUT with limited time and sometimes they don't work that much more and you don't have the wasted time.

[Hlitner]

13 hours ago, notentirelynormal said:

 

 

I made a note and will check them out.  Yes, private can be expensive BUT with limited time and sometimes they don't work that much more and you don't have the wasted time.

Just a heads up.  Some of these companies, such as Viator, are not the actual tour operators but simply a 3rd party consolidator.  So, for example, if you book with Viator they are going to deal with a local tour provider.  Many travelers have learned that for private tours it makes more sense to deal directly with the local tour provider.  

 

Hank

[notentirelynormal]

I totally agree and that is why I hate doing searches for tour guides.  I get put on the Viator website and not the actual guide.  I try to find the guide that is operating the tour but that is such a huge challenge and why I ask on here for names.  So far I have never gone wrong using a CC recommendation.

[onyx007]

Marseille is also nice just to stay in the city; there is one of that little tourist trains going up to the church on top of the hill.

Also you could make a boat tour to the islands, on one of them is the "Chateau (castle) d'If" located, where in his story the "Count of Monte Cristo" was imprisoned...both easy done by yourself without having to book a expensive tour.

 

Of course you might not see tours on your cruise site, yet, because everything is stopped, so as soon as cruises start running there might also be board excursions available.

Edited June 17, 2020 by onyx007

[SHIP TRAVELER]

We also have this stop in Marseilles on our Celebrity TA cruise.  We have driven through the outskirts of the city when driving down the coast but have never actually been there.  We are currently looking at the Celebrity excursion to Aix-En Provence which is a half day.  We do not usually do ship excursions but this seemed to fit well to see some of the country side and still have time to walk around Marseilles on our own.  This excursion is currently $60 pp but we are waiting to book until later hoping there might be a "sale" on during the holidays.  Often Celebrity puts these up at 20-25% off on line before the cruise, deals that are not available later on the ship.  You have to keep checking prices as there is usually no announcement.  We felt this was an easy plan for the day.  Sort of a tale of two cities with the local information talk about the area provided on the bus.  We will plan a DIY walking tour for the half day we have "free".

[notentirelynormal]

Through some advise on another thread I think I’ve found a good fit for our day.  It will be a full day tour with Tour Designer in Provence.  Her prices are reasonable and in line with other guides plus her tour sound cool.  She comes highly recommended by other CC members.

Her prices work out to around $750 for our group of 7 at $106 per person.  That is for a full day tour.

[cruisingxpert]

https://www.carrieres-lumieres.com/en/home  

 

Amazing place.

[Hlitner]

On 7/22/2021 at 7:52 PM, cruisingxpert said:

https://www.carrieres-lumieres.com/en/home  

 

Amazing place.

If going to that place one should also combine it with a visit to nearby Les Baux.  If you happened to be doing this on a Wednesday morning you should arrange to head directly (from Marseille) to San Remy de Provence for their weekly market (outdoors on the square in the center of town).    There are also some Roman ruins located just outside of St Remy.  

 

This is a favorite part of France for DW and myself although I think it is best enjoyed with a multi-day stay (we like an entire week) with a rental car.   A big debate among those that know this region would be whether to base out of a smaller village like St Remy or stay in Avignon.  We have done both and would still have trouble making a choice.

 

Hank

[Mexfolkart]

On 6/14/2020 at 3:40 PM, notentirelynormal said:

I totally agree and that is why I hate doing searches for tour guides.  I get put on the Viator website and not the actual guide.  I try to find the guide that is operating the tour but that is such a huge challenge and why I ask on here for names.  So far I have never gone wrong using a CC recommendation.

 

[Mexfolkart]

Yes, this is what is so infuriating for the Trip Advisor website..they put all the tours into the Viator group and there are no separate small tour companies to deal with. I had always used Rendezvous Provence but understand they are no longer in business for Marseille area..anyone have a good recommendation?

 

[notentirelynormal]

This is the one I will be using.  She was recommended to me by someone else on CC so I can't speak first hand but she sounded pretty good.

 

tour.designer@provence-travel.com
www.provence-travel.com

[Hlitner]

On 8/17/2021 at 4:08 PM, Mexfolkart said:

Yes, this is what is so infuriating for the Trip Advisor website..they put all the tours into the Viator group and there are no separate small tour companies to deal with. I had always used Rendezvous Provence but understand they are no longer in business for Marseille area..anyone have a good recommendation?

 

I am somewhat tour adverse and personally favor DIY unless it is just not reasonable.  But we have many traveling friends who have had nothing but good to say about "Tours by Locals."    What I do like about the concept is that you book with specific guides/experts and it is even possible to do some vetting of the tour guide.  

 

Hank