We are going to be in Provence for six days in May, staying first in Aix en Provence, then Arles, then Avignon. Does anyone know the best way to get to Aix from Marseille airport and from Avignon to Marseille airport? Bus or train? Approximate time and cost to get there?
I'm assuming it will be easy to get from Aix to Arles and then to Avignon, but is it bus or train?
Thanks
All of these questions are answered in detail in Rick Steves' Provence guidebook.
Sorry, I don't have it. I just thought someone who had been there might know offhand.
From Marseille Airport to Aix there are direct buses running approximately every half hour. You will need to buy the bus ticket from a kiosk by the bus stops, not on the bus itself. The bus calls first at the out-of-town Aix TGV railway station and then at the Aix bus station, which is a little way from the town centre - you'll need to either walk or change to a local bus.
For Avignon to Marseille Airport you will need to take a train to Vitrolles station near the airport, from where shuttle buses connect to the train.
From Aix to Arles you can travel by train changing at Marseilles. It may be more convenient, however, to get the departmental bus route 29. However, the journeys from Aix to Arles only leave in the afternoon - at 1400, 1635, 1720 and 1815.
From Arles to Avignon you can get a direct train.
The Marseille Provence Aeroport has plenty of useful information on its website http://www.marseille-airport.com/
As a previous poster indicated, there is an easy shuttle bus from the aeroport to both the Aix-en-Provence TGV station and the city centre. You can connect there to the TGV station in Avignon. However both of these high-speed stations are on the outskirts of their respective cities. The shuttle bus from Avignon TGV station goes to the Avignon Centre regional train station on the edge of the walled city downtown.
However you can indeed take a train from the aeroport to Avignon Centre itself. It's a slower regional train but the overall trip is comparable. I think the previous post got that service a little turned around. A shuttle bus runs from the aeroport entrance to the small local station where you board the regional train to Avignon. You can see a map of these services on the aeroport website.
The train website charts all the various services you can use, and for Arles too, but it can be a little misleading as it sometimes adds the bus shuttles into the train schedules. Really, the only "problem" is that you have so many choices. http://en.voyages-sncf.com/en/
