Hello, my husband and I are travelling the last week of August with our 5-year-old. We have 6 days and 5 nights in Provence and are trying to decide if we should stay in one home the entire week (maybe near Avignon?) or split our time between a place around Gordes and a place south of Avignon so that we can cut some time out of our day trips ( so Luberon, Cote du Rhone from the first place, Les Baux, Pont du Gard, and Arles from the second). Also, how essential is air conditioning that time of year? Thank you!
Posted by
Washington DC
28096 posts
You gotta have air conditioning.
I assume you're going to rent a car, right? I can't provide any guidance related to logistics with a car.
Posted by
Folsom
2734 posts
Yes, you will need AC. And you should stay in one place, take day trips, be selective. You won’t see everything. But if you decide on two “bases” you’ll waste a precious day with the logistics of moving, and you don’t have that time. We stayed in a flat in Lourmarin and took day trips. Since we had visited Arles, Les Baux, Pont du Gard on a RS tour we focused on the Luberon and nearby towns. We visited Isle-Sur-la-Sorgue, Aix, Cuceron, Ansious, Bonneaux, Lacoste and others making sure we were in a place on market day if possible. Driving was not difficult with a GPS but, although my daughter was squished in the back, we were glad to have a tiny car. Some streets were just wide enough and parking would have been impossible with anything larger.
Posted by
shingle springs, CA, USA
782 posts
We stayed seven days in Arles and traveled as far north as Avignon, and went to Pont du Gard,Gordes,Les Baux,Roussillon,Nimes,St Remy,Uzes and the Camargue.We were there in May and it was warm so in August AC will be a must.
Mike
Posted by
America's Vancouver and the First
111 posts
I will also concur that we stayed a week in late September 2019 slightly outside Arles and easily drove to all the places you list. We prefer to drive farther each day rather than change locations. We stayed in a wonderful AirBnB with full kitchen/bath/bedrooms. Ten minutes from Arles and about 25 from Les Baux. We easily drove to all the places you mention. Great spot. Roads are primarily two-lane and not speedy. Message me if you want more info. It is difficult to check RS travel forum postings.
Posted by
Setubal, PT
44 posts
Another vote for staying in one place, but would add the Gorge de Verdon to your list. A beautiful drive and exquisite destination. Be sure to fill up your gas tank before attempting the drive along the rim, as that will make your adventure less suspenseful! We took a day for it, but were very very leisurely, but it’s definitely worth your consideration!
Posted by
Truro, NS, Canada
3941 posts
We had 7 nights and decided to split them between two spots - Salon and Manosque - Salon for doing spots to the west and north, and Manosque for doing the lavender trail/points east. But if we'd only had 5 nights, I would have stuck to one spot.
Def air con - our airbnb in Salon (which we've stayed at twice) had AC. Our little in-law suite in Manosque did not. I took a little battery operated fan to blow over my face in Manosque, and one saving grace was they had retractable/roll up screens on the windows (which was so cool and the first time I'd seen that), so we could leave the windows open at night without being worried about getting eaten alive by bugs - but it was still very stifling. This was mid-July, but we've also been in that area in late Sept and still used the ac.
It can take time to switch accoms, but it does make it easier with a car - if you're messing with buses or trains and having to drop your luggage at wherever you are staying before doing anything else, it takes more time than you will think...with a car, you can put your stuff in the trunk (using the cautions that go with leaving your stuff in a trunk). When we switched from Salon to Manosque, we spent the better part of our switchover day visiting Aix, arriving in Manosque early evening.