Train or car rental in Provence

The answer really depends on where you want to go.

My daughter & I will be visiting Provence in a couple of weeks & I've decided not to rent a car.
Many here will advice you to rent a car which will give you more flexibility & freedom.

I chose not to rent a car because I didn't want to deal with the hassles of having a car.
I also didn't want the extra expense & prefer to enjoy the scenery while someone else does the driving :-)

We are basing ourselves in Avignon & plan to day trip to various cities/towns nearby such as;
St. Remy, Arles, Orange, Vaison la Romaine, Pont du Gard & Uzès.

You can also travel to Nimes, L'Isle-sur-la- Sorgue, Aix en Provence, & many others via public transportation.

Enjoy your trip!

St. Remy is not served by train, so each excursion without a car would be at least part way by bus, for instance 45 minutes to Avignon or one hour to Arles. Rick's Provence/Riviera book suggests a taxi from St. Remy to Les Baux, about €20 each way.

We spent a week in St. Remy w/o a car, but it's not something I would recommend. We did a lot, but we wound up wasting a fair amount of time waiting for bus connections, especially in Avignon. We did take a taxi to Les Baux and then walked back.

I stayed near there last summer and was very glad I had a car. Driving the country roads was easy and fun and it gives you freedom that you won't have with bus/trains. You can stop to see a view or smell the lavender and take pictures whenever you want. I am in my 70's and traveling alone and with my GPS on my phone it was great.

sue - I wanna be like you when I grow up!

If you want to spend time in this region without a car, you will be happier staying in Arles or Avignon (or, as I did, splitting your time with some nights in each). You will also have to accept that you cannot get easily, or at all, to smaller towns and villages. Without a car, I saw Arles, Avignon, Orange, Nimes, Marseille, and Aix, and could have seen a few more places like Uzes and Pont du Garde. But after that list, places get a lot harder to reach.

So, if you want to stay a week in St. Remy, rent a car.