Provence Itinerary

I think you should consolidate your overnights to two base locations: Arles and one of the Luberon towns. That will leave you with more time to visit the places you have ed. Possible day expeditions from from Arles: Nimes and the Pont du GardAvignon and OrangeLes Baux and St RemyCamargue Possible day expeditions from Luberon: Luberon towns Possible day expeditions from either Marseilles and AixGigondas, Seguret, Vaison la Romaine, Suzette, and/or Isle sur la Sourge I think that with a car you can visit all of these places and more in 10 days. As for skip Camargue etc., that depends on your priorities. I consider the Camargue a solid B-list sight that could be a very pleasant break from the rest of your itinerary, but skipable if you need the day for something else. Have fun!

I have been to Provence a number of times and I prefer small villages and towns, I would not move as many times as you can see most of what you want from a few locations as noted above. I would not want to stay in Avignon as it has no ambience compared to any number of villages you want to visit. Aix is also quite a large city and again not my favorite, however all of the other places you have listed are amazing. I also like the Carmague (especially Ste Marie de la Mer, but it is quite a drive and unless you get to see all the flamingos and white horses it might be a disappointment. It is such a different landscape, but I did have a wonderful time there. My favorite place to stay is in St. Remy and I have visited all the places with that as my home base. I would not add Marseille if it means giving up on the rest of the towns. It was enjoyable but only because I had to spend some time there, but I would not choose it over any of the others.

Thanks for your advice. We must spend the last night in Marseille so we can turn in our car and buy the train ticket for the next day. Adam and Terry Kathryn - you have given us two great options. We're planning to go towards the end of April 2014 so we're truly in the beginning stages but with your advice it looks like we're on the right track and only have to decide whether to split our 9 nights between Arles and a Luberon town or whether to spend the entire 9 days in Luberon (St.Remy?). Thank you again for your help!

Do less and enjoy more, I am exhausted reading that itinerary. Zipping through a small town won't be memorable, relaxing with a good meal and soaking it in your surroundings will be. But that's just me, I don't want to need a vacation to recover from my vacation.

Carol, nothing against Marseilles but you can return your car at most any major train station the day of your departure from Provence. If your rental company won't do this for you ditch them for one that will. St Remy makes a fine base, and if you would stay there for 9 days then you might be able to find a rental for 7 of them, which is a nice way to go. Not much to do there in case of inclement weather in April, but you'll have a car.

Again, more good suggestions. Our itinerary is always tentative, even after we arrive. We make a list of what we would like to see/visit as a guideline and then make adjustments as we go along depending on how much time we actually spend in a town or site. We do our research in advance so we can make better decisions while there. We often get good suggestions from locals which we may add or some that cause us to delete certain sights. Seems like we should lean towards picking just one town and visiting the other locations from there. Also, good idea to return the car to another town. Will have to research trains to Paris but seems Avignon should have good connections. As an FYI, in Paris we plan to rent a studio for 2 weeks. We previously spent 9 days in Paris in a hotel in a small neighborhood close to a metro from where we explored the city. These 2 weeks in a different neighborhood will be a fun way to revisit Paris. Thanks for all your advice.

We just got back after spending a week in St Remy. (We stayed at Le Source and loved it so we could make our own meals sometimes etc) We prefered to stay in one place and do day trips. We did take a day to go to the Camargue, our longest drive. It was disappointing. I can't recommend it. I wish we had just gone to Arles instead. Whatever you do, do not take the tourist train in Ste Maries if you go, it's a waste of money. Just outside St Remy be sure to see the asylum that Van Gogh stayed in. Very interesting. Les Baux was great, check out the Carrieres de Lumieres as well. We prefer the small towns rather than the big ones so didn't bother with Aix or Marseille, Avignon or Nimes. Loved Roussillon...be sure to do the Ochre Path walk. Check websites to see when the markets are. They're fun. Did a great small town loop, and loved visiting as many as possible. Gordes and Roussillon are a must. L'Isles is nice if you like antiques and want to see the Sun antique market.