How can we see Provence in 8 hours or less?

[luckybecky]

Our cruise on the Carnival Breeze next June will stop in Marseille. I've been reading a number of posts here, and various info elsewhere, trying to decide how to spend our limited time there. I wish we had days or weeks, but alas, we have only a few hours.

 

We considered just spending the day in the city, checking out the Old Port and the Notre Dame de la Garde. However after reading the posts here, I think that would be a big mistake and am encouraged to get out of the city. We also agree with comments here that a tour with several dozen other tourists on a big bus following a guide waving a paddle in the air would not be the most romantic way to see Provence.

 

It is obvious from reading all y'alls posts here, that our best bet would be to rent a car -- but I guarantee that we won't do that. Maybe next time, but this is our first trip to Europe in 25 years, at our first port of call -- we are not scaredy cats, but we will probably want to be a little conservative until we get our feet wet.

 

So, with all of that said, do any of you more experienced travellers have any recommendations for us? I'm certain we could manage to get ourselves to the train station and out of town. However, I am paranoid about getting back on time and not missing our boat which leaves fairly early, at 4pm. I will not be comfortable cutting things too close as far as the timing goes to get back on board.

 

Do you have any suggested itineraries for us considering the limitations of public transit in this region, and what we could fit in and still be back on the boat by 3 pm or so, all at a reasonable cost? My husband thinks it would be easiest just to go with a Carnival excursion. I think that with careful planning, we might be able to do better on our own, or perhaps hiring a guide.

 

Any thoughts? Any recommendations for a tour company or guide?

 

Becky

[Hlitner]

How can you see Provence in 8 hours? You can't! Please understand that Provence is a huge area and in a port day you will only get a quick snapshot. We have spent many weeks living in Provence and have not even come close to "seeing it all." From Marseille you do have quite a few different options, but you must pick and choose. The easiest day would be to simply take the train (or regional bus) up to Aix en Provence. You can spend part of the day in Aix and then come back to Marseille a little early so you can at least enjoy the old port. If you want to rent a car then you have additional options such as driving to Pont du Gard and perhaps Arles or perhaps making the trek up to St Remy (where we have previously rented an apartment) and Les Baux.

 

If you are "paranoid" about missing the ship you can simply book the overpriced "cattle calls" known as cruise line excursions :)

 

Hank

[luckybecky]

How can you see Provence in 8 hours? You can't! Please understand that Provence is a huge area and in a port day you will only get a quick snapshot. We have spent many weeks living in Provence and have not even come close to "seeing it all." From Marseille you do have quite a few different options, but you must pick and choose. The easiest day would be to simply take the train (or regional bus) up to Aix en Provence. You can spend part of the day in Aix and then come back to Marseille a little early so you can at least enjoy the old port. If you want to rent a car then you have additional options such as driving to Pont du Gard and perhaps Arles or perhaps making the trek up to St Remy (where we have previously rented an apartment) and Les Baux.

 

If you are "paranoid" about missing the ship you can simply book the overpriced "cattle calls" known as cruise line excursions :)

 

Hank

 

Thanks for the reply, Hank. I was hoping you would weigh in. I've seen your posts here and know that you know your way around this area.

 

I'm hoping to avoid the cattle calls! But our time here is so limited, I want to get as much out of it as we can. So without a rental car, you think Aix might be the best choice? From what I've read, it looks like a relatively simple matter to get there on the train.

 

What about the possibility of hiring a driver? I'm wondering if we might be able to get some sort of tour if we could get a handful of others from our ship to go with us in a small van? Splitting the cost among 6 or so passengers, would it be possible to hire a guide at a cost comparable to what the cattle calls cost?

 

Thanks for any input!

Becky

[Hlitner]

Thanks for the reply, Hank. I was hoping you would weigh in. I've seen your posts here and know that you know your way around this area.

 

I'm hoping to avoid the cattle calls! But our time here is so limited, I want to get as much out of it as we can. So without a rental car, you think Aix might be the best choice? From what I've read, it looks like a relatively simple matter to get there on the train.

 

What about the possibility of hiring a driver? I'm wondering if we might be able to get some sort of tour if we could get a handful of others from our ship to go with us in a small van? Splitting the cost among 6 or so passengers, would it be possible to hire a guide at a cost comparable to what the cattle calls cost?

 

Thanks for any input!

Becky

 

We suggested Aix since it is relatively easy to get to that city (there are plenty of trains and also buses) and it is a lovely place. A car with a private driver would certainly allow you to vastly expand your horizons and see more of the region. However, keep in mind that hiring a car/driver in the South of France is quite expensive. Assuming you could find a decent driver/guide you can expect to pay hundreds of Euros (500 Euros is not unusual).

 

The "cattle calls" do get you economies of scale but the reality is that the cruise lines inflate the cost of their excursions to make a profit. Many folks find that it makes a lot more sense to get together with a few other passengers and hire a driver/guide for a small group. These private excursions are often less costly then comparable cruise ship tours and instead of being on a bus with 50+ souls you might be in a van with 6 or 8. We think one of the great services here on CC are the "Roll Calls" where you can look for others with similar interests and put something together. You might want to explore this option.

 

Hank

[lalique]

Our cruise on the Carnival Breeze next June will stop in Marseille. I've been reading a number of posts here, and various info elsewhere, trying to decide how to spend our limited time there. I wish we had days or weeks, but alas, we have only a few hours.

 

We considered just spending the day in the city, checking out the Old Port and the Notre Dame de la Garde. However after reading the posts here, I think that would be a big mistake and am encouraged to get out of the city. We also agree with comments here that a tour with several dozen other tourists on a big bus following a guide waving a paddle in the air would not be the most romantic way to see Provence.

 

It is obvious from reading all y'alls posts here, that our best bet would be to rent a car -- but I guarantee that we won't do that. Maybe next time, but this is our first trip to Europe in 25 years, at our first port of call -- we are not scaredy cats, but we will probably want to be a little conservative until we get our feet wet.

 

So, with all of that said, do any of you more experienced travellers have any recommendations for us? I'm certain we could manage to get ourselves to the train station and out of town. However, I am paranoid about getting back on time and not missing our boat which leaves fairly early, at 4pm. I will not be comfortable cutting things too close as far as the timing goes to get back on board.

 

Do you have any suggested itineraries for us considering the limitations of public transit in this region, and what we could fit in and still be back on the boat by 3 pm or so, all at a reasonable cost? My husband thinks it would be easiest just to go with a Carnival excursion. I think that with careful planning, we might be able to do better on our own, or perhaps hiring a guide.

 

Any thoughts? Any recommendations for a tour company or guide?

 

Becky

We were on an Oceania cruise and docked in Marseille this past Oct. We used a private guide for our group of 6 and she was wonderful. We had more time than you do as our ship was in Marseille from 8am-10pm. We did the highlights of Marseille and then went to St. Remy and Les Baux and then spent some time in Aix at the end of the day. She will customize your tour according to your time and what you want to see. She is Catherine D'Antuono and can be reached at tour.designer@provence-travel.com or provence-travel.com. Would highly recommend her . Since you have a shorter time there you may want to concentrate on just a couple of places. Since we had been to all these places before, we did not need to spend hours at each of them , but did spend enough time to explore and enjoy them again. Les Baux is amazing, but it is further away from Marseille. Enjoy your time there - it is a beautiful area.

[luckybecky]

Thanks Hank and Lalique! I hope you had a wonderful holiday.

 

I did email a tour operator a couple of days ago who was mentioned in another thread in this forum and have already heard back from her. Probably will concentrate on Aix as Hank suggested. We will be there on a market day which sounds like great fun.

 

Now I'll work on organizing a few of my fellow passengers to see if we can pull together a small group. We have been participating in our roll call group so I'm going to see what they think. I would much rather do it this way than to participate in one of the "cattle calls."

 

Not having been to Europe in many years, my husband and I find it tempting to just go with the convenience of a ship-sponsored tour, but I really, really don't want to be herded around on a bus with 40 or 50 other cruisers. I'm going to see what I can learn about each of our ports and try to work out something on our own where I can. We overnight in Rome and Venice and have already planned to do those cities entirely on our own.

 

Thanks again for your tips and help! Any assistance is greatly appreciated!

 

Becky

[hubofhockey]

Any thoughts? Any recommendations for a tour company or guide?

 

Becky

 

It looks like you have your plans set and are looking to do a market day. We opted for a day of old cities, including Roman ruins.

 

If it is just the two of you, private tours can be expensive. Carnival does have a tour to Arles. The four of us added a couple from our roll call and booked the 8-9 tour with Provence Reservation. It was one of the great days of our vacation.

 

http://www.provencetours-marseille.com/rubriques/marseillle.php?lang=en

 

Our total cost was 480 euros or 80 euros per person (would be same cost for eight people or 60 per person) and that includes a licensed guide. Our tour included Arles, Les Baux, and the Pont du Gard. Their standard tour includes Saint Remy (we replaced that one with the Pont du Gard). It was one of my favorite days on our cruise.