Luberon Villages Small Group Half-day Trip From Avignon

Brief, but satisfying overview of some of the prettiest towns. Each centre had its own personality & guide Emile had historical knowledge about all of them. Perfect Day

We had an amazing day! Our guide (Odelia) was fantastic- charming and knowledgeable and animated. She provided great commentary for each of our three stops, and gave great recommendations for each town we spent time in. Small group (8) in air conditioned van was perfect.

Even better than expected. Very well organized tour and very comfortable, air conditioned van. Our guide, Remi, was very friendly, polite and knowledgeable and provided loads of information which enhanced the experience. Could not ask for better service or tour guide.

You will see a great variety of interesting things in these small villages. So much beauty. Our guide was very knowledgeable, but she tailored her remarks toward our interests and questions.

This was an excellent tour - led by our tour guide Matilda. She was pleasant, well informed and mindful of her group (8) The tour itself (half day) - gave us a good overview of Roussillon, Gordes and Fontaine-de-Vaucluse with enough time to explore and enjoy all these destinations. This tour comes highly recommended especially on a sunny day.

This half day tour was cancelled, but I was offered a full day tour to replace it. I really loved it. Jocelyn, the guide was funny, informative and engaging, and the small group number was great . We packed so much in to the day - very good value

I loved it, the old village, good food, fresh and just lovely. No words to express simply stunning view.

We had a great day tour and our guide was fabulous. Such stunning scenery. Would recommend to others.

This tour was a highlight of our European holiday. The guide (Jhis?) was friendly and knowledgeable thanks to his years of experience in his previous job as a scientist with the Luberon national park. There was plenty of time to explore 3 villages. The villages were achingly beautiful. Highly recommended. (PS don’t be the annoying person who’s late every time the bus has to leave.) It was an 8-seater plus driver Mercedes Benz people-mover so not super spacious but if you want space go and stand in a paddock.

The vehicle, described as a "minibus" in the tour description, turned out to be a van with fairly cramped seats. Tour departure was scheduled at 08:30, but occurred 10 minutes late because the guide/driver (Jerome) was attending to unrelated business. He told us not to worry because we had "plenty of time". In reality, the tour was super rushed because a lot of time was wasted on low-value stops not mentioned in the tour description. The itinerary included Fontaine de Vaucluse, Roussillon and Gordes. The first two stops (not included in the itinerary) were a photo stop in Avignon across from the river, followed by a forgettable stop by a lavender field (not in bloom at this time of the year). After spending 45 minutes at Fontaine de Vaucluse, we were taken to an out-of-the-way lavender museum not included in the itinerary, for the sole purpose of going to the museum store and getting a demonstration of lavender-based products which several passengers felt obligated to purchase, so that our guide could get his kickback. Overall we wasted at least 1.5 hours on these additional stops. When we got to Roussillon, the guide indicated he would show us around to save time, which included taking the group to an ice cream shop where he probably got a kickback. We only had 15 minuted to walk around the village on our own. The last scheduled stop (Gordes) was the worst: we spent about 2 minutes there, just enough for a couple of pictures from afar. Jerome's driving was downright reckless: constantly tailgating other vehicles, aggressively speeding (even 20-30 km/h above the speed limit) on narrow winding roads and then slamming on the brakes. He even made a phone call holding the phone in his hands while driving (albeit at a red traffic light). Overall a total waste of time and money.

I booked this trip 3 days in advance and received a confirmation for the chosen day. However, on a day of the trip service provider told me that all trips are cancelled due to corona. I never received a cancellation infromation or my reimbursement.

The villages we went to were beautiful and very interesting, and the guide was pleasant and extremely well informed. We also liked the way in which he would give us an introductory overview to each place, then provide us a map and leave us to do our sight-seeing at our own pace and discretion - then answer questions arising from our impressions as we moved on in the mini-bus.

This was great way to see visit tow of the Luberon hilltop villages and see the source of the Sorgue River. Our guide was very helpful and informative.

Our tour to Roussillion, Gordes and Vauclause with Amar was wonderful. He was a great guide and explained things very well. Well worth the trip.

Viator changed the locations of the trip, never informing the 2 couples taking the trip. The trip booked sold fir more than the trip taken on. Where is the refund

Tour pickup was at Radisson Blu Marseille. Tour departure was delayed 30 minutes due to one passenger being late. The minivan ride to Aix took far too long. Upon a passenger's question of why we were seeing the 'Marseille' hillside letters and port area twice, the guide mentioned a return to Marseille was needed due to a rock slide impacting the highway to Aix... Funny, as I thought simply an exit taken too early (side note, my wife is from Marseille - I've been there many times). Upon arrival in Aix, the guide specified to meet at the tourist office at 12:00 with 'free time' to walk the town. As he was fumbling with a printed map trying to determine where we were in proximity to the tourist office, I simply walked to the Aix cathedral, saw the highlights (this was my fifth trip to Aix) and returned at the collection point timely. I was lectured by the guide, as apparently I needed to tell him if I departed from the group. I thought it a waste of time to counter his lack of argument. We then visited Valensole, where the group had an hour to eat lunch and sight see if possible - again, 'free time'. As I knew Valensole would be very crowded this time of year, as well not many places for food, I had already eaten in Aix. Others in the group did not eat as wait times at the few cafes were long. A reputable guide would have known this. We met at the meeting spot; the guide arrived 20 minutes late. Explanation: he checked the spot, and we were not there... right... Upon departure to a lavender field, some wrong turns (including into a dead end) and then we arrived. Unfortunately another passenger forgot her mobile in Valensole. We were left in the lavender field for a relatively long period of time (hot in July, no water, etc.).Upon pickup, we were dropped off at a roadside souvenir shop nearby where again the guide left in an attempt to collect the mobile. After another extended period of time, we finally departed for Marseille. A disappointing tour from start to finish. Pity.

<p>Really enjoyed this tour. It lasted about 5 hours, and comprised of a visit to the lavender museum which is filled with various stills and other distillation equipment. A short movie gives you an overview of the lavender industry. Following that, we drove to Roussillon, where we were free to walk around for about an hour, and then over to Gourdes, with similar freedom to meander. Both of these villages are charming and beautiful. Our host, Doreen was very knowledgeable, and gave us good insights on Avignon and the villages as she drove us around in her air-conditioned van. If you do not have the time to do each of these places for a day on your own, this is a very good tour to take.</p>

<p>Tour guide excellent. Enjoyed the tour good variety of visits, unfortunately too late in season to see the lavender fields. Would recommend.</p>

<p>This half day trip was booked for friday 22nd July 2016 my 54th birthday, and my first full day in the Provence countryside. <br/> My wife and I had paid 102 for this ½ day and we were met by driver Marc as arranged at our hotel we shared this excursion with a couple from Quebec in Canada who like us had eager expectations of seeing some Lavender fields. <br/> Driver Marc who coincidentally shared his birthday with me took us first to the Lavander Museum<br/> in Cousetellet where he made arrangements for our small group to have a leisurely look there at the end of the trip. Little did we realise that the only Lavender we would get to photograph would be the displays in the fields right by the museum. It seemed that even by 22nd July the vast majority had been harvested and it was apparently not worth our while to drive to either Sault or the Abbey of Senanque. <br/> Marc did a great job of highlighting the very pretty villages of Gordes and Roussillon, though it was slightly disappointing that there wasnt enough time to do the Ochre Sentier or footpath. In addition, we drove straight past a lavender field just outside Roussillon, and also enjoyed a fleeting glimpse of the sunflower fields sadly there was nowhere to stop for pictures.<br/> We did thoroughly enjoy the bright vivid colours of Roussillon, but having paid 102 and expected to see fields of lavender our memories will always be tinged with disappointment discounts should be offered or the trip should be marketed differently once lavender has been harvested.</p>

<p>I would like to have seen more lavender and had less time in the villages. I think I speak for our group when I say I was disappointed not to be able to spend time in the lavender fields - we had literally five minutes!</p>

<p>The whole exercise was to visit the lavender fields. I think if the lavender field were already harvested you should have informed us so we could decide if we still wanted the tour. Was very disappointed.</p>

<p>Tour was very good. Carole was an excellent guide with very good English and knowledge of local area. Roussillon and Gordes were unbelievably beautiful however it would have been better to have had more time in these villages - especially Gordes as the market was on - and not have visited the museum. Unfortunately there was also no lavender in bloom. It would be great if there was more up to date information about the lavender before booking tours that specify the opportunity to see lavender - saying this, the towns/villages were so beautiful the lavender would have only been a bonus!</p>

<p>Nice trip, we had been given enough time to visit places. It was more of villages trip as in August, there are no lavender fields to see. Moreover, tour guide was very nice and cheerful. good value of money.</p>

<p>Excellent service by Melanie from Provence Reservation. Understanding, helpful, friendly and informative. I would have given 5 stars if the company could arrange this half day tour to be slightly longer for another 15-30 minutes to go to lavender field. After all, that's what lavender tour is about.</p>

<p>The village of Roussillon is fantastic, lots of mediaeval buildings. We would have really loved to have more time there.<br/> The village of Gordes was also great, and we would have loved more time there too especially as the wqeekly market was operating that day.<br/> The tour of the Lavender Museum was interesting, but too long - better to allocate more time to Roussillon and Gordes and cut back on the time allocated to the lavender museum.</p>

<p>Great trip to wonderful places. We managed to see a lot in a half a day. The only disadvantage was that we could not stop for 5 minutes to take a picture in the lavender fields (I would prefer to cut time in other places). Overall - a good experience and I would recommend to all</p>

<p>Wonderful day and wonderful, knowledgeable tour guide. What a lovely tour this is and I highly recommend it. Definitely worth the price.</p>

<p>It was lovely trip and the tour guide did everything she could to expose us to the natural beauty of the area.<br/> If you are looking for a tour that provides you with a brief yet impactful overview of Avignon as well as scenery that offers optimium backdrops for memorable pictures then this is the tour to take.</p>

<p>It was a pleasant trip overall but we expected the tour guide would have dropped us around some lavender field and let us hang around the field for some time and take pictures. She only drove around them instead. She spoke French too much and only translated to us in very brief English.</p>

<p>The travel guide, Marion, made this a treat. There's a lavender museum where you see distillation design through history, but the best reason for going is the amazing natural and architectural beauty of Rouissilon, with its red cliffs set against green landscape</p>

<p>This was a great tour. Very friendly, relaxed guide who knew her stuff and made the trip enjoyable. The two towns we visited were delightful and it was great to have time to wander around them on our own. While the lavender farm wasn't flowering the museum was way more interesting than I expected.</p>

<p>Unluckily, we have no chance to see the Lavender field as it is too late....but the guide is very helpful to bring us a wonderful memory.</p>

<p>Guide was excellent, extremely knowledgable, sincere - I would highly recommend this tour again.</p>

<p>A lovely half day trip with our guide whose English commentary was informative and clear and communicated with a sense of fun. She engaged with all 8 travellers from UK, Belgium, China, Australia and New Zealand. We were 2 weeks too early to see lavender in bloom but the Lavender museum was interesting. The villages of Rousillon and Gordes were delightful and as picturesque as advertised. We had a 45 minutes in each to explore. An excellent trip.</p>

<p>Enter your review here.<br/> Day was very nice however we did not go to all three towns, as advertised.</p>

<p>The tour guide was lovely and very professional. More time would have been nice in some of the places but otherwise a great tour. I loved the local market.</p>

<p>Highly recommended as this is a very relaxing country side tour. You will know more about how Lavender is grow and harvest.</p>

Not from Avignon but from Aix-en-Provence. Adrien Jeannean was excellent and very informative! I would like to try another experience because Adrien is specialized in this region.

Super guide et bcp d'infos du coin . Bonne balade en petit groupe. Conduite du chauffeur impeccable . Rien à dire