Provence Tours — Private, Bespoke, Designed by a Local DMC
Aura Provence designs private Provence tours for discerning travellers, families, travel agencies and corporate groups. As a licensed Destination Management Company based in Marseille, every itinerary is built one-to-one by our local team — never sold from a shelf.
What a Private Provence Tour Actually Means
A private Provence tour with Aura Provence is not a tour in the group-bus sense. It is a one-to-one itinerary designed for your specific group — your dates, your interests, your pace, your accommodation. You travel with a dedicated English-speaking driver-guide in a luxury vehicle (Mercedes V-Class, S-Class or Range Rover for larger groups), with access to producers, estates and hidden village corners that walk-in visitors will never see.
Our Most Requested Tour Formats
Wine tours — Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the Luberon AOC, Bandol, Cassis and the rosé estates of the Var. Private cellar visits, sommelier-led tastings, vineyard lunches. Lavender field tours — sunrise visits to the Valensole plateau and the Abbaye de Sénanque in June and July, optionally combined with a hot-air balloon flight and a perfumery workshop. Calanques boat tours — private charters from Cassis or Marseille to the limestone fjords of the Parc National des Calanques, with swimming stops and onboard Provençal lunch.
Village tours — Gordes, Roussillon, Ménerbes, Lacoste, Bonnieux, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Èze. Cultural tours — Aix-en-Provence in the footsteps of Cézanne, Avignon and the Palais des Papes, Arles in the footsteps of Van Gogh, the Carrières de Lumières in Les Baux. Gastronomy tours — gastronomic chef encounters, olive oil estates, truffle hunts in the Vaucluse, market mornings in Aix and Saint-Rémy. Nature tours — the Camargue with its white horses and pink flamingos, the Verdon canyon, the Mont Ventoux.
Multi-Day Itineraries
Most of our clients book Provence tours as multi-day itineraries — typically 5 to 10 days, occasionally up to 3 weeks. A signature 7-day itinerary might run: 2 nights Marseille (gastronomy and Calanques), 2 nights Aix-en-Provence (heritage and markets), 3 nights Luberon (villages, wine, lavender). A 10-day extension adds the Camargue, the Verdon and the Côte d'Azur. We can build any combination, including extensions to Paris (TGV from Aix-TGV) or to Italy via the Riviera.
Who Travels With Us
We work with three distinct profiles. Travel agencies and tour operators worldwide use us as their ground partner in the South of France — we operate behind the scenes for several leading luxury agencies in the US, the UK and Asia. Direct private clients — couples, families and friend groups looking for a properly designed, properly executed week or fortnight in Provence. Corporate and incentive groups — wellness retreats, executive offsites, board incentives, often 10 to 80 participants. Each profile gets the same level of design care; only the scale and the operational structure differ.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of Provence tours do you organise?
We design private, fully tailored tours — never group coach tours. Our most requested formats include: private wine tours of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and the Luberon, sunrise lavender fields tours in the Valensole, Calanques boat charters from Cassis, Marseille and the Vieux-Port walking tours, Aix-en-Provence Cézanne itineraries, Camargue horseback rides, Verdon canyon excursions, and multi-day combinations of all of the above.
How much does a private Provence tour cost?
On request, depending on the format, vehicle, guides and duration. Every quotation is built specifically for the group; we do not sell off-the-shelf packages.
Are your tours guided in English?
Yes. All our driver-guides and specialist guides are fluent in English. We can also operate in French, Spanish, Italian, German and Mandarin on request. For specialist topics — wine, art history, perfumery, gastronomy — we work with subject-matter expert guides at additional cost.
Where do your Provence tours depart from?
We depart from anywhere our clients are staying: Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, Saint-Rémy, Gordes, Cassis, Saint-Tropez, Nice, or any villa or hotel in the South of France. We also coordinate airport pick-ups at Marseille-Provence (MRS), Nice (NCE), Avignon (AVN) and Paris (with TGV transfers from Aix-TGV).
How many days do I need for a proper Provence tour?
Five days is the minimum for a satisfying overview of the region — typically split between Marseille / Cassis (sea, Calanques, gastronomy), Aix-en-Provence (heritage, markets), and the Luberon villages (Gordes, Roussillon, Ménerbes). Seven to ten days allows the addition of the lavender fields, the Camargue, the Verdon and a Riviera extension to Saint-Tropez.
What is the best season for a Provence tour?
May, June, September and the first half of October are the perfect months: mild temperatures, long days, golden light, fewer crowds. Late June and the first two weeks of July are the lavender window. August is hot and busy — beautiful but demanding; we design August itineraries that focus on sea-front and high-altitude experiences. Winter (November–March) is excellent for Marseille, Aix and gastronomy-led visits.
Why choose Aura Provence over a generic tour operator?
We are a licensed Destination Management Company (Atout France IM013250009) based in Marseille, not a reseller. Every tour is designed by our local team, operated by our own network of guides and drivers, and built one-to-one with the client. We hold direct relationships with the wine estates, restaurants, hotels and producers we visit — which means private access, preferential rates and the kind of details no marketplace platform can deliver.