Verdon Gorge and Moustiers Ste-Marie Tour from Aix-en-Provence

This tour lived up to expectations and description. The visit to the L’Occitaine factory was interesting, a good amount of time. We were lucky to be there in the three weeks that the lavender was in bloom, and our guide took the trouble to stop at a particularly scenic spot for us to look at the lavender and sage and take photos. Moustiers was very picturesque. The views of the gorge and lake were breathtaking and our guide took us to a spot where we could get better views with few other tourists. It was a slightly challenging short walk (due to the rocky ground) to this viewpoint. Finally, we had enough time at the lake to have a swim and some hired a paddle boat - it was a very hot day and most welcome. There is nowhere private to change if you want to swim, and you need to take thongs or boat shoes because the shore is rocky. Overall a great day.

Great day and a wonderful guide through beautiful Provence. Melanie was a knowledgeable tour guide and very friendly.

Too much time spent at L’Occitane factory and olive farm with clear intent to sell, and too little in the small towns. That said, guide was very knowledgeable and well-spoken, and the countryside is beautiful.

We had a great time. Moustiers Ste-Marie was such a beautiful little village with a little shopping for mom and hiking for the kids. The gorges was amazing, the lavender fields so serene. If you'd like a getaway day to see the countryside and mountains of provence, this tour is the perfect choice.

I guide was great but the tour itself was a bit rushed and pricey for what it was.

This trip was fantastic. Leon was a great guide who talked knowledgably about everything. Some amazing scenery along the way .... awesome

This tour should be renamed to a lavender tour. It's unpleasant to write this, but the tour was very disappointing. We had around 25min split in to a couple of stops by the Gorges and 15-20min by the lake only. We started with 1hour visit to L'OCCITANE factory, where the factory guide told us about the building, rooms and machines. Nothing about the qualities of the raw materials, she couldn't even differ between essential oils and basic oils. The answers to our questions were 'I don't know', unless you asked about a machine. There was something to learn in the last room though - written on the walls about making of perfumes - but we didn't have time to read. It was an hour stolen from Gorges by some very boring stuff. When we went to the Valensole fields of lavendine lavender is not growing there - at least yet, the view was amazing. The driver-guide told us how to differ between lavender and lavendine, and which altitudes they grow in, which was the only useful and interesting information of the tour. We used a lot of time in the fields, loosing the time in Gorges. We had 1.3hours in Moustiers - a lovely town, there is enough time if you walk not looking too much into things. There was no time for eating or visiting the museum, if you wanted to see the town. The driver-guide didn't guide us, just dropped us off - no maps provided. Since I didn't know what there is to find, I kept on walking, it was beautiful, but you don't know what you're looking at without any explanation from the guide. This town was the last stop for the WC, which the guide forgot to tell us about, and we figured it out later, being by the lake. The guide was not concerned about finding a WC for us and it was a long drive home. We made 2 stops by the Gorge of 10min, and one shorter one. This was only to take pictures, not to wander and see it. Then we had another 15-20min by the lake, again - no time at all. I just jumped into the lake, because the heat was very tiring, and then ran back to the minibus. The views were gorgeous, but no time to stop and enjoy. There were a lot of water activities by the lake like rafting, water-bike, or you could just relax by it - having a 9 hour trip there should be a couple of ours for that at least. It was disappointing. The most of these things could have been saved by a guides stories, but the driver-guide was not a guide - she was just a driver. A good driver though! She was very nice, somewhat careless, considering the WC situation, but she didn't tell us any information or history of the sights, local customs, stories about the places we visit, etc. Very non-informative tour. It was either silent in the minibus, or she would say 'now we are in this and that area' and....nothing about it. Or she would say what's round the corner, that we won't see, or what's in another town, that we're not going to visit - why? And nothing about what we are visiting. Nothing to learn. The most answers to our questions were 'I don't know'. Many times, when she pointed at something, I was waiting for a story or the purpose of why she mentions it, but no story or information came, her sentence just finished there. If she told us any dry facts, it was the first hits you get if you google the area - you don't book a guide for that. What we have learned was what trees were growing here and there, and about the star in the mountains near Moustiers. The rest was in the following manner: look there's let's say a church! Ok, I see a church, but what about it, when, who, what's the story? Nothing. So, as a guide, she was not knowledgeable and inexperienced. But a nice girl and a good driver. Last but not the least - the minibus. It was really good with AC and very comfy for the 7 out of 8 passengers. Be the first one to get in, don't wait or be polite! If the tour is fully booked, one of you will sit in the middle front seat, where there is no space for legs - I mean none. I'm short and have small feet, but this space is for a child up to 8 years old. I couldn't feel my legs already after 15min. The driver asked me if it was ok, I said 'no', but she couldn't do anything. My neighbor was so sweet she agreed to put our things in the trunk so I could put my legs in her leg space and travel in a twisted position. She also swapped seats with me once in a while. This is not the drivers fault, but the tour provider should keep the childrens' seats for children and not book all seats for adults. All in all, the sights were great, but the tour name is misleading, the time management is bad and the driver-guide has nothing to tell. It was my first tour with Viator, but I'm afraid, it was also the last, since I can get the same amount or more of information and more quality out of a regular car-drive and just reading or asking the locals. The concurring tour providers in the area can offer much more knowledgeable driver-guides with better time management for the same price, which I have enjoyed after this tour.

This day trip was fantastic. The visit and tour of the LOccitane factory started a number of great experiences. Moustiers-Saint-Marie is a very pretty village in which to enjoy lunch. The Verdon Gorge is vast and very impressive. Having a quiet drink in a bar overlooking the lake was a perfect way to complete the day before returning to Aix-en-Provence. Thanks to Valerie we had a delightful day.

Great tour visiting L'Occitaine factory and learning the history of Olivier and his discovery? Had lunch in Moustiers. Charming town. One of the prettiest I've seen. We left the best for last - the Vernon Gorge. Magnificent views! Excellent day trip from Aix. Natalie was a super guide - well informed and she is made it a fun day.

The scenery was fantastic and Natalie was an energetic and fun guide.