Lavender fields from Marseille: Valensole or Sault, and when they are in bloom
5 min read
The answer first. For most visitors the Valensole lavender day tour, from €155 per person, is the one to book: nine hours, a producer visit, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie and a stop at the Verdon. Its page says it runs from 10 June to 15 July only, so it is a summer plan, not something to book for the weeks around this article’s date. The Sault and Gordes tour is the alternative if you travel in the second half of July.
Check dates and prices for the Valensole lavender tour
When the lavender is in bloom
The regional tourism board gives a usual flowering window of 15 June to 15 July at Valensole, and says weather decides the timing: in 2026 flowering started on 10 June and cutting began on 29 June, running for about 15 days (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur tourism). In an early year, the bloom can therefore be over sooner than the calendar suggests. Around Sault the department of Vaucluse describes lavender in bloom during the first half of July and lavandin from mid-July to mid-August (Vaucluse booklet, 2022). The operator reserves the right to change the programme according to the stage of the blooming.
Two full-day tours
| Tour | Duration | Stops | From | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valensole lavender full-day tour | 9 hours | Valensole plateau, a lavender producer, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, the Verdon | €155 | 4.7 stars, 303 reviews |
| Lavender day trip to Sault | 10 hours | Sault, a lavender producer, Sénanque abbey (photo stop), Gordes | €159 | 4.9 stars, 70 reviews |
Both are run by the same transport company, limited to 8 participants, with an English- and French-speaking guide in a minibus. Both meet at 38 Quai de Rive Neuve and list children under 4 and people with mobility impairments as not suitable. Lunch, other entrance fees and tips are not included; you eat on your own in Moustiers or Sault. On both tours, pets, large luggage and smoking are not allowed. The operator asks you to give children’s ages at booking and runs tours from 2 passengers, offering another date or a refund to a solo traveller left alone on a departure.
Valensole or Sault
The Valensole page says the plateau is specialised in lavandin and that the guide explains the history and traditions of this crop. The day ends back in Marseille at 5 pm. The Sault tour is a full ten hours, returning in the late afternoon, and adds Gordes, a village on a clifftop. For the Sault tour, check the season dates in the booking calendar or ask the operator. If you are travelling in the second half of July, the sources above point to Sault rather than Valensole.
A third product, the Valensole tour from the cruise port, is sold exclusively to cruise ship passengers, who must give their ship’s name.
In the fields
The regional tourism board asks visitors not to go into the lavender fields. Ask your guide before you step off the track. Take what the pages tell you to bring: comfortable shoes, sunglasses, a sun hat and water. For other Provence days, see our guide to Cassis and Aix-en-Provence.
By tour or by car
The tours handle the driving. If you would rather go on your own schedule, you can compare rental cars for Marseille; look at the booking conditions, excess and deposit before you pick one.
Our recommendation
Book the Valensole tour for a June or early July trip, and check its 10 June to 15 July window first. For later in July, look at the Sault tour. All day trips are listed under day trips from Marseille, where 20 trips start from €140.
