SELF-DRIVE PROVENCE · THE ONLY SEVE COURSE IN FRANCE
The only French course Seve Ballesteros ever designed sits among the olives here.
Provence golf holidays
Pont Royal is the layout Seve drew himself, threaded through garrigue and pine above the Durance, while up the road Domaine de Manville plays past stone-walled bunkers and olive groves under the Alpilles. Five courses inside an hour, the car loaded onto LeShuttle, and a long drive south that ends in cicadas and rosé.
★★★★★4.9 from real golfers
· 5 courses · from £395pp (≈ €455) (≈ $525) (≈ CA$735) (≈ AU$745) (≈ NZ$905) (≈ CHF 425) (≈ kr 5,045) (≈ kr 5,105) (≈ kr 3,445) · ATOL-protected where flights are added
Golf holidays in Provence start from £395 (≈ €455) (≈ $525) (≈ CA$735) (≈ AU$745) (≈ NZ$905) (≈ CHF 425) (≈ kr 5,045) (≈ kr 5,105) (≈ kr 3,445) per person, across 5 courses we can book, 4 hotels and resorts we sell. Sold ground-only, hand-priced around your dates, and arranged by us since 1981.
A hand-priced quote, no obligation, and no call centre.
Provence sits in the south-east corner of France, a region of stone villages, lavender fields and warm, dry summers that suits golfers who want their rounds wrapped around good food and a slower pace. The golf here is part of a wider holiday rather than the only reason to come, and that is the appeal for a lot of the people we send.
Golf Planet Holidays has been arranging tailored golf trips since 1981. We plan the hotel, the tee times, the transfers and every round for you, so you turn up and play.
Why play golf in Provence
The character of golf in Provence is closely tied to where you stay. Domaine de Manville at Les Baux de Provence is the standout for golfers, an estate hotel with its own course set in the Alpilles, where olive groves and rocky outcrops shape the holes. It is the one we point most golf-led trips towards.
Moulin de Vernegues at Mallemort gives you a similar pairing of countryside hotel and golf nearby, on flatter ground with the Luberon as a backdrop. Both reward players who like a relaxed week more than a hard test, with the round being one good part of the day rather than the whole of it.
The courses you’ll play
Provence is a region where the golf comes through the resorts themselves rather than a long list of separate venues. Domaine de Manville has its own course on the estate at Les Baux de Provence, and it is the natural base for golfers who want to walk out and play. Moulin de Vernegues at Mallemort sits close to golf in the Mallemort countryside.
If you want more variety across a week, we can build a programme that mixes the resort golf with other rounds in the area and handle the bookings and transfers between them. Tell us how many rounds you want and we will plan it around your stay.
Where you’ll stay
Three hotels anchor what we offer in Provence, each with a different feel.
Domaine de Manville, Les Baux de Provence (from £450 (≈ €525) (≈ $595) (≈ CA$845) (≈ AU$855) (≈ NZ$1,035) (≈ CHF 485) (≈ kr 5,745) (≈ kr 5,815) (≈ kr 3,925) pp, 3 nights) is the pick for golfers, an estate hotel with golf on site and a setting in the Alpilles.
Moulin de Vernegues, Mallemort (from £550 (≈ €635) (≈ $725) (≈ CA$1,025) (≈ AU$1,045) (≈ NZ$1,265) (≈ CHF 595) (≈ kr 7,025) (≈ kr 7,105) (≈ kr 4,805) pp, 3 nights) is a converted mill in the countryside near Mallemort, good for couples who want quiet and space.
Hostellerie de l'Abbaye de la Celle, La Celle en Provence (from £680 (≈ €795) (≈ $905) (≈ CA$1,275) (≈ AU$1,295) (≈ NZ$1,565) (≈ CHF 735) (≈ kr 8,685) (≈ kr 8,795) (≈ kr 5,935) pp, 3 nights) is the most special of the three, a restored abbey with a strong kitchen, better suited to a food-and-wine week with golf added than a golf-first trip.
Best time to play golf in Provence
Spring and early summer, roughly April to June, are the most reliable months for a UK golfer, with long settled days and the countryside at its best. September into October is the other good window, with cooler air and quieter resorts once the school holidays end.
July and August are hot and busy, which some people enjoy and others find too much for golf in the middle of the day. Winter is quiet and can be cold and wet, so it is not a time we would push for a Provence golf trip.
A sense of Provence
History & heritage
This is the Roman half of the south. Arles still uses its amphitheatre. Glanum lies in pieces below Saint Remy, and the Pont du Gard, built to carry water to Nimes, now carries visitors instead. Aix was the capital of Provence and still behaves like one, with a law faculty, a fountain every hundred yards and Cezanne's studio kept much as he left it. Montagne Sainte Victoire, the mountain he painted again and again, dominates everything east of the city. Les Baux de Provence is a ruined castle on a limestone spur, and the red mineral found in its quarries in 1821 was named bauxite after the village. Those quarries now hold enormous projected art shows in the dark. Above Nans les Pins, the Sainte Baume cave has drawn pilgrims since the Middle Ages, Louis IX among them in 1254.
Food & wine
Provence eats inland. Olive oil, garlic, tomato, lamb off the Alpilles, vegetables that taste of something because they grew forty minutes away. The oil of the Vallee des Baux has held its own protected name since 2000 and comes in two styles, one green and grassy, one pressed from olives left to mature and closer to tapenade in flavour. Ask for the grand aioli on a Friday, which is traditionally when it appears: salt cod, boiled vegetables and a great deal of garlic. Aups holds a black truffle market on Thursday mornings from late November until the season gives out in late winter. It is a trade market rather than a show. The rose around Brignoles is Coteaux Varois en Provence, grown high enough to keep its acidity. Coteaux d'Aix at lunch, a red Bandol at dinner.
Beyond the fairways
Markets are the main event, and the good ones are worth planning around: Saint Remy on Wednesday, Arles along the boulevard on Saturday, Aix most days of the week. Go early. The Alpilles give you short, hot, rocky walks with olive groves underneath. Avignon has the popes' palace and the bridge everyone sings about. West of Arles the Camargue turns flat and strange, all salt lagoons, flamingos and white horses. The ochre villages of the Luberon are an easy hour north, Gordes and Roussillon being the two everyone photographs. Further east the Verdon gorge cuts several hundred metres into limestone and is the most dramatic thing in the region by some distance. When the mistral comes down the Rhone valley it is cold and hard, and it leaves the sky scrubbed clean.
Getting around & exploring
Marseille Provence airport at Marignane is the usual door in, sixty-five kilometres from Les Baux and about half an hour from Aix. Avignon TGV is thirty kilometres from Les Baux if you come by train. Driving from Avignon you take the A7 and leave at exit 24; from Marseille it is the A7 north, then the A54 towards Arles and exit 11. The A8 handles everything east of Aix, Brignoles included. Now the honest part. Provence is not compact. The Alpilles courses and the Var courses sit an hour or more apart, so pick which half you want and stay there rather than crossing the region twice a day. Off the motorway the D roads are narrow, walled and slow. That is half the pleasure, but budget for it.
Good to know before you book
Getting there
Most UK golfers fly to Marseille or Nimes, both within easy reach of these hotels, and we arrange your transfers from the airport to the door. Flights are an ATOL-protected add-on we can book alongside the trip rather than something baked into the headline price.
Provence is also within range of a self-drive holiday if you would rather bring your own car and clubs, taking the crossing and driving down through France over a day or two. It is a longer way to travel but it gives you freedom on the ground, and we can plan the stay around either option.
Good to know
One honest caveat: Provence is a region we treat as golf-and-lifestyle rather than a heavy golf itinerary, and the choice of courses is narrower than at a dedicated golf destination like the Algarve or southern Spain. If you want four or five different championship courses in a week, this may not be the right fit. If you want a couple of good rounds built around fine hotels, food and scenery, it works very well. Tell us how many rounds matter to you and we will be straight about what we can put together.
★ 4.9 from real golfers · ATOL & PTS protected · Arranging golf since 1981
Frequently asked questions
Golf holidays in Provence. The questions our golfers ask most.
How long is LeShuttle crossing time to France
The Eurotunnel LeShuttle from Folkestone to Calais takes about 35 minutes, which makes a self-drive trip genuinely easy for the Northern France golf resorts. Le Touquet, Hardelot and the courses around the Somme are roughly two to three hours on from Calais, so you can load the clubs, drive on and be on the first tee the same day, and on those breaks we can include the crossing in the price. For the south and southwest, such as Biarritz, the Riviera and Provence, most golfers fly into Nice, Marseille, Biarritz or Bordeaux and we arrange transfers on the ground.
How much does a golf holiday in France cost?
Golf holidays in France start from £235 (≈ €275) (≈ $305) (≈ CA$435) (≈ AU$445) (≈ NZ$535) (≈ CHF 255) (≈ kr 2,995) (≈ kr 3,035) (≈ kr 2,045) pp with Golf Planet Holidays. That is a hand-built ground package, and the final price depends on your hotel, the courses you play and the season.
When is the best time to play golf in France?
May, June, September and October are the best months, with comfortable temperatures and courses in peak condition. The south of France stays playable into late autumn.
Where should I play golf in France?
There are more than 700 golf courses in France. As first steps we would recommend Northern France. There are ten great courses here. Chat with us about the various choices if you wish to venture further afield.
How many golf courses are there in France?
We feature 130 courses and 102 resorts across France including Saint Malo Golf Club and Sept Tours Golf Club. Your specialist matches the courses to your group's standard and budget.
Is it easy to get around in France?
Getting around France is straightforward. Self-driving is the most popular option — if you've come via Le Shuttle, you already have your car. Trains are excellent for city-to-city travel, particularly from Paris to Bordeaux (2 hours on the TGV). Within golf regions like the Algarve or Brittany, a hire car gives you the freedom to explore at your own pace. We include all airport or station transfers in our packages and can arrange inter-course transfers, so you're never left without options.
Still have a question? Ask our golf travel team A free quote, no obligation, and no call centre.
