I am a single girl from New York traveling alone to the French Riviera in JULY. After much research on this website and Google, I%26#39;ve come to find that aside from taking the plane to the train to the bus to the cabs, and 3 hours and many hundreds of dollars later, that%26#39;s the only way I%26#39;m gonna be able to get from point A to point B. So I rented a car as backup. My question is, am I crazy? Are the roads really bad (so narrow I can barely fit) and do people drive like maniacs (accident rate really as hight as they say)? Did I mention, I don%26#39;t speak French, like at all! However, I am very adventurous and the thought of having luggage and coming off of a 12 hour flight to stand on line waiting for buses, trains and cabs etc................not appealing. My gameplan is this...............need advice from others who have done similar road trip. Tips and tricks!
Arrive on Wednesday, July 18, 2:00pm into Nice Airport
Pick up car, drive from airport to St. Tropez (stay 3 days)
July 20th, drive back to Nice from St. Tropez. (stay in Nice for 6 days)
Do day trips to Beaulieu, Villefranche and Monaco.
July 26th, drive back to Nice Airport
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We have driven a rented car on the French Riviera and had no problems what so ever.
We were there in July also.
The only problem is the parking for over night in Nice . It was expensive so we found a hotel that offered cheaper secure overnight parking.
Ask your hotel if they have parking secure and how much $ and if they can give you directions to inexpensive secure parking.
We drove to Monaco and parked in the parking garage and shopped up stairs in the huge grocery store for snacks.
We loved having the car to drive to Grasse and to the hilltop towns and to Tropez. We saw a lot of wonderful places! It is much easier with a car and you can see so much more!
We felt that French are very polite drivers and where you are going the roads are not winding or narrow . There are a few on the hill top villages but not dangerious IMO. Have fun!
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%26gt;Are the roads really bad (so narrow I can barely fit)
If you rent a Hummer, yes. Otherwise (for a normal car), no.
%26gt;and do people drive like maniacs (accident rate really as hight as they say)?
No - but the highway along the Riviera is one single traffic jam.
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They do take some pride in having double the road death rate of the UK. but if you drive in NYC you will have no problem.
I spend about ten weeks a year on the Riviera and only rent a car when I want to go inland. A car in Nice is more trouble than it is worth and there is a very good chance of having a bump so make certain you have full insurance. You will see that almost every car in Nice is damaged. Recently I walked from Villefranche to Nice faster than one of my neighbours drove but that was due to road works.
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It might be less traumatic if you stayed in Nice first for a few days, then hire a car to get to ST or by then you might feel up to the train and ferry option after you%26#39;ve decompressed in Nice for a few days.
Also, if you decide to car hire for ST after a few days in Nice, you can choose when to drive and set off VERY early in the morning to beat the queues a bit. There are plenty of car hire places within the city centre, there%26#39;s no need to hire from the aiport where the queues for car hire even with reservations can be horrendous.
From Nice airport it is very easy just to get into Nice, a 30 euro taxi or 4 euro express coach.
The day trip to the places you mention are very easily done by train or bus from Nice, definitely no need for a car.
If you decide on the car option for ST, then I would still consider abandoning it, once you are in Nice.
best wishes
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Unless your hotel in St Tropez has parking you will have problems with a car there as well. It might have to be left in a public paying car park. Do you know where you are staying? That would help so that we can give more specific advice.
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Thanks for all the advice! Yeah, I wanted to do Nice first............but St. Tropez was all booked up so I had to kinda work around hotel availability there because I really wanted to go there since I%26#39;ve never been.
In St. Tropez (my first stop), I am staying La Ponche which supposedly has private parking and valet.........so hopefully I should be good there.
In Nice(my second stop, home base), I am staying at Flots D%26#39;Azur which also has parking.
I rented a compact Mercedes for the week (surprise, surprise I don%26#39;t drive stick! It was the only automatic they had) but it wasn%26#39;t so bad to rent from the states. $700 for the week, insurance included.
So what do you think? Keep the car and wing it? Or planes trains and cabs the whole time? Which will be less expensive?
I think I most nervous about are: roundabouts! (lol), french signs and narrow roads............but sounds like from Nice to St. Tropez, not so bad with the exception of annoying traffic. Does this sound accurate?
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It%26#39;s a lovely hotel in a nice quite location. Make sure you have good directions to it. The roads, although busy, are fine until you get to St Tropez where, of course, in town they are narrow.
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%26quot;No - but the highway along the Riviera is one single traffic jam.%26quot;
err. not really. Sweeping statements aren%26#39;t too helpful and can be a little off-putting to tourists...
Like any of the worlds popular tourist destinations you will find plenty of traffic around. The coast road from Ste Maxime, through to St Tropez is very busy, and that 10km stretch will probably take you 45mins.
Whether you are in a car or a bus (as someone earlier recommended) you are going to have to be patient and expect an occasional wait. Once off the coast road though, the traffic normally runs fine.
Car nudges do happen, particularly as there are sooooo many tourists around - so the advice of full insurance was a good one! The %26#39;Riviera Rash%26#39; - car scratches, bumps and scrapes to you and I - is indeed very common, but more because the French consider cars as a useful way of getting from A to B, and as such aren%26#39;t quite the status symbols they are in other countries...so if they have a bump, they just shrug and drive on.
I believe you should please yourself by renting a car and not relying on public transport, simply because - like you - it can get stuck in traffic too, and therefore its schedule may not run to time, potentially leaving you feeling a little stranded.
The roads are well sign posted, but depending on who your car hire is through, it may be wise to consider hiring a TomTom GPS navigation system - easy to use, and very accurate, which will therefore take away any potential stresses you may have regarding signposts. If you don%26#39;t go the GPS route, you%26#39;ll find the roadsigns easy to follow.
The motorways on the riviera are toll motorways, so a credit card is always handy (so as you don%26#39;t have to talk to any french people.
It%26#39;s really not scary, it%26#39;s beautiful and if you%26#39;ve got your own transport, you%26#39;ll be able to please yourself.
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I normally live in the detroit area, but have had an apt. near Nice for the last 8 years, and to really get around you need a car - period. The driving is part of the adventure!!! Get a convertable if you can....
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I just thought of something -- going from Nice to St Tropez is a major traffic snarl -- take the Ferry -- there is a small high speed boat from the old port of Nice to St Tropez -- then use the car after that to go exploring. I don%26#39;t have the schedule but it leaves from the old port of Nice.
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