Help with Toulon port day plan

[kikiw]

Hi CC,

 

I'm going on the Voyager OTS on Oct 3rd, and I just realized that while I have planned for the first 4 port days, I had neglected to plan what to do in Toulon. :eek: We're travelling as a family of 4, from 29 to 65, and we're more of the type to see the city/historical sights rather then sit on a beach in the sun.

 

Seems like we'll be docking at La Seyne Sur Mer from 7 to 5. I had initially planned to go to Marseille, but while looking in CC for transportation routes, it seems Marseille is not highly recommended. Then I looked towards Avignon as it was more recommended. It seems travelling to Avignon from La Seyne sur Mer would be a hassle, going first to Toulon, then train to Marseille and switching to another train to Avignon, so I'm thinking of renting a car to drive there. Some members say that Sixt rental will do a meet & greet at the port and take us to the car, which would be great, as the less hassle the better.

 

Some questions that came to my mind are:

 

1) Anyone with experience as to whether there are additional charges (ie: forced insurance) when renting from Sixt? Or is the price quoted online the "out the door" price? I had a bad experience renting from Avis in Orlando, booked everything online and then they forced on extra insurance at the airport :mad:

 

2) Where would be a good place to park in Avignon and within walking distance to the walled city? How much is the parking if we parked for 4 hours? Would there be parking spots if we get there around 10 to 11 on a Saturday morning?

 

3) Is 4 hours enough to see the main attractions? Would we have time to stop at St. Remy on the way back as well?

 

4) From google, it SEEMS that a valid Canadian driver's license is enough to rent/drive a car in France, but can anyone with personal experience confirm?

 

That's all the questions that I can think of at the moment. Thanks for all the help! :D

[baggal]

We were so exhausted from taking day long tours at all the other ports that when we got to Toulon, our last port, we considered it a sea day and never got off the ship!

[numbersix]

Hi--Don't know about #2, or #3, but can help with the others:

 

1) Extra charges....shouldn't be a problem....have rented a lot in Europe, and have never been forced to accept extra charges, insurance, et cetera...as opposed to the typical North American 'upsell', they really don't seem to care.

 

4) Sure...a Canadian license is fine...you may hear a lot of noise about needing a IDP ("International Driving Permit", available at CAA), but it's never ben an issue for us....particularly in France, as our licence(s) are in French and English anyway....an IDP is merely a translation of your home driving license.

 

I really enjoy driving in France...well sign-posted, they tend to be good drivers, and they drive fast (I learned to drive in Montreal, so that's a good thing!).

 

One comment on your plan, though...la Seyne to Avignon is quite a ways...Gogle maps puts it at 165 kms/1:41, so that's probably 3 1/2-4 hours driving...a lot on a port day. We stopped in Toulon a couple of years ago (unexpectedly, as our stop in Marseille was cancelled), and on the advice of the nice lady at the tourist desk in the terminal, we drove around , but just a bit, visiting Sanary-sur-mer (loved it...quintessential, picturesque French port/fishing town), Bandol (ok beach town), and Cassis (loved it...have lunch on the quaiside). We had a great day.

 

Enjoy yours!

 

Kevin

[kikiw]

Thank you! I'll talk to my folks tomorrow and see if they REALLY want to go to Avignon on the last shortened port day. Otherwise, we might just go to Toulon and walk around/shop for 3 hrs and relax on the ship.

 

If they are set on Avignon or even just driving a car to nearby towns, then I'm all set on the car rental part.

[kikiw]

Hi--Don't know about #2, or #3, but can help with the others:

 

1) Extra charges....shouldn't be a problem....have rented a lot in Europe, and have never been forced to accept extra charges, insurance, et cetera...as opposed to the typical North American 'upsell', they really don't seem to care.

 

4) Sure...a Canadian license is fine...you may hear a lot of noise about needing a IDP ("International Driving Permit", available at CAA), but it's never ben an issue for us....particularly in France, as our licence(s) are in French and English anyway....an IDP is merely a translation of your home driving license.

 

I really enjoy driving in France...well sign-posted, they tend to be good drivers, and they drive fast (I learned to drive in Montreal, so that's a good thing!).

 

One comment on your plan, though...la Seyne to Avignon is quite a ways...Gogle maps puts it at 165 kms/1:41, so that's probably 3 1/2-4 hours driving...a lot on a port day. We stopped in Toulon a couple of years ago (unexpectedly, as our stop in Marseille was cancelled), and on the advice of the nice lady at the tourist desk in the terminal, we drove around , but just a bit, visiting Sanary-sur-mer (loved it...quintessential, picturesque French port/fishing town), Bandol (ok beach town), and Cassis (loved it...have lunch on the quaiside). We had a great day.

 

Enjoy yours!

 

Kevin

 

Thanks Kevin! Would you believe that I actually took out my DL to see that it is in Eng/French? :p Either I'm not canadian enough, or too canadian to notice bilingual documents.

[BooMP]

HELLO...just testing