14 hours in St Raphael with a rental car

[aamechs2]

We are docking in St Raphael on HAL Zuiderdam, we are a couple with 15 year old twins (boy/girl) with us, they love the Med and are up for anything we decide. Our port time is 8:00 am to 11:00 pm, we are picking up our rental car at 8:30 am. But where should we drive to? We love coastal views and small towns. But I'm not sure how hard driving on a Friday (July 3) will be? I'm guessing that going out will be OK but coming back to the ship there will be considerable "weekend" traffic.

 

I think we would enjoy either traveling along the coast then up to St Paul de Vence with a stop at Antibes on the way back. (We will be in Monte Carlo the next day and plan to go to Eze and Monaco so I don't know if this is redundant, we have been to Eze but the kids have not)

 

Or we could drive along the coast the other direction to somewhere?? Or even drive away from the coast up to Aix-en-provence?

 

I'm not sure. I don't want it to be a difficult drive plus we need cool places to stop so we're not just driving and we won't want to cut it close getting back to port. This will be the first stop on our cruise so we'll be excited to be out and about.

[Hlitner]

A very carefully reasoned post :). We have done a lot of driving in the region (on both port days and when we simply stay in Provence) and think you have a good handle on the issues. In your situation with 2 teens we would probably enjoy the drive along the coastal road and then head inland to St Paul de Vence. This will be a slow drive and you can stop whenever it feels right including Antibes. Traffic on the oft 2 lane coastal route is unpredictable so we think it is better to use these roads in the morning when you have no concerns about getting back to the ship. Later in the afternoon, when everyone is a bit tired from the long day, you can use the A8 (this is a major 4 lane toll Autostrade) to get back to San Rafael unless you still have lots of energy and want to again head to the coast. Your late departure should help avoid the "get back to the ship" anxiety although you would certainly want to know how to return your car after hours in case you get delayed.

 

I should mention that even in during the heavy tourist season the A8 is not normally too congested and traffic flows at the normal 130 KPH. But, of course, one always needs to allow some extra time in case of a rare accident or some other blockage.

 

Hank

[aamechs2]

Thank you Hank, I know you have tons of experience and I really appreciate your advice. I know that you dedicate a lot of time and effort to helping others enjoy Europe and it's much appreciated. We took our first Med cruise in 2007 and I remember printing lots of instructions from you! I specifically remember the amazing instructions that allowed us to visit Monaco, Exe and Nice for E1! That hooked us on doing our own thing and it's only because of people like you and your great advice. I'm not sure if I ever came back and said Thanks, so here it is. THANKS!

[Hlitner]

Thank you for the very kind words which is what makes all the time here worthwhile :). One other warning. Do not depend on a US credit card working on the French toll roads which would include the A8. The situation on French toll roads with credit cards is really a mess as one never knows if a card will work. So the basic rule is to always have enough Euros to cover potential tolls and gas (in case your credit cards do not work in a gas station).

 

Hank