Toulon - Provincial village close and transport

[Travel To Be Free]

We will be in Toulon on a cruise in early September.  My husband and I have been to France, but none of the rest of my family.  I thought about going to St Paul De Vence, as we loved it. It's such a picture perfect village and one with good representation of the small villages of France.  It is about 1.5 hours from Toulon.  (Worried if we dock in La Seyne Sur Mer it is even farther.)  (only there 8-4)  We're not a fan of the bigness of Marseille.  I've looked at Cassis, St Tropez, Canes, Le Castellet, but they don't seem to have the quaintness.  We've been to Aix-en-Provence, and out of all, this will seems the best alternative, but still have my heart set on St Paul De Vence.

 

(1) Are there any other suggestions of villages that can compare to St Paul De Vence?

(2) Is there a good reasonable vendor for a van if we decide on St. Paul De Vence?  Would only need transport to and from St Paul, not a full tour.  

[dogs4fun]

I don't know of any reasonably priced private vendors but you could rent a car - would this be an option that would appeal to you? On both of our cruise visits to Toulon, our ship docked in La Seyne Sur Mer (on the night prior to docking in Toulon during our last cruise visit, we were assured we would actually dock in Toulon  - awoke the next morning to find we had docked in La Seyne Sur Mer). St Paul De Vence is about a 2 - 2.5 hour drive from La Seyne Sur Mer.

Edited January 20, 2020 by dogs4fun

[marazul]

4 hours ago, Travel To Be Free said:

We will be in Toulon on a cruise in early September.  My husband and I have been to France, but none of the rest of my family.  I thought about going to St Paul De Vence, as we loved it. It's such a picture perfect village and one with good representation of the small villages of France.  It is about 1.5 hours from Toulon.  (Worried if we dock in La Seyne Sur Mer it is even farther.)  (only there 8-4)  We're not a fan of the bigness of Marseille.  I've looked at Cassis, St Tropez, Canes, Le Castellet, but they don't seem to have the quaintness.  We've been to Aix-en-Provence, and out of all, this will seems the best alternative, but still have my heart set on St Paul De Vence.

 

(1) Are there any other suggestions of villages that can compare to St Paul De Vence?

(2) Is there a good reasonable vendor for a van if we decide on St. Paul De Vence?  Would only need transport to and from St Paul, not a full tour.  

 

Please, do not go to St Paul from Toulon.  It is way too far and you may also run into lots of traffic.

 

There are two nearby villages that would give you the same experience without the long drive.

Hyeres (the old village)- 25 minutes away and Bormes-les-Mimosas - 30 minutes past Hyeres.  Both can be visited the same day and they are beautiful.  A little further out you have Grimaud (the village, not the port), Gassin and Ramatuelle near St. Tropez.

 

BTW -  La Seyne-sur-Mer is only across the harbor from Toulon and a much easier port to deal with. 

Edited January 20, 2020 by marazul

[bostonfred]

Great info Marazul.....any more feedback out there...thanks..

[dronnygirl]

Toulon itself is a very pleasant port.  Ships dock right in the town and it's a 2 minute walk across the car park to the main road. Cross this and you are at the market square. The Tourist Info is on your right and you can purchase a ticket for the bus and cable car up Mont Faron where there are beautiful views and walks also a cafe and a very good WW2 museum. The tickets were approx 7 euros, very good value.

[marazul]

I should have added Le Castellet. This gorgeous village is west of Toulon and before Cassis. There are also some good wineries nearby. 

[edinburgher]

Or Bandol, easy to reach from Toulon, or Sanary sur Mer if you cannot get transport to Le Castellet.

 

You actually have some good choices.