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French Riviera - DIY OR book a tour?


nicknish

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Hey guys ,

 

This is probably test and tried !Its my my first time to the Riviera , and im Stayin in Nice. I have one day and would liek to go to Monaco , Monte Carlo and Eze. Do i need to book a tour say with our very popular " revelation tours " or "dream tours " or can i do it myself by using a train.

Does the train take u to the mouth of spots like the palace or do i need to cab it from the station. The tours are costing about 50 Euros per person.

Im a DIY person generally , but not sure if its practical in the Riviera. Thanks in advance.

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Now I was going to say do it yourself if you just want to see Monaco and Eze. From Nice you can take the bus or the train to Monaco and then the bus to Eze. Eze is only about a 15 minute bus ride from Monaco. The casino is a bit of a walk from the train station but not too far. Did you say you were actually staying in Nice for a day or just visiting on a ship for a day?

 

If you do a tour, you will definitely see more and you'll likely also get St. Paul de Vence which I highly recommend.

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How about renting a car and driving around on one's own? Are the roads hard to navigate, and destinations hard to find?

 

While I'm a big fan of DIY travel, and have rented cars and found my way around all over the world, I tend to stay away from renting cars on one-day port excursions. There's just so little time in port...why waste any of it going through all the hassles of picking up/dropping off the car, finding your way around, getting lost, finding places to park etc? The roads aren't outrageously hard to navigate there (not like Amalfi Coast or places like that) but there are a lot of turns and one could easily get lost. Plus, some of the destinations don't have the most accessible parking - with a guide, you can be dropped off and picked up in the most convenient spot, and let the driver worry about parking. And a guide will be able to point out places of interest you wouldn't recognize along the way.

 

While there are some ports that I think are best done on your own (i.e. Cinque Terre), this is one region where I truly believe the best option is a private driver. There are fabulous guides - some of the guides in this region receive the best reviews you will find here on Cruise Critic. The prices are right (when you share the van with others), the destinations are lovely, the distances are right for driving (not too far that you waste hours in the car, but not so close that it would make more sense not to drive). There is just no reason NOT to use a private guide in this area!

 

I'm a big Michel Legrand fan (Revelation Tours), he's by far the BEST private guide we've ever had. :D

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We sued Alain with Dream Tours, but Revelations gets good reports also. I agree with the private tour - In one day you can see Monaco (Monte Carlo is the downtown area - not a city), Eze, Nice and its' market and St. Paul with time for a nice meal and shopping.

 

Have a great day there.

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We sued Alain with Dream Tours, but Revelations gets good reports also. I agree with the private tour - In one day you can see Monaco (Monte Carlo is the downtown area - not a city), Eze, Nice and its' market and St. Paul with time for a nice meal and shopping.

 

Have a great day there.

 

You sued him? or is that a typo and should say used?

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Monaco is easy to get around on your own. I just bought train tickets for Nice and Monaco and went on my own. It was much easier that way. I was able to do the things I wanted to on my timetable.

 

Oh and don't forget to take your passport with you to Monaco. There is a little tourist information booth inside the train station terminal by the cafe and they'll stamp your passport if you ask them. ;)

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Do NOT get your passport stamped at a tourist info booth. It will void your passport.

 

My parents had their passport stamped and they are still using it. No problems at all. But hey, you can always have them do it on a sheet of paper and stick it in your passport.

 

I'm curious why you would give out such a stark warning?

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How about renting a car and driving around on one's own? Are the roads hard to navigate, and destinations hard to find?

 

 

We rented a car with another couple we met on the ship from Cannes. This was one of the best days of the cruise. We were able to drive to Eze and St Paul De Vence with some stops in between. The roads were very easy to navigate and we had a pretty decent map. Road signs were very easy to follow. DH drove and we all helped navigate. Very simple. we stayed as long as we wanted in each stop. Had a wonderful lunch in Eze. Visited a perfume factory without the crowds, and, had plenty of walking around town time in Cannes. The whole car rental was about 98 Euros. Split that between 2 couples, and you have an inexpensive, fun-filled day.

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These type of questions (tours vs DIY) come up often on the boards, but what is often omitted is the cost associated with each option. Hiring a car/driver is a great option on the Riviera, but this can easily cost over 300 Euros for a group of 4. Renting a car will generally cost about 60 - 80 Euros (again for a party of 4). Using trains and local buses will vary depending on the itinerary, but the cost will generally be less than the other options. Personally, we prefer to rent a car (in Cannes, Monte Carlo or Villefranche) since it allows us to easily get to St Paul de Vence (our favorite village in the region), Eze, Antibes, etc etc without having to be concerned with bus/train schedules. Of course renting a car does involve the usual hassles of picking-up and dropping the car. Renting in Cannes and Monte Carlo is quite convenient, but Villefranche can be a bit complicated depending on whether you can arrange for a car to be delivered to the tender port vs. having to go into Nice or the Cote d'Azur airport to get your car. A general word of warning to anyone visiting this region on Sundays. In this part of France many places (including most of the decent stores) are closed on Sundays. However, some of the smaller villages (such as St Paul de Vence and Eze) thrive on Sundays with almost everything open.

 

Hank

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Ok ,

 

So i hear it clearly , if in for a day do a private /group tour. I really dont wanna take the hassle of renting a car , which i would definitely opt for , if i stayed a week in the region. I guess i'm going with Revelation tours , have requested Michel to conduct it , but not confirmed.

Now my concern is my " fixed " tour takes me From Nice to Monaco , Monte Carlo and Eze , but not to everyone's Favorite St Paul De Vence. My tour gets done by 1pm and drops me back to my hotel in Nice , so what my ways of navigating myself to St paul's. I checked raileurope.com for routes between these two places and it gives me an error , saying it doesn Recognise St paul's. What am i doing WRONG?

 

Thanks you guys....ur soooooo helpful.

ps: whats this discussion abt stamping or NOT stamping ur passports?

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Ok ,

 

So i hear it clearly , if in for a day do a private /group tour. I really dont wanna take the hassle of renting a car , which i would definitely opt for , if i stayed a week in the region. I guess i'm going with Revelation tours , have requested Michel to conduct it , but not confirmed.

Now my concern is my " fixed " tour takes me From Nice to Monaco , Monte Carlo and Eze , but not to everyone's Favorite St Paul De Vence. My tour gets done by 1pm and drops me back to my hotel in Nice , so what my ways of navigating myself to St paul's. I checked raileurope.com for routes between these two places and it gives me an error , saying it doesn Recognise St paul's. What am i doing WRONG?

 

Thanks you guys....ur soooooo helpful.

ps: whats this discussion abt stamping or NOT stamping ur passports?

 

If you're doing a private tour, then you control your own itinerary. Just ask your driver to take you to St. Paul De Vence! That's the beauty of a private tour - you get to decide where/when/how long in each place. They may list specific tour routes on the website, but those are just suggestions - there is no reason to stick to it. And if you get Michel, you are in for an amazing experience. Not only will you get to see all these great places, but he'll give you a fascinating and supremely entertaining talk during the ride that will teach you all about the history of the area - with lots of humor thrown in. We were discussing our tour afterwards with the other couple who shared it, and we agreed that we almost felt embarrassed by how little we know of our own local history, after hearing how much Michel knows about his!

 

I don't know anything about this passport-stamping thing - nobody ever mentioned it to us, and we had a full day at the port in Monaco.

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Ok ,

 

So

Now my concern is my " fixed " tour takes me From Nice to Monaco , Monte Carlo and Eze , but not to everyone's Favorite St Paul De Vence. My tour gets done by 1pm and drops me back to my hotel in Nice , so what my ways of navigating myself to St paul's. I checked raileurope.com for routes between these two places and it gives me an error , saying it doesn Recognise St paul's. What am i doing WRONG?

 

 

St.Paul de Vence isn't on the rail line, you'd have to take the bus from Nice.

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It's been largely covered...but I'll throw my two cents in here as well...

 

I have toured this region several times in just about every way possible...including trains, rented cars and ship-sponsored shore excursions...

 

And my strong recommendation would be to hire a guide/driver for the day...I've found Alain (Dream Tours) to be very responsive and knowledgable...but have also heard good things about Revelation/Michel...I don't think you can go wrong with either...

 

The problem this area brings is that there are several desirable places to visit...and they are spread out throughout the area...Some you may find more interesting, some less...so, it's good to be able to adjust your route and schedule, even as you go along--very hard to do if dealing with train, bus and transportation schedules or with a rigid shore excursion...

 

The guide knows where to go and how to get there and can create an itinerary around your desires...Note: On one port stop, you are not going to see "everything", but a private guide will get you to more...

 

Note on Shore excursions: One cruise, we got lazy and decided to just take an excursion--"Nice, Eze and Monte Carlo"...It looked good on paper...The guide was about the worst we've ever had...Too much "free time" in every stop...If we were on a private tour, we could have told the guide "Enough of Monte Carlo--we've seen the town and we don't want to gamble"...BTW, our guide gave us a time and location to meet after free time in Monaco "Yellow Submarine at 2:00 pm"--and then didn't show!!! At 2:10, I finally convinced everyone that something was wrong, but having been there several times myself, I knew where the bus was and to follow me...When we got to the bus, she was sitting in the bus!!! Her excuse? "It was too hot to wait up there so I went to the bus early"...

 

Anyway...research the region thoroughly---Monte Carlo, Nice, Cannes, St. Paul de Vence, Eze, St. Tropez, etc. Then discuss it with your guide and see what he recommends as an itinerary...Let the guide deal with routes and timing and you'll get the most out of your day...

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Hey ,

 

NOw that i have booked my half day tour in the Rivierra , i was wondering what the accepted tipping percentage or amount. Is it like the US , 15 -20% , depending on how much u liked the service? Lemme know .Thanks.

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I am a bit confused by your post since we very rarely take private tours (never in Western Europe). Why is your itinerary fixed? If your tour company does not allow you to choose where you want to go, I would be finding a different company. However, keep in mind that its about a 45 min drive from Villefranche (or Cannes) to St Paul de Vence, so its not always a great option on a half-day tour. We usually drive there for our first stop so that we can beat the bigger afternoon crowds...and than we often have lunch at St Paul de Vence before we leave for other places. Regarding the "rail europe" comment, the nearest station to St Paul de Vence is called "Cagnes sur Mer." Its about 8 miles from the town.

 

Hank

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Hey Hank

 

 

I'm sorry , i wasnt clear. We are doing a half day tour with revelation tours. Its not a private one , but a fixed monaco, monte carlo , eze thing.

Since its only 4 hours , i thot of doing St paul on my own, but now have decided to do it another time, as i wanna spend the rest of my day in Nice.Thanks for the info tho...

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