10 days - drive or public transport

Hi

My husband and I are planning a trip in April for 10 days and were thinking about doing the South of France, possibly flying into Marseille (from London).

We do not have any concrete plans and are looking for suggestions. We want to see as much of the beautiful coastal areas as possible, and dont mind travelling 1-2 hours a day. We are 27 %26amp; 30, and just looking to see as much natural beauty and culture as possible. We even considered doing Italy, France and Spain coast in the 10 days but figured that might be over-optimistic.

1. Would you suggest we rent a car or is there adequate public transport along the scenic routes?

2. Any particular route? Or not-to-miss areas?

3. We even considered renting motorhome -but have never done that -is it a cost effective way to travel to see this area??

Thank you!!

|||

ImpiSa !!!

I would recommend driving. The sea coast areas along the Mediteranean are stunning.

To see a lot, perhaps you could consider flying to Barcelona, returning from Italy, or flying to Toulouse/Perpignan and returning from Nice.

You would have to check on a one way auto rental with drop off.

This way you get the benefit of no backtracking and you could see more.

Have fun !! That is a beautiful time of year to plan a trip like this.

|||

Thanks!

Unfortunately its about an extra £300-£500 fee if we drop off the car in another country, which I think is a bit much.

So we might try find a central location to hire a car and then do a round trip, seeing the coast and a bit inland....

Its a bit overwhelming all the possibilities!!! But our budget is not that overwhelming :) so trying to see what would be best value.

Thanks again

|||

ImpiSA !!

Then you can do a beautiful loop trip from Marseille, Nice, or near Spain.

Some of the very beautiful areas are Cassis, Collioure, Villefranche, Menton. The whole coast is very beautiful.

Enjoy !!

Use viamichelin.com, very good for routing, scenic driving and distances.

|||

I strongly recommend that you rent a car for the entire duration of your stay in the South of France as doing so will enable you to really explore rather than be limited in what you can explore based upon public transportations schedules. Whatever you do I would not recommend renting a motorhome especially because of the cost of fuel.

Ideally you should consider establishing a base for day trips to visit the type of sites that you enjoy, however members of the Trip Advisor Forum will be better set to assist you as to where you might want to base yourselves if you could say a bit more baout your interests than that you %26quot;want to see as much of the beautiful coastal areas as possible%26quot; - do you want to hike, are you also interested in historical sites, food etc...

Also, I recommend that you post your next inquiry on the Provence Forum for more specialized information.

AlpillesGal

|||

Depending upon where it is you want to visit, there is adequate public transportation, the problem is frequency of service. Having a rental car allows you to make the most efficient use of your 10 days.

Unfortunately, there are too many routes that qualify as %26quot;not-to-miss%26quot; areas in the south of France. Additionally, I should characterize the coastal areas to the west of Marseille (generally flat) are quite different that the areas east (mountainous, cliffs). Of the most compelling coastal visits from the area of Marseille and to the west are Cassis, Saintes Maries de la Mar, and Cassis. The points east are generally better known: Villefranche, Menton, Antibes. These are contrasting areas and there are yet many locations farther inland which could be recommended.

Motor home rental has interesting options: allowing you to avoid hotels and even restaurants if you want. There are many campgrounds in the south but I recommend your checking availability as many may not be open in April. It%26#39;s advantages become less obvious if you want to visit the metropolitan areas. Here is a resource:

http://www.ideamerge.com/

No matter what French forum you post in (and it really does not matter) the best way to obtain specific information is to pose specific questions.

|||

Correction to previous post:

Of the most compelling coastal visits from the area of Marseille and to the west are Cassis, Saintes Maries de la Mar, and COLLIOURE.

An edit function would work well for me.

|||

Hi --

You%26#39;ll have a much more satisfying trip if you first read some guide books for the areas that interest you so you have some idea of which stops are best suited to your taste. Then come back to the forum for specifics.

It%26#39;s all well and good for us to tell you where to go, and how to get there, but that%26#39;s our trip and not yours. I always think the investment of time and money is great enough that it deserves enough research to allow you to design a trip that is perfect for you. What we contribute is the icing on the cake.

Re motorhome: Probably not a great decision for first timers in an area with so many accommodation choices and such narrow roads. The mileage isn%26#39;t high but the fuel costs are.

I%26#39;d save this for a different trip where accommodation and restaurants are more sparse on the ground. Generally, it%26#39;s hard to make this choice work in terms of economics unless you dine on board almost exclusively.

|||

Thanks for all the tips. I think you are right - I will do some more investigation about the area, but the more we think about it, the idea of the motor home will have to wait for another trip.

I%26#39;m going to get reading and surfing the net, but thinking about this as a possible loop:

Fly into any starting point and rent a car:

Marseille - Cannes- Nice - Antibes -Monaco -Menton - up to either Torino or Milan (to see a bit of Italy,so anywhere that is scenic) - Geneva- Villefranche Sur Soane -Marseille

Its about 1200 -1300km but that sounds managable in 11 days.

I%26#39;m concerned because it will be over Easter that I need to get booking soon to get places!!

Thanks all!!!

|||

It sounds to me as if you are trying to do way too musc in a relatively short time.

If guess the only question is whether you want to %26quot;experience%26quot; the places that are along the way or you will be satisfied with just having driven through so you can say that you%26#39;ve been there. Frankly, that%26#39;s not my vacation style, but, to each his/her own.

|||

If you have no intention of visiting Cassis, Hyeres, Toulon or St. Raphael, skip Marseille and fly into Nice. What%26#39;s left is still more than sufficient for 11 days.