Visiting Monaco (from Cannes)

[slithy]

Hi, I'm booked on Indy Western Med 14 July 2012. One of the ports-of-call is Cannes. I'm interested in taking the train to Monaco. Schedule says we arrive at 08.00. Transfer to shore is by tender: does anyone know what the earliest time you can reasonably get ashore is?

 

The outbound leg Cannes-Monaco looks OK (trains at 08.10, 08.31, 08.43, 09.10, 09.26, 09.40). However, return leg is not so good. There is a train back at 13.43; next one after that is not until 15.13 which looks a bit tight (gets into Cannes at 16.23 and schedule says we depart at 17.00). If we came back on the 13.43 train we might only have a couple of hours in Monaco.

 

Has anyone done this before and what were your experiences?

[SPacificbound]

We have been there doing land travel. If you are only going to have a couple of hours or even 4 or 5 hours, it would not be worth it. You can get all of the steep hill walking you could possibly want in Cannes, no need to go to Monaco for it. JMHO

[sxphil]

I looked at this and in the end went for the RC Tour as I thought the trains were tight

[jennywren46]

I really think your pushing it,the later train wont work, youd have to get from the station to the tender station by which time id think the last tender would have gone. Unless you really want to go to Monaco Id stick to Cannes. Its lovely just walking around and going up the hill to the old town .

Imho tendering on Indy takes ages and its just not worth the hassle.trying to get to Monaco.

[jennywren46]

Just seen your reply, I think your wise .Enjoy it ..

[hummy0605]

Hi, I'm booked on Indy Western Med 14 July 2012. One of the ports-of-call is Cannes. I'm interested in taking the train to Monaco. Schedule says we arrive at 08.00. Transfer to shore is by tender: does anyone know what the earliest time you can reasonably get ashore is?

 

The outbound leg Cannes-Monaco looks OK (trains at 08.10, 08.31, 08.43, 09.10, 09.26, 09.40). However, return leg is not so good. There is a train back at 13.43; next one after that is not until 15.13 which looks a bit tight (gets into Cannes at 16.23 and schedule says we depart at 17.00). If we came back on the 13.43 train we might only have a couple of hours in Monaco.

 

Has anyone done this before and what were your experiences?

 

Hi it depends what your mobility is like - we went in to Cannes about 9.30am from memory and saw the F1 route, the casino, expensive shops etc then walked up to Monaco to see changing of the guard at mid day. We then ate some sandwiches at the church where Princess Grace married Rainier and then went back to the station about 2pm. All in all only did a few hours and then were back on ship. We didn't feel rushed and saw everything we wanted to see :)

[malchancock]

Am also going (planning ) to do Monaco by train on IOS last trip round the med in Oct , Im a keen F1 fan so wanted to take some pics of the circuit in its naked form & DW wants to look!!! in the expensive shops as well, not sure if the £$£$ RCI tours will give us enough time to do both .

[Racing fan]

My DW and I have been to Monaco two times. First by driving in from Florence and staying overnight two nights; view was amazing. Second by cruise ship. We were on the same arrival and departure times as you. Being a Formula One fan all my life I wanted to rent a car and drive to Monaco from Cannes. I drove the F1 course a couple of times just to see what it was like. We did go for a small Mercedes for the day at $125 but you can rent a cheaper car around $80. The car gives you the chance to explore the hill towns above Monaco. Driving back to Cannes was beautiful with the sea on the left side; lots of traffic on a Sunday.

 

Why not look into a rental car?

[KathyPet]

I disagree with those who say don't bother with Monte Carlo. I find it to be a incredible city. Absolutely breath taking and well worth a visit. Cannes has nothing on Monte Carlo

[Iceman's Mum]

we are doing this cruise next Saturday (16th). I have already booked my train tickets on Rail Europe which we pick up at the station. I have booked the 9.40 out (gets to Monaco 11.10) and the 1.45 back which gets to Cannes at 3.10 and should be plenty of time, even allowing for delays, to get back on board by 4-4.30 latest. sail away is 5.00.

 

I think a couple of hours will be fine for walking the Grand Prix circuit and having a cup of coffee. we have done the Palace and Cathedral before so not so important this time. found the RCI trip only gave us about an hour there with lots of queues to get back to the coaches - you are dropped in a lower level car park with only one lift to get you up to the town level and about 30 coaches full of people all trying to use the one lift!!

 

Back home on the 30th - can let you know how it goes.

[malchancock]

Racing Fan, Thanks for the tip will def look into it ,

 

Icelands mum, enjoy the trip & please report back as to how it go's in Monaco

 

Slithy, sorry if i've hijacked your thread !!:o

[slithy]

Slithy, sorry if i've hijacked your thread !!:o

 

No problem, it's all interesting!

 

I think we are going to try to get off the ship as early as possible, hopefully can get to Monaco by around 10-ish which would give us ~3.5 hours there to get the 13.43 back, which leaves some time for a stroll around Cannes before returning to the ship. Looking forward to it. Thanks for all the advice!

 

Iceman's mum, look forward to hearing how your trip goes! BTW let me know if the rail ticket price is much different if you buy on arrival, it would be nice to have the extra flexibility.

[jennywren46]

One thing try to get down early for the tender. They only allow open tendering once the ships tours are cleared Im only saying this because when we went,we had ages to wait until we got on a tender,and once ashore its quite a walk to the station perhaps try for a taxi to save time .

[Racing fan]

Racing Fan, Thanks for the tip will def look into it ,

 

Icelands mum, enjoy the trip & please report back as to how it go's in Monaco

 

Slithy, sorry if i've hijacked your thread !!:o

 

Ther is a rental car office within walking distance to the ship; I cannot remember exactly where it was but it was close. There are are some shops in Monaco that sell Grand prix items and the official Automobile Club of Monaco has an office and shop there also.

[tactic]

Have been to nice twice... Albeit not whilst cruising, and had problems with trains between nice/ Cannes and monte Carlo. Advise checking with staff at station that there is no anticipated problems. The last time we did the return journey we had to wait in monte Carlo for nearly 3 hours for the train as there were issues at the Italian end. Just a point to note. Don't miss it though it's a fabulous place :)

[Iceman's Mum]

thanks for advice. will certainly let you know how it goes.

 

Just as an aside, the tickets were 'only' £13 return each, so if there are anticipated problems when we get to Cannes, we feel that we can afford to lose that amount (depending on the circumstances of the delay of course). I do appreciate that not everyone would feel the same way but it is a loss we would personally be prepared to stand if there was the slightest sign of any problem which would mean that, if we got to Monaco, we might not be able to get back! I will certainly check on any problems from the Italian end of the train journey.

 

Thanks

[Hlitner]

Tender operations are always a bit iffy when it comes to predicting when you get ashore. On RCI you have to deal with the fact that the tours get priority as do all the Diamond (and Diamond +) members. If the ship truly arrives and gets anchored at 8 they will not even begin tendering until around 8:30 (they need time to get the tenders into the water and be cleared by the authorities). From the tender pier it takes a fast walker about 25 min to get to the station. It is a lot faster to get a taxi...but there are often no taxis available. Another option is to walk past the Marina towards town where you might be able to catch a local bus.

 

Hank

[slithy]

Tender operations are always a bit iffy when it comes to predicting when you get ashore. On RCI you have to deal with the fact that the tours get priority as do all the Diamond (and Diamond +) members. If the ship truly arrives and gets anchored at 8 they will not even begin tendering until around 8:30 (they need time to get the tenders into the water and be cleared by the authorities). From the tender pier it takes a fast walker about 25 min to get to the station. It is a lot faster to get a taxi...but there are often no taxis available. Another option is to walk past the Marina towards town where you might be able to catch a local bus.

 

That's really useful information, thanks Hank!

 

It looks like there is no direct bus Cannes to Monaco, you need to change in Nice. Also bus may be quite a bit slower than the train?

 

I found this really detailed post about public transport along this section of the coast on TripAdvisor:

 

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g187216-i137-k4846618-Train_station_or_bus_stop_Then_what-French_Riviera_Cote_d_Azur_Provence.html

[Hlitner]

That's really useful information, thanks Hank!

 

It looks like there is no direct bus Cannes to Monaco, you need to change in Nice. Also bus may be quite a bit slower than the train?

 

I found this really detailed post about public transport along this section of the coast on TripAdvisor:

 

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g187216-i137-k4846618-Train_station_or_bus_stop_Then_what-French_Riviera_Cote_d_Azur_Provence.html

 

If you really have your heart set on going to Monte Carlo (not our favorite place) then the train makes the most sense because of the distance (over an hour by train). It is also a pretty fast drive (if you rent a car) since you can use the high speed autostrade (although most would want to drive on the Middle Corniche between Nice and Monte Carlo where you can make a quick stop at the charming Eze Village.

 

Hank