Are there tour drivers waiting at the Cannes port?

[T.O.cruisers]

Has anyone noticed when exiting the port area at Cannes if there are drivers with vans waiting for hire?

[KirkNC]

I don't recall any but it has been several years since we were there.

[Hlitner]

Has anyone noticed when exiting the port area at Cannes if there are drivers with vans waiting for hire?

 

We have been asked this same question on a few ocassions and our answer is "Maybe." There will sometimes be a few local taxis parked near the tender pier area (there is a large parking lot nearby) but a majority of these drivers speak little or no English. Finding a van/taxi would even be rarer. Unlike many countries you will seldom to ever find a true tour guide waiting around looking for work. In Cannes, we have actually come assure at 8am to find no taxis at all! We later found most of the local taxi drivers at a local cafe (we stopped to have cafe au lait) having their morning coffee and chatting about sports. We actually talked to one of the drivers about a cruise ship being in port and he told us he would never miss his morning coffee and conversation for a cruise passenger.

 

Oh, if its a Sunday or holiday you may not find a taxi anywhere!

 

Hank

[T.O.cruisers]

Thanks Hank. It's quite upsetting so close to our cruise that we find out our stop in Villefranche has been changed to Cannes. And the last ship in gets stuck with not much too choose from for private tours. We had our heart set on going on our own to Nice, Eze Village and Monaco. Now it appears that getting in and out of Eze Village on the buses and back to Cannes is risky on our own.

[Hlitner]

Thanks Hank. It's quite upsetting so close to our cruise that we find out our stop in Villefranche has been changed to Cannes. And the last ship in gets stuck with not much too choose from for private tours. We had our heart set on going on our own to Nice, Eze Village and Monaco. Now it appears that getting in and out of Eze Village on the buses and back to Cannes is risky on our own.

 

I did not respond to your other thread since you specifically asked for my onboard pal...Eurocruiser. But, I will help you here. If you have a full port day you can still do your plans...but it will take a bit more time. You can easily take the train from Cannes to Nice and Monte Carlo (its actually the same train that stops at Villefranche). But Eze Village does involve some more complicated logistics since you must connect to a bus and the Ligne d'Azur buses do not run very frequently). You might want to substitute a quick visit to Antibes (which is also along the same line). If you do use the train try asking if they are offereing a one-day train pass. This seems to be hit or miss but if they have this option it can save you money.

 

You other option is to use our personal favorite mode of transportation when in Cannes. We simply rent a car. This allows us to easily go to places like St Paul de Vence (our favorite) or even Eze Village without the hassles of trying to deal with infrequent buses.

 

Hank

[rugglesmom]

Any suggestion for a private limo company for a day trip from Cannes. Any suggestion would be helpful. Thanks

[Hlitner]

We cannot help with private limo companies since we always do countries like France on our own. You might try a new post putting your request in the subject line (more will notice) and I am sure you will get some recommendations. Keep in mind that private cars/drivers are very expensive in France (you can often pay over 500 Euros) so it helps to have a small group to split the cost.

 

Hank

[jsrchard]

IF you plan on seeing Monaco, I suggest a private tour reserved in advance. This also allows visits to smaller villages such as Eze, ect. If you can gather a party of 6, these tours cost less per person than the ship's tours. We hired Sylvie De Cristo and were very satisified

[rugglesmom]

Thank you. I'll check them out. Appreciate the info.

[T.O.cruisers]

I did not respond to your other thread since you specifically asked for my onboard pal...Eurocruiser. But, I will help you here. If you have a full port day you can still do your plans...but it will take a bit more time. You can easily take the train from Cannes to Nice and Monte Carlo (its actually the same train that stops at Villefranche). But Eze Village does involve some more complicated logistics since you must connect to a bus and the Ligne d'Azur buses do not run very frequently). You might want to substitute a quick visit to Antibes (which is also along the same line). If you do use the train try asking if they are offereing a one-day train pass. This seems to be hit or miss but if they have this option it can save you money.

 

You other option is to use our personal favorite mode of transportation when in Cannes. We simply rent a car. This allows us to easily go to places like St Paul de Vence (our favorite) or even Eze Village without the hassles of trying to deal with infrequent buses.

Hank

 

We took your advise and rented a car from Mistrel. It was very easy and allowed us to tour on our own schedule. It was important for us to get to Nice so after Eze Village and Monte Carlo we just didn't have time to get to St. Paul de Vence but I will get back there one day. We had a great day. I'm glad we did it. Cannes is also a nice place to spend the day.

[Hlitner]

We took your advise and rented a car from Mistrel. It was very easy and allowed us to tour on our own schedule. It was important for us to get to Nice so after Eze Village and Monte Carlo we just didn't have time to get to St. Paul de Vence but I will get back there one day. We had a great day. I'm glad we did it. Cannes is also a nice place to spend the day.

 

That is good news. Since we had never used Mistral ourselves (we did disclose this in a few posts) we have been waiting for some feedback on this regional agency. So far all the news has been positive and its certainly hard to beat their location relatively close to the tender pier. Totally agree with your attitude of adjusting your itinerary "on the fly" and not getting too hung-up on a preordained schedule. St Paul de Vence has been there a very long time and will be waiting when you return to the region :)

Hank

[rmurray847]

I have posted this on another thread, but we used Mistral in August, and it was a great experience. Very short walk from the tender drop-off. Fast, friendly service and reasonable rates. No reason to go anywhere else, in my opinion, as the other car rental options seemed to be quite a bit further away.