St. Tropez to Cannes DIY

[orlandofun08]

Hello fellow cruisers. Our Mediterranean cruise is anchoring in St. Tropez next June from 8am to 12 midnight. We are trying to plan a DIY to Cannes (shore excursion offered by Crystal is $189 per person and there are 4 of us) Can you give us some information/recommendations regarding public transportation to Cannes? We are not interested in renting a car. Thanks!

[Hlitner]

Well, you can do it with the train but its a minor hassle. You must first get yourself from the port to the Saint Raphael train station. For this you will need to use a local bus, a taxi, or perhaps a shuttle bus (if provided by your ship). From Saint Raphael to Cannes is about a 22 - 37 min train ride depending whether you catch a region TER train or the faster (more money and you need a reserved seat) TGV train. While there are several trains per hour during the morning rush time (up until around 9) the frequency of trains drops off so you need to coordinate with the train schedule (it can be found at the SNCF web site).

 

What we find somewhat amusing (given that we have been to Cannes numerous times on both cruises and our own driving trips) is that you want to go to Cannes. We often help folks here on CC who are porting at Cannes and want our help to go elsewhere. It sometimes seems like nobody is happy with their own port :)

 

Hank

[orlandofun08]

Thank you Hank for your reply.

 

Now that you mention it, I've been doing a lot of research on this forum and all I found is how to get away from Cannes and not the other way around!!

 

My cousin lived there many years ago and she wants to visit again, that's the main reason we are going, but we also want to spend some time in St. Tropez.

 

Since the ship stays there until midnight, I think we have enough time to do both.

[Hlitner]

That sounds like a plan! DW and I have spent several hotel stays in Cannes (and also posted there numerous times) and are not as negative about the city as some. If you could catch an early train you could head back to St Raphael by mid-afternoon and still have time to walk around St Tropez. The only caveat is how you get to and from Saint Raphael and whether it is worth your while. It is about 18 miles from St Tropez to St Raphael which would make a taxi very expensive. There are local buses on the route. We did a little research and found there are about 8 buses a day which take a little more then an hour (ouch) which cost about 10 Euros (one way). And then you have to add the train fare with will be about another 19 Euros round trip. So you are talking about over 100 Euros for 4 persons plus trying to coordinate schedules, waiting time, etc. Although you do not want to rent a car, a rental car would probably cost you no more then 60 Euros and would actually save time. The drive (using the fast multi lane Autostrade) would take less then 1:30 each way. If we were doing that drive we would use the Autostrade one way and then come back along the much slower (but nicer) coastal road. Just had to toss out this option in case you reconsider.

 

I will be very blunt in questioning whether it is worth over 3 hours travel time just to go to Cannes for a short visit. But if you have to go there, it can be done :)

 

Hank