7 extra nights in Southern France- how to arrange

Nice is an excellent base for exploring the region by bus or train. We spent two weeks in Nice doing that ourselves a few years ago. Antibes and St-Jean Cap Ferat were our favorites but we also enjoyed Villefranche, St-Paul de Vence,
and Vence. We did visit Monaco and the section above the city with the Cathedral and tombs of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier was interesting.
And Nice itself is a wonderful city to explore with its mix of Italian and French heritage. Visit the museum of Marc Chagall and Henri Matisse.

You could certainly base in Nice for the rest of your trip, which would be convenient when you fly home. It's worth at least a couple of days, apart from the other coastal places you mentioned, with good train and/or bus service to them. I haven't been to all of them, but they're similar enough that you might not want to visit them all in your limited time.

Provence is a different area with different history, architecture, landscape, and traditions. You might consider a few days based in Avignon, which has good train and bus connections to places like Arles, Nimes, Orange, the Luberon, and Marseilles. See the "Explore Europe" link on this website to learn more about Provence. You could reach Avignon by train from Nice and/or Marseilles.

End of May is the Monaco Grand Prix - so hotels in Nice are expensive -

Fayence is much closer to the Riviera than to the most-mentioned places in Provence. Even Aix is almost a two-hour drive from Fayence. Getting to the Luberon would take a bit more time, and Arles and Avignon are even farther away. I suspect your villa group won't actually go to Provence, so you might want to spend a good chunk of your time there. Honestly, I'd make it more than 3 nights if I were going to head in that direction; I'd hope to see both Arles and Avignon as well as at least one smaller town. Avignon seems a bit better than Arles as a base for those without a car, but if Arles sounds more appealing to you, it will work. Aix is nice, but the location isn't quite as convenient as a base for side trips for carless travelers.

There's a disadvantage to heading west from Fayence: The train trip back to Nice isn't particularly fast, so that will cut into your week of sightseeing time.

I haven't been to all the places you mentioned, but I have spent a couple of weeks in Nice (May 2017) and day-tripped to Menton, Antibes, St-Paul-de-Vence, Vence and Cap Ferrat. I didn't find those places to be repetitive. Vence is the least touristy of the group; it's easy to combine it with St-Paul-de-Vence by bus from Nice. Cap Ferrat is notable for being the location of the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild (with nice gardens) and the Greek-style Villa Kerylos. Menton also has some nice gardens (not right in the middle of town).

St Tropez is more complicated and I wouldn't bother with it while staying in Nice since there are so many other, more convenient, options. St-Tropez doesn't have a train station, so it requires a ferry or a bus (or maybe it's a combo--I haven't been there).

There are a couple of big-deal events along the Riviera in May, the Cannes Film Festival and the Monte Carlo Grand Prix. I was told it's the Grand Prix that most affects lodging rates in Nice. You might want to go ahead and book a cancellable room in Nice for your week, just in case you decide to head in that direction. Rooms are highly unlikely to become cheaper between now and May.

The surge in visitors for the Riviera special events can lead to lines at the train-ticket vending machines in the Nice-Ville station. There's no need to buy the tickets early for trips along the Riviera (fares don't change and there are no reserved seats), but you don't want to miss a train while you're in line at a ticket machine. I'd download the SNCF app so you can buy tickets that way. If you don't want to deal with an app, buy your ticket the night before.

The train along the Riviera is quite inexpensive and is popular with pickpockets--probably especially during the film festival and the Grand Prix. Be careful with your purse. Assume anyone who gets into your personal space needlessly is going to try to steal something.

This is great info, much appreciated!

Going to go ahead and book a refundable hotel for Nice until I flush this plan out. I am there during both big May events! I think I scored on the direct flights at $1070 from Atl. (They were at $1800 for months).

My thought was to stay close to the nice villa train station since I will be using it a lot…but sometimes the train station is sketchy. Any areas to worry about?

Will scratch St. Tropez. I really want to see Eze and Vence.

I used the SNCF app when we toured the Loire Valley and Alsace last summer, and it was way easier than ticket machines! Will definitely book that way.

100% agree with acraven. Stay east for the first part of your trip, take more than 3 days to explore Provence. If traveling by rail and you want to break up the length of your journey, we found Cassis to be a scenic and relaxing waypoint for the trip back to Nice.

Can also confirm the pickpocket presence. The rail employees announced them on the train that we were on and were even happy to point them out.

I will be in Nice for 10 days in March with a friend who has based there several years in a row. She never rents a car but uses train and Uber. There are also buses that will take you up into the hills above the coast. She said she never gets tired of the area. And has done a lot of exploring on her own and with a friend. Having the Grand Prix going on will change the prices and traffic along the coast as previously mentioned.

If you are spending time in Fayence, it might be best to stay to points west, especially if your friends have a car. There are some beautiful villages to explore in this part of Provence (yes it is part of Provence) like Seillans and Tourtours. If you were to go to Saint Tropez and your friends have a car, this is the time to do it. And if you are interested in wineries, there are some lovely ones in this part of the Var (and rose on the St. Tropez peninsula). You can also go to the Gorge du Verdon, a much more doable day trip (by car) from Fayence. If you do decide to head east, Grasse is fine enough but there are also lovely places like Mougins (that are tougher to hit via public transport from Nice -- Grasse is far easier, though).

I don't recommend staying near the train station --- there are a few sketchy streets but also because the better restaurants, bakeries, shops, etc are closer to the water. If you want to remain walkable to the train station, try into the Carre d'Or, south of the train station and from Blvd Victor Hugo to the water (you can also try a similar area on the other side of Jean Medecin, fewer hotels there).

Merci Gooster, good advice!

In regards to hotel location in Nice, is Coeur de Nice acceptable? This seems to be where my budget+ fully refundable are leading me. Looking at Hotel du Midi.
Also looking at airbnbs, but worried about getting cancelled on in a very busy time.

Looking at Gorge du Vernon now, had not heard of it. I will be well prepared when the group has our planning meeting in January!

I think the gorge is a great idea if you can convince your housemates to make that one of the day-trip destinations. I really wanted to go up there, but it would be challenging without a car.

I agree that you may not want to stay right up near the train station. I did, and I wasn't uncomfortable, but I'm a big-city person, and it takes a lot to shake me. Some of the blocks near the station are quite nice while others are tatty. The tram runs south along Av. Jean-Medecin and has a stop 2 to 3 blocks east of the train station. If you stay quite some distance from the train station, it would be handy to be close to that tram line.

I stayed at the Hotel Bristol on rue Paganini, about a block from the Hotel du Midi. If you stay at the latter hotel, you'll probably encounter some of the less-attractive blocks in that part of town as you come and go. You can use Google's earth view (drag the little yellow man onto the street) to explore the area around the hotel and see what you think. I liked the Restaurant Voyageur Nissart right across the street from Hotel du Midi; I ate there at least twice.

@kkmintz What is usually described as Coeur de Nice is mostly fine. If it is east (ne) side of Jean Medecin, it is fine. On the other side, some people feel uncomfortable at night around Rue d'Angleterre and the intersection with Rue d'Italie (behind the church) and again at Rue Belgique closer to the station. .