We are flying out of Nice at noon in the fall after traveling through Provence. We’d planned on staying the prior night in Antibes and dropping off the car at the Nice airport. How difficult will it be to travel from Antibes that morning? Better to stay in Nice? It looks like it’s about 35 miles from the airport.
Posted by
Chicago
7808 posts
I took the train to Nice Airport from Antibes to catch a flight. with no problem. It took about 40 minutes including the walk from the train stop Nice St Augustin to the airport. But if you have a lot of luggage this method might not work.
Posted by
Pacific Northwest
2622 posts
We used a private driver to take us from Antibes to the Nice airport in October of last year. I was surprised by how bad the traffic was. We were on a 10am flight to JFK from Nice. We left for the airport at about 6, I think. It took about 1.5 hours to get there in the terrible morning traffic.
Posted by
OP
43 posts
Thank you both for your input. The traffic issue does concern me, so thanks for sharing your scary experience. We are returning a car, too, so it’d be even more concerning.
Posted by
Gulf Coast, usa
1157 posts
You could do as Jazz suggests, dependent on how much luggage you have, or take the train from Antibes to Nice Ville station and then cab/Uber from there to the airport. Uber would be less expensive. We used Uber to get to our train station hotel from the airport and it was quick and easy.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10176 posts
The train from Antibes stops at the airport. The stop is called Nice St. Augustin. There's no need to go out of your way to the center of town and take a cab back.
Posted by
northern CA
2446 posts
The hotel in Antibes (technically Juan-les-Pins/Antibes border) arranged a ride to the Nice airport for my flight out and it was one of the more pleasant get-to-the-airport-home experiences I've had -- great views along the water, easy ride, pleasant airport....
Note that the airside layout of the terminal means that you loiter in a big waiting area until a few minutes before boarding and then make your way to the gate - you don't go to the gate right away, and it probably won't even be announced until close to time for boarding.
Posted by
Nice, France & San Francisco
674 posts
You do not need to walk from the San Augustin station. There is a tram spot Grand Arenas near the San Augustin station that is free to Terminal 1 and 2. It still takes a walk of a few hundred meters (Supposedly, the first phase of the multimodal hub is being completed sometime.... this year.... next? it is France, so you never know for certain. This will relocate the train station with a cleaner tram/bus exchange) Uber, taxi and an express bus/regular bus are also available (the latter can be slow).
Note with this approach that the train station in Antibes is about 1km from the Old Town. Uber and taxi will get you closer. There are also buses, including an express, but they may be the slowest option of all.
However, dropping the car off at the airport and then going to Antibes and back may not make sense, especially if you are planning to arrive late in the day. You might get more out of just dropping the car off and then taking the tram (E1.50 pp each way) right in the center of Nice and back or staying near the airport (the new, nicer hotels at the Grand Arenas area are open and the tram runs to midnight).
Posted by
OP
43 posts
Thank you all for your very helpful tips. I especially like Gooster’s suggestion of dropping the car off and staying the night in Nice before the flight. Sounds like transportation to the airport won’t be difficult.
Posted by
northern CA
2446 posts
If you do decide on Nice and you're charcuterie fans, make sure your last dinner includes the homemade planche at RS forum favorite L'Ovale.
I see there's a warning currently about difficulty procuring ducks because of avian flu, though, but hopefully that will be resolved by the time you're there.
Posted by
OP
43 posts
Avirosemail, we love charcuterie, so thanks for the tip!