We will be traveling with our family of six by train from Pisa - with an overnight stay in Villefranche sur Mer on our way to Provence. We plan to have a car in Provence and were hoping to get off the train in Monaco - get a car and be able to explore Monaco, Villefranche Sur Mer and Nice by car on our way to Provence. But - I am finding that Hertz only rents in Nice. Does anyone know of any other car rental agencies we should try - or any thoughts on the subject?
Posted by
Michigan
375 posts
We've used autoeurope, which I believe Rick recommends. Also Europcar.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
Monaco to Nice is about 20 minutes by train, and the trains run twice an hour. Buses can take twice as long, but run four times an hour. Villefranche is in between Monaco and Nice and all trains and buses stop here too.
So, if you have to get off in Nice instead of Monaco to rent the car, you can backtrack by train, bus or car. Personally, I wouldn't want a car in these three cities; I'd rent on the way out of Nice. Parking the car in these places will definitely cost more than the low train fares and the dirt cheap bus fares (the bus is deliberately kept low to encourage people to ditch their cars).
Posted by
Northern Rockies, British Columbia, Canada
543 posts
Hi Liz.
Through Autoeurope we rented a car last month in Antibes from Hertz. The Hertz office is at 31 Avenue Robert Soleau, about a 3 minute walk south of Gare d'Antibes, the main train station, and the underground rental lot is another few minutes walk south of that again (they'll give you a map). My voucher shows the cost at $152 CDN for 5 days, net of CDW for a four door Opel Corsa. Of course you would need something larger i.e a van.
As Antibes was our base, we only used the car for trips into areas north of the Riviera (Grasse, Le-Bar-sur-Loup, Tourettes-sur-Loup, Vence, St Paul de Vence, Verdon Gorge).
If you're planning to use the car to see the towns along the Riviera that would be a mistake. The frequent and cheap trains and buses connecting them all are the way to go. Using a car for that would be cumbersome and slow, with parking at a premium from a cost perspective and availability.
You don't mention how much time you have between Monaco and Provence, but if it's all supposed to happen in one day (including picking up the car) I would suggest you would have time for just one town - maybe. Use viamichelin.com to check travel times for where you want to go, and add bathroom breaks, food stops, etc for 6 people.