Flying from Nice at 6:00 a.m. Shuttles from nearby hotels don't begin running till 6:30 a.m.

Marilyn, the Nice airport isn't very far from the center town. Our favorite place to stay lately is the Meridian Marche aux Fleurs and then we just take a taxi to or from the airport or train station for an earlier connection.

I booked a cab the night before. The hotel I stayed in assisted me in calling.

Thank you for the help. I did wind up finding that Novotel Nice Arenas Airport does have a free shuttle that runs every 15 minutes 24/7. I hate to stay in these chain hotels, but since I'm leaving on my own at 4:00 a.m., I decided to just go with this one. I've made lots of phone calls about this, that's for sure! Hopefully, this will help another early morning traveler!

The Novotel you mention is pretty much adjacent to the airport, so they should whisk you over there in a flash....

I have a flight at 6:30am and had the same concern, after some research I booked Ibis Style Nice airport because they have free 24-hour hotel-airport shuttle.

http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-7008-ibis-styles-nice-aeroport-arenas/index.shtml

There are a number of Accor hotels near or adjacent to each other including that Novatel, a Novotel Suites, and the mentioned Ibis Styles.

Novotel Suites is the new name for Suitehotel. Ibis Styles is the new name for All Seasons.

Thanks to all of you for the information. I tried a couple of the hotels Rick Steve's listed as having shuttles, but they either no longer had them, or they didn't begin running until 6:30 a.m. - which was not too much help for a 6:10 a.m. flight! The Ibis and the Novotel both do have round the clock shuttles. At 4:00 a.m. I don't care about charm, I just want to be close to the airport and get there quickly and reliably.
Does anyone have any experience with TAG Portugal airlines and the Nice Airport? I've read TAG's luggage restrictions, but am wondering if anyone has helpful tips about the airline -- or the Nice Airport in general? How easy is it to navigate? How much time should I allow to get through security? If I'm traveling to Portugal, will I need to go through customs? Thanks for any help you can give me!

To answer your last questions, Nice is an easy airport. It's smallish. I can't remember if it's one terminal or two, but it's easy and small distances to your gate.
You won't go through passport because flying withing the EU is like flying within the US, but you will go through security.

At the Nice airport the final gate for a flight isn't announced until pretty close to the actual boarding time, so you will be waiting in a big general cool-your-heels area while keeping an eye on the big board, train-station style.

Thank you, Bets and avirosemail, your replies are very helpful! I can't wait to be in France! My whole trip doesn't seem quite real. I'm excited and your info is helping me feel informed and calm as well. Thanks!

If you're searching for information on your airline, the proper name is TAP, not TAG.

Whoops! Thanks for catching that! I can't even say it's a typo -- those keys are too far apart. Must have been a mental lapse. :)