We are docking in Marseille during a Med cruise. We would love a quick day trip to Aix on our own (not looking for a guided tour). What is the best way to get to and from Aix? I’ve read that the train is great, except the station is a 30 min bus ride away from either Aix or Marseille. I’ve heard taxis are good, but am unsure of the cost and availability. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by
Twin Cities, Minnesota
2001 posts
I took the train from Nice to Aix last October. I changed to a regional train in Marseilles. There are two train stations in Aix. The TGV station is about 8 miles out of town, but the regional train took me to the one in town and I was able to walk to my hotel (although it was slightly uphill.) There is not much to see in Aix, but it is a lovely spot to wander, shop & sit at cafes and watch the world go by. If you are able to go for more than a day sometime they have a great tourist center and a very nice bus station.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10623 posts
If your cruise offers a shuttle bus to Aix and back, that would be the simplest and safest to assure you get back on time. A friend of mine lived in Marseille but had to go to Aix by bus and train 1-2 times a week. It does take 90+ minutes each way by bus and train. That's the extent of my experience.
When I Google the best way to get to Aix from the Marseille cruiseport, I get:
1 Google is reporting that cruise lines offer shuttles to the Marseille city center, which is where the local train station is located. Could you ask your cruise company?
2 Bolt and another Uber-type app are showing 55-65 Euro each way. If you could find others on your Cruise Critic roll call who are interested, you could split the cost. But be careful trying to get back to the port. I've been stuck places. If you miss the ship, your next port is probably either Barcelona or Italy somewhere.
3 My phone is posting a lot of taxi services that have paid to show up in this particular search. Here are a few: connectotransfers.com; gettransfer.com; taxisaix.fr; diycruiseports.com You can google taxis and see many more.
I'm sure there is a wealth of knowledge on Cruise Critic, particularly Marseille port.
I am not recommending any of the above, just doing a search for you. I'm two hours from Marseille, so my Google search may get different results from yours.
About tours: I was in Aix last Wednesday and saw a large group of cruise passengers with a leader walking through. Later, a couple from the cruise tour (a colored sticker on their clothes) were on their own in the same restaurant where we had lunch, so they did have free time. Perhaps, the cruise tour could work if they offered free time.
Posted by
New Jersey
183 posts
I took the bus from Marseille to Aix, leaves you right in the main area. 30 min ride. I walked from the Vieux Port to the bus station, a taxi or Uber may be a better option for you.
Posted by
Paris
7301 posts
The bus is faster than the train, especially since a Marseille-Aix day trip goes against the main flow of traffic. The local train does go to downtown Aix.
A cab or Uber won't bankrupt you either, the fare estimate mentioned above sounds correct to me.