*Bonjour, New to forum and planning wedding anniversary trip this fall. Worried about initial plan as start involves getting up at 4 am to get flight to Seattle, arriving in Nice, France then taking train Rapolla, Italy. New to Italy, France and sleep deprived - worried will end marriage rather than celebrate it! Here is the plan:
1) arrive in Nice, Italy around noon after traveling 32 plus hours; walk ten minutes to train and take it to Italy, couple of transfers and hopefully after four plus hours walk to rental in Rapallo,Italy for 4 day base to explore including ferry to Portofino.
2) Return to Nice where we have hotel in St. Jean Cap Ferrat for 7 days to explore Riveria and beach.
3) rent car from Nice, France and drive towards and enjoy Provence, renting country mazet in St. Remy of Provence.
4) Drive to Collioure, rental with water view and can take train to Spain for 4 days. Leave out of Marsielle, France to home.
Tickets changeable, can cancel rentals up to 18th. Would appreciate advice and others experiences.
Merci.
*
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
9525 posts
Welcome
Simple solution is to just spend your first night in Nice
Getting in to center is super easy from the airport
Stay close to train station if you like and travel onwards the next day
I would not want to add anymore travel to an already super long day
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
5979 posts
Even after an 8 hour overnight flight I've learned from experience to keep my travel to a minimum on the day of arrival. My decision making skills just aren't where they need to be if even the slightest issue comes up. What happens if your flight is late, or a train is delayed or a connection missed? You'll be in no condition to think on your feet after 32 hours of travel. Have you considered basing in Nice first and then heading to Italy before backtracking? Or at least stay in Nice overnight.
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
5979 posts
I've been mapping your itinerary and now I'm wondering why you're flying into Nice to get to Rapolla? Why not fly into Naples and out of Marseille, or if the last place you're visiting is Spain, are you going to be closer to Barcelona than Marseille? Have you considered the drop-off fee for renting the car in Nice and dropping off in Collioure?
Posted by
41 posts
You don’t say which anniversary you’re celebrating (congratulations, BTW, I love your style and ambition). But regardless of your age, I think you’re going to be so utterly exhausted that you’ll be unable to enjoy anything. You’ll be traveling 32 hrs to get to Nice, then taking a train (with transfers) to Rapallo for four days. Will you have four full days there, or are you counting your day of arrival and departure ? (Same question for Spain.)
Your week in St Jean Cap Ferrat sounds wonderful. You don’t say how long you’ll then have in Provence (St Remy does make a great base for touring and is itself quite charming, if bustling), which is a huge area. Then you’re off to Collioure (maybe a three-hr drive depending where you start) and perhaps to Spain, before returning to Marseille to fly home.
None of this allows for travel delays, weather delays, or fatigue.
Every place you’ve chosen is alluring and hugely worth seeing. I just wonder if you’ll spend so much time getting from place to place (packing, driving, checking in, unpacking) that everything will be a blur, especially after nearly two essentially sleepless days just getting to Rapallo. Rarely do things go perfectly.
I hope you’re very young and energetic! Even if you are, I’d drop Spain and possibly even Collioure, depending on how many days you’ll actually have in France. Believe me, you won’t run out of things to see.
Posted by
Bellingham, WA
1992 posts
You're making one too many connections for my taste going over. If you already have to fly to Seattle to get a transatlantic flight, I would get a direct one to your first city. In your 3 selected countries, those options are Paris, Rome and Barcelona. Of these, it seems like Barcelona is the closest fit. After a few days there, you could take an overnight ferry to Genoa for Rapallo, then take the train to Nice, etc.
If you don't want to change your flights, I agree with the suggestion to stay in Nice (or St Jean Cap Ferrat) upon arrival, drop Italy and Spain and slow down. Your topic title is "South France," so maybe stick with that and don't try to play the "but it's so close" game. Because it's really not.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
9525 posts
I'm wondering why you're flying into Nice to get to Rapolla?
Pretty sure OP means Rapallo as Portofino is mentioned as a day trip from there. Rapallo is nowhere near Naples.
Have you considered the drop-off fee for renting the car in Nice and
dropping off in Collioure?
Both Nice and Collioure are in France. If there is a drop off fee it should be minimal (we have never paid a drop off fee in France)
OP- can you fly into Milan? Easy to get to Rapallo from there but it's still extra travel onwards on arrival day.
arrive in Nice, Italy around noon after traveling 32 plus hours;
Curious what airline and flight? This seems like a super long connection/flight- should be able to get there quicker from Seattle
Posted by
France Southwest - Occitanie
3993 posts
4) Drive to Collioure, rental with water view and can take train to
Spain for 4 days. Leave out of Marsielle, France to home.
This part seems very strange to me. I don't understand the planning ideas that led to this kind of itinerary.
How many nights are you actually staying at the house in Collioure?
Since you'll have a rental car and could easily explore the countless amazing spots in the area surrounding Collioure, why take a 4-day train trip to Spain? And where exactly in Spain would you go by train?
What happens to the rental car during those 4 days? (Is it just sitting in a parking lot?)
If you're planning on returning the car in Collioure, why rent one just to get there when you could easily take the train instead?
I admit that it's all so weird that I have a hard time understanding the questions I'm asking.