Hi!
My mom and I are hoping to explore north of Nice (St. Paul de Vence, Gourdon, etc.). We will be based in Nice and we weren't planning to rent a car, so we looked up potential day trips to those areas north of Nice. We came across this tour by a company called Viator and it seemed to receive good ratings. Is anyone aware of this company or even itinerary? Any thoughts?
Thank you! Here is the link: https://www.viator.com/tours/Nice/Provence-Countryside-Small-Group-Day-Trip/d478-2356NCE05
Viator is a tour consolidator. I have taken several tours through them and all have been great. Not just in France, but other countries too.
Happy Travels.....
As Frances said, Viator is not a tour company. They are an international booking site which books tours that are actually provided by independent contractors. I personally don't book tours when I know nothing about the company that is actually providing the service. But Viator has a decent reputation for doing what it does, the assumption being that they have adequately vetted these operators before offering their tours.
I prefer to look for tours on TripAdvisor- where the name of the company is given. And after checking for reviews on a few different sites, will usually book directly with the tour operator rather than a 3rd party.
I have booked several tours through Viator in different countries. All but one (and that was here in the US) was fabulous!
(Note - I have not yet booked anything in France through them.)
There is public-bus service from Nice to St.-Paul-de-Vence, which would allow you to decide (within the limits of the bus schedule) how much time you want to spend in that pretty but terribly, terribly touristy town. If you have an interest in art, the stunning Maeght Foundation is highly recommended. It's walkable (though distinctly uphill) from the bus stop or from SPdV. I also squeezed in a short visit to the larger town of Vence, which has a very nice medieval district and no hordes of tourists. Vence is a bus ride from SPdV. The historic area of Vence is a fair walk from the bus stop, however.
