Car rental from cannes vs private tour guide

Hi- we are family of 4 (boys 10 and 12), who will be in Cannes in June from 8am-6pm and are trying decide between a private tour guide or just renting a car ourselves to see Nice, Eze, and Monaco. It's much cheaper to rent a car and go at our own pace and we'd rather do this, just want to make it's easy to navigate the area, park, etc on our own so that we aren't wasting a good deal of time lost or trying to find parking. Thanks so much for your suggestions. If anyone has suggestions on rental car agencies, that would be great too.

Hi- we are family of 4 (boys 10 and 12), who will be in Cannes in June from 8am-6pm and are trying decide between a private tour guide or just renting a car ourselves to see Nice, Eze, and Monaco. It's much cheaper to rent a car and go at our own pace and we'd rather do this, just want to make it's easy to navigate the area, park, etc on our own so that we aren't wasting a good deal of time lost or trying to find parking. Thanks so much for your suggestions. If anyone has suggestions on rental car agencies, that would be great too.

Yes, you will be wasting a lot of time looking for parking (except in Eze). You will also be wasting a lot of time renting and returning the car. If you book a private tour you can also go at your own pace. It's your tour.

Hi- we are family of 4 (boys 10 and 12), who will be in Cannes in June from 8am-6pm and are trying decide between a private tour guide or just renting a car ourselves to see Nice, Eze, and Monaco. It's much cheaper to rent a car and go at our own pace and we'd rather do this, just want to make it's easy to navigate the area, park, etc on our own so that we aren't wasting a good deal of time lost or trying to find parking. Thanks so much for your suggestions. If anyone has suggestions on rental car agencies, that would be great too.

As has been mentioned, Eze Village has convenient parking in a lot located right along the road in front of the main entrance. We have always been able to find a spot in that lot, but we can imagine there are times where one would have to wait a while for somebody to leave. As to Nice, parking is not difficult if you use one of the large paid garages. There is some free parking on some streets, but one needs a little knowledge or a lot of luck to find a free spot. There are also plenty of metered spots. We have driven (and stayed) in NIce many times and its not a big deal. Find a spot in a central location...and use your feet to get around.

Monte Carlo is a nightmare for driving. It is a small, congested city and finding a parking spot on the street can be difficult. There are parking lots and garages (just look for the blue "P" signs) but you will need Euros or a credit card....and parking is not cheap.

We do think that a car is very helpful if one plans on visiting Eze Village and/or St Paul de Vence. Both of these places have limited public transportation access...so a car is really helpful in maximizing your time. Driving is made a lot easier if you have a GPS or a working Smartphone with data...that can be used as a GPS device. You also have to make a decision whether to take advantage of the high speed Autoroute or limp along the very congested coastal road. If you do plan on driving along the coastal route...leave yourself a lot of extra time since traffic can be a nightmare.

Hank

The best parking in Nice is the underground Parking Sulzer, right on the Quai des Etats Unis and easy walking to the flower market. However, in the middle of the summer we have found it does fill up some times. There is also parking directly underneath the flower market, but it takes many years of driving in Europe to navigate the really narrow turns and parking spots. If you go early in the orning you should be able to find a spot in Sulzer. You do need euros or credit card. (visa or mastercard)

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Parking+Sulzer/@43.6952512,7.2709161,19z/data=!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x12cdd0106a852d31:0x40819a5fd979a70!2sNice,+France!3b1!8m2!3d43.7101728!4d7.2619532!3m4!1s0x0:0x3cccc89a6e45efa9!8m2!3d43.6951614!4d7.2708403?hl=en

To drive from there to Eze, turn left when you exit the parking, follow the road around the port and follow the signs for Moyenne Corniche.

If you decide to drive to St Paul, be very careful with your directions. There has been a lot of construction around La Colle-sur-Loup and it can get confusing. But quite doable and rewarding. Also, there is a sort of below ground parking deck in St Paul. It can get quite crowded. If so, you can park in the street that leads to the Fondation Maeght and hike back to St Paul.

If you drive to St Paul instead of Eze, you can also drive to Antibes on the way back to Cannes. There is a lot of parking by the port. But you may have to do quite a bit of walking since it gets quite crowded. That is one thing the kids might like to do. There are magnificent mega-yachts in the port of Antibes.

Thanks so much for all the information. It sounds like the hardest part will be finding parking in Monaco, correct? If our time in port is 8-6 and we have to tender, would we have time to drive the coastal road to Monaco and then return on the autoroute? We're really interested in seeing an overview of the area, not visiting museums. We thought this would be a good area to give the kids a museum break. The difference between the private guide and renting a car is about 300euros. Having never been to this area, we weren't sure if we should just suck it up and do the guide or if we'd be ok exploring on our own. We will gave a cell phone with data for maps and could definitely get a gps also. Thanks again.

Yes, parking in Monaco can be a pain....and driving around the city can be very slow because of traffic. Agree with Marazul (usually do) on parking in Nice. Unless you get lucky or want to waste time looking for street parking....just head for the underground garage. I did forget one important factor. Many of the rental cars in France (and Europe) are standard (stick) shift. Even if you reserve an automatic transmission....it is possible that they will only have a stick (this has happened to us a few times). In our case, both DW and I love driving a stick...so its never been an issue. But for many Americans/Canadians it is a huge problem. We have never understood the European love of stick shifts, but it is the way it is! I

Hank

Another big bottleneck is the distance between the autoroute exit and Cannes through Le Cannet. It took us one hour last year. Just traffic.

You might want to use the traffic feature in the GPS to find out whether the previous or following exits are better choices at the time.

To save nerves and time it is reasonable to take private tour or at least transfer for the whole day. I'd better enjoy sightseeing instead of looking for parking places..;p

Jane

Perhaps, but it depends on what you want to do. If you simply want to take some kind of transfer to a city (such as Nice or Monte Carlo) it is easy ( and much less costly then a tour/transfer) to take the TER trains. If you want to go several places, some of which are difficult to get to with public transit such as St Paul de Vence, then perhaps a tour works for you. I think our major issue with tours is when it comes to the allocation of time and our ability to enjoy lunch. DW and I love eating in interesting places and this does usually not work with a tour (although its certainly possible with some transfers). A tour in St Paul de Vence will likely walk you through the town (mostly one major street) which you could easily do on your own. Then they might give you a little free time (never long enough to enjoy a nice lunch) or will cram you back on your bus to go the next place.

So why do some of us love rental cars? To put it simply it allows us to do what we want, when we want, for as long as we want...with whom we want. And its usually a lot cheaper then hiring our own private car/guide (which might be the ideal for most folks). Sure, we might waste 15 min looking for a parking space. On the other hand, if we are on a tour we might wait 15-30 min at each stop for that one person (or couple) that never seem to return to the bus on time.

But if we are walking in St Paul de Vence and see a restaurant that gets our interest, we might say...lets come back here for lunch and forget going to Antibes (just an example). Of perhaps when we are leaving St Paul de Vence, DW might say, "I am in the mood to look at some art so lets drive over to the nearby Maeght Fondation and laugh as some Miro's. Or perhaps we are walking in Nice's Old Town and stroll by Chef Dominque Le Stanc's little restaurant (Le Meranda) and stick our head inside to see if we can get a table (they take no reservations). And they tell us, "come back in 45 min if you want lunch." If not on a tour we can do that. On a tour, we would likely miss out on something very special. A friend once summed up tours versus doing it on your own by saying..when you are on a tour you are a follower (one of the herd) but when on your own you are the leader and decision maker.

Hank

Thanks so much for everyone's feedback. We decided to go with the rental car so that we can go at our own pace and tailor it according to our needs. Thanks again!

Was reading this...we too will be in Cannes mid-June with kids, but there are 6 of us and not likely to fit in one cab. I have an idea of what we want to see/hit, but the private guide I was recommended to was booked. Do you have a reco? I have no desire to drive, park or otherwise get around. By myself or only with hubby, yes! But not with kids, grandma and sister too. It'll be my 3rd trip to the area, but their first.

Thanks!