Port Vendres, Marseille and Cannes

[Cruising Quilter]

We are cruising on Azamara's Journey, departing September 29. The stops in France will be Port Vendres, Marseille and Cannes. The excursions offered at Port Vendres seem very expensive. For the stop in Marseille we had hoped to go to Avignon or some other towns or villages in Provennce. The tour offered to Avignon doesn't seem to take you inside the buildings. The description is limited and I could be mistaken. Could anyone offer some suggestions for these stops and possibly recommend specific tours (and tour operators)? We will appreciate any input. Thanks.

[Hlitner]

We are cruising on Azamara's Journey, departing September 29. The stops in France will be Port Vendres, Marseille and Cannes. The excursions offered at Port Vendres seem very expensive. For the stop in Marseille we had hoped to go to Avignon or some other towns or villages in Provennce. The tour offered to Avignon doesn't seem to take you inside the buildings. The description is limited and I could be mistaken. Could anyone offer some suggestions for these stops and possibly recommend specific tours (and tour operators)? We will appreciate any input. Thanks.

 

When you make a decision (and it is your free choice) to use cruise line excursions you are committing to paying high prices for large group tours. If you decide to go on your own (called DIY on most threads) then you can do as you please :). Private tours in France do tend to be somewhat pricey but perhaps you can join with some other folks on your CC Roll Call board to book a private tour.

 

Regarding Avignon, it is about a 1:15 - 1:30 min drive between the port and Avignon. If you go on your own and use the high speed TGV train that same trip takes 33 minutes...but does require you to get to the St Charles Train station (Marseille) and from the Avignon TGV station to town. The regional trains take over an hour but the local Marseille train station is within walking distance of the city walls...while the TGV station involves using a shuttle bus or taxi to get to the city.

 

As to Cannes, it is a tender port which means losing port time just getting to and from the ship. But once at the tender pier one can walk just about anywhere in the main tourist parts of Cannes or use the regional train to go just about anywhere along the coast including all the way to Nice or Monte Carlo.

 

Have never been to Port Vendres on a cruise although we did drive through that area a few times while on driving trips between France and Spain. So, we have no idea about the tours. If we happened to be at that port we might consider turning it into a beach day. We have seen some of the beaches around Perpignan and they looked OK.

Edited August 9, 2018 by Hlitner