Travelling across the Riviera

Hi,

Flying into Nice for 4 days during September. I want to travel across as much of the Riviera as possible in this short time. I have been to Nice/Cannes/Monaco before so this time I intend on going to St. Tropez, Antibes, Juan le Pins etc. Just wondering what the best way to travel will be bearing in mind my length of stay.

I could hire a car and drive the riviera but my concerns are parking etc. Also I have never driven in France before. The other alternative is to get a %26#39;Carte Isabelle%26#39; and use the trains. The only issue there is that the train wont go as far as St. Tropez. There are 2 of us so all train fares will be doubled hence me considering the hire car.

What do you folks reckon? Also, any places that you recommend I visit bearing in mind I have 4 days.

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I would think the train could get you everywhere you want to go except St. Tropez. I think you can take a bus there. The trains seemed to be really cheap, and if you get a ticket to the farthest place you want to go that day, you can stop at the other towns along the way, on that same ticket. This is my favorite train schedule site:

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/e

I really enjoyed Villefrance sur Mer, which is 7 min. by train from Nice, heading toward Monaco. It%26#39;s a tiny town with a picturesque harbor and a nice (almost) sand beach - tiny, pea-sized pebbles. It%26#39;s so pretty, it%26#39;s almost like a painting. You can check out my pics here. Click on slideshow and whiz through Paris to Nice and Villefranche. You can tell I liked it, because I took lots of pictures.

community.webshots.com/user/lizandalana

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If your hotel is not in St. Tropez, you should consider renting a car at least for your visit to St. Tropez. The beaches, especially Pompolene beach, is not within walking distance from the port/harbor. A taxis ride to the beach cost from 20-25Euro, each way. The bus service (Sodetrav) stops running by midnight, even earlier on Sunday. I don%26#39;t know about September, but I was there in July and the Sodetrav bus is ALWAYS VERY late. If you don%26#39;t want to go out party til late, then you%26#39;ll be fine just taking the train and bus. Take the train to St. Raphael, then take the Sodetrav all the way to St. Tropez. Or, take the Sodetrav to St. Maxime, then cross the bay over to St. Tropez using the Green Boat. It%26#39;s a nice ride across the bay. If you don%26#39;t have a car and want to party in St. Tropez, then try staying out til 6:30ish AM to catch the first bus back to the train station. We did that, and we weren%26#39;t the only ones. The party scene there don%26#39;t start until 1am.