My friend and I will be in Villefranche for one full day, 7am to 11pm, during our Mediterranean cruise. Our cruise is coming up in mid September and we are finding that most tour companies are fully booked. We would like to visit Monaco and St. Paul de Vence for sure, then maybe Eze or a drive along the coast.

So here are my questions:
Is it better to rent a car? I looked up quotes and only found one that is willing to rent for one day (most have a 3 day minimum). The price seems reasonable, but is it a hassle to rent and/or stressful to drive?
Does anyone have tour company suggestions? Even lesser known ones?
We could book a more expensive private tour and look for other passengers to share the cost (I have found some possibilities under our ship's roll call in cruisecritic.com)
Any other suggestions?

I guess this is the price we pay for procrastinating with our booking. Any help or suggestions you can provide are much appreciated!

Do what we didn't.... take the train to Eze.. next time we'll be doing that..

Or the bus to Nice--there are a hundred things to do there! Or a train to Cannes or Monte Carlo. Or catch a bus to Nice to St. Paul de Vence, which is what we did last time...it isn't totally easy, but we did it with our less than minimal French. (BTW we thought SPdV was overrated, but maybe we've just seen too many hill towns! We had a lovely lunch there and walked around looking at the art galleries--there isn't much else. Oh yes! your eyes will hurt from all the beautiful scenery!) We heard Eze is great and wished we'd taken that "easier" route! Either way, you'll have a great time and keep checking cruisecritic.com b/c you'll find lots of help from those who have experienced the one-day-in-port phenomenon. Did you check out the Ports of Call section for this? There may be some car rental advice, but this isn't our first (or second) option.
Have a great trip! JM

Eze is beautiful. Be ready to do a lot of walking up steep terrain and plenty of steps. Nice and Monte Carlo are wonderful too.

Eze is great, and is only a 7 min train ride from Villefrance. it will take you to the Eze station, and rom there, wait and take the bus ( I believe it is number 83) from their to Eze city. There should be a little tourist info both right at the bus stop with someone to give you info on the times (it runs often, I think only taking 20 minutes to get up the very windy path to Eze). I believe the bus cost was 1.30 euros per trip. It was so easy and such a relaxing day!

Yes, I agree - visit Eze and take the train. Those roads are wild with aggressive drivers. You can always do an independent shore excursion with a car and driver for a city tour, area tour, visit some of the local sights and museums, lunch with a local's recommendation. Then, you don't have to worry about schedules, getting lost, seeing the "must-sees." There are many on-site suppliers who would be able to help you, even last-minute with a car and driver.

Best Regards,
Julia