Antibe/French Riviera Beachs
 

For our upcoming trip: End of August...
Since I live in Florida on the beach, I am a bit confused about the "beach situtation" on the French Riviera.....

Specifically, the whole private and public thing.. We are going to be "hitting the beach" in both St. Tropez and in Antibes. These are a bit less rockier from what I am reading??

I need to know how one goes about the private beach.. I read in Antibes that I need a reservation, but find out little when I go to their web pages..

What I need to know:
1. Is a private beach really worth it?
2. Does anyone recommend a particular beach? (I would prefer not to be on top of someone else, and one that does not have a lot of kids {don't have them and not ready for them!}
3. If I go the private beach route- do I need to make a reservation ahead of time via website/calling or can I do so by having the concierge at our hotel the day before?

Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you- Kate

If I posted this twice I apolize.

anyone?

Private beach clubs offer lounge rentals, towels, sometimes a bar, sometimes a small restaurant. You don't need to reserve in advance so far as I know, especially if the beach club is owned by your hotel.

You can also go to public beaches, such as those in Cannes and Antibes. Those have sand, but the pebbly beaches in Nice aren't bad if you plan primarily to swim.

Hi Kathryn,
I can try to answer your questions from our experiences in Nice and Juan les Pins..

"1. Is a private beach really worth it?"
This depends on your perspective and your budget, of course, but in my opinion: YES. Especially if the beaches are rocky. For a cushioned lounge chair, umbrella, little side table, and towel, we paid 15 Euro/pp in Nice and 10Euro/pp in Juan les Pins. Aside from the comfort, the convenience of having a yummy lunch brought to your lounge chair is another plus.

"2. Does anyone recommend a particular beach?"
Truthfully, they sort of all look alike as you walk up and down the boardwalk. You can see what kind of chairs appeal to you, I guess, and the lunch menus are usually posted outside. Some also have more extensive water sports.

"3. If I go the private beach route- do I need to make a reservation ahead of time via website/calling or can I do so by having the concierge at our hotel the day before?"
We arrived before noon and had no reservation, but noticed it did fill up by 2 or 3. We were traveling in late June, however. It will be much more crowded in August. I recommend getting an early start or getting advice from your concierge now.

Hope that helps!
Dina

That was SO helpful.. than you! Kate

Dina- which beach did you go to in Juan de Pins?

I wish I remember the name of it. In fact, I LOVED their beach towels, but they wouldn't sell them. I can tell you as you enter the town from the east (not from Cannes), you go under an underpass. We turned left until we got to an area that was just beach club after beach club. We found a place to park on the street and sort of just picked one that seemed to have nice loungers. A few beach clubs more, and you were at the end of the beaches, where there were a couple of hotels.