London to Nice for 2 nights?
 

I could use advice from some old Europe hands about a proposed mini-trip in the middle of a ten-day holiday in England.

We're going to be in southern England for 10 days in May. (We've been there before, indeed we lived there for a few years, so our plans are mainly about country walks, cathedrals and bookstores rather than ticking off a lot of sights.) We'll be in the Home Counties in an airbnb with day visits to London, and doing some driving around the West country.

We're considering a flight to Nice for two or three nights in the middle of the trip. This mini-trip might intersect with a bank weekend. So here is my question for those who might have experience with flights (Heathrow based) over bank holiday weekends in the UK, (and the more experienced in general) -- are we biting off too much? How much time would it eat to fly from LHR to Nice and back?

Thanks for any input!

We have flown to Bologna for 2 nights over a weekend, so flying to Nice and back is certainly doable. We booked the last flight on Friday night and the last flight on Sunday night so we have 1.75 days. We live in London and do trips to Paris all the time over a weekend.

You won't see everything but the flight is only an hour. Just be sure you count the time you lose getting to the airport, at the airport etc on either side when you determine if it is worth your time.

With only 10 days total, to waste time getting to/from Nice makes no sense to me. No matter what, you are going to lose at least a half day going and the same coming back. That is a total of 10% of your entire time lost just getting to/from Nice.

It is not just the flight time itself, it is the getting to the airport, waiting for the flight, getting to a hotel etc. and then the same again on the return, as jamikins points out.

For someone who lives in the UK and who want to make a quick weekend trip, it is different. They don't have just 10 days total to work with. They are not going to lose 10% of anything, you are.

The return flight from the Nice airport should be pretty easy--the terminal isn't large, and things move quickly. I love Nice and would take any possible opportunity to go there, and the warmer weather would make for a nice change. Probably.

P.S. Stay at one of the hotels right at the airport to save time. They're only about a 15-minute bus trip to the center of Nice and would make your return day simple.

I love Nice, but although the flight is short that doesn't mean getting there is. It once took me eight hours hotel to hotel, although admittedly I was flying out of Luton that time. And I see no need to sleep out at the airport, the airport bus runs regularly along the Promenade des Anglais.

I absolutely would not stay at a hotel at Nice airport!

No way!

If money were no object, I would stay at La Perouse!

Beware of pickpockets on the Promenade des Anglais.

Thin