sourbh_b

I'm arriving in Nice on Oct 18th around 1pm and am booked into a hotel there until Oct 20th for 2 nights. Thereafter I have a booking in Barcelona from Oct 21st onwards for 3 nights, before our flight back home to Toronto.

I have booked a car in Nice on Oct 19th itself, so I can go east towards Monaco, and that area and drive around Nice etc. On the morning of Oct 20th, I plan to check out from Nice and will have a day or so to get to Barcelona.

I have been exploring a few options:

1) Drive all the way approx. 6 hours. On the way drive through Cannes, Montpellier, etc. Supposed to be a scenic drive. This is costing me CAD $125 + Euro 225 (drop off charges). In this situation, I'll find a hotel for the night of Oct 20th somewhere on the way and then leave the next morning for Barcelona.

2) Drive to Montpellier and from there take a morning train to Barcelona. In terms of cost, its approx. the same since instead of the EUR 225, I'll pay for the train ride for me, my wife and my 2.5 year old son.

Which is recommended? Is the drive doable since I prefer that due to its flexibility? Where should I stop and see along the way or for that matter where can I spend the night before leaving the next morning for Barcelona?

Suggestions please...thanks, Sourbh

PalenQ

There is also a direct Montpellier-Barcelona Talgo train later in the afternoon

you have no steep drop-off fee for renting a car in France and returning it to Spain

and for Talgo trains since there are only a few a day that go thru the border they can be IME full so book early (also for possible online discounts - www.voyages-sncf.com - Talgo trains have wheel bases that can be cranked apart and together to accommodate the different track widths in each country - most trains cannot physically go thru the border, one reason there are only a handful that do.

Pvoyageuse

If you rent a car in France and drop it in Barcelona you'll have to pay considerable drop off fees.
I would take the morning train from Montpellier. Children under 4 travel for free. Tickets for 2 adults won't cost you €225.
You could drive the coastal road from Nice to Saint Raphael and stop somewhere around Aix, Arles or Aigues-Mortes.

Pvoyageuse

"you have no steep drop-off fee for renting a car in France and returning it to Spain"

Are you sure?

Cowboy1968

The mix of car+train with drop-off still in France sounds most reasonable.
Another option might be to drive until Perpignan/France (near FR/ES border), drop off car, and take the bus if the train from Montpellier is too costly or booked out.

I'd also double check that there is NO steep drop-off fee in case you plan to drive to Barcelona.
On top of that you should also check the routing at viamichelin.com to get a quote on motorway tolls and costs for gas.

If you feel adventurous and want to save one night in a hotel, you can take a direct (night) bus from Nice to Barcelona for appr. €130 for the three of you.
www.movelia.es

Viajero2

Why are you even considering a car for these two cities you are visiting for such short period(s)? :-?

sourbh_b

Hi everyone, thanks for your responses. I've actually already found out that the drop off fees in Barcelona from Hertz (booked thru AutoEurope) is E 225. The way I see it, it's a 6 hour drive and I have a day to do it....that's comfortable and flexible. Secondly, the train from Montpellier is at 7.27 am in the morning! so that requires me to spend the night in Montpellier to catch the morning train. The train I checked is E160 for 2 adults with the child being free and sitting on the lap, if I get a seat for him, its another E80, so E240 in total...which is equal to the E225 drop off fees.

I am considering the drive bcoz its the South of France, I can take the coastal road, or the regular route and shouldn't be bad on the contrary quite nice.

I checked on viamichelin, its 662 kms.

Thoughts ?

Pvoyageuse

It is a 6 hour drive if you take the motorway all the way - and still, it is a very optimistic estimation. If you take the coastal road it will take much longer.

Train ticket from Montpellier to Barcelona costs €57 per person i.e. €104 for 2. Certainly not €160.

There is a train leaving Montpellier at 3.09 pm.

Have you considered the cost and hassle of finding a parking place in Barcelona?

sourbh_b

Actually we're returning the car in Barcelona on arrival.

I checked the SNCF site for the fare which was E160 for 2 people.

If I take the 3.09pm train from Montpellier, I reach BCN at night, taking away a day there, since I have to leave for Toronto on Oct 24th, 2010...I was planning for 3 days in BCN and taking the late train would cut it to 2 days.

babyatlas

we just returned from Nice earlier this week. Monaco is a PAIN to drive into and out of (though maybe you have considerable experience driving in France and Europe). Nice is a very walkable city if you are staying in one of the downtown/beachfront hotels and parking is expensive. in hindsight, we should have just skipped the car rental for the first two days in Nice and and taken the train to Monaco and surrounding cities....then picked up the car to explore the countryside.

when planning this trip, we also looked into going to Barcelona and ended up not doing this because while it might say it takes 6 hours - i am pretty sure it will be more....especially if you plan on making stops along the way to see a couple of cities. by the time you park, get oriented, etc - it will easily be a few hours in each city.

i might have missed it but is there a reason you want to go to Barcelona? is your return flight already booked out of here? if there is not a specific reason i would suggest making Nice your homebase and exploring Nice and the surrounding countryside and perhaps renting a car for a few days to do so.

Pvoyageuse

"I checked the SNCF site for the fare which was E160 for 2 people."

So did I and here is what I get :
http://www.voyages-sncf.com/billet-t...ultats?hid=TCP

mpprh

A few points :

It is also worth going North from Nice towards Grasse, Vence, Bar sur Loup, Gordon, etc

6 hrs is the best time to Barcelona (even in October) without allowing for weather, roadworks, accidents etc

I can personally confirm that the autoroute fixed speed cameras work effectively on this route

The coast road Collioure, Pyrenees, Cadaques is spectacular but slow

You could save the international drop off fees by dropping the car in Perpignan and taking www.frogbus.com to Girona airport and collecting a Spanish speaking rental car there.

As stated above, the rental car is a problem in central Nice and Barcelona

http://www.bison-fute.equipement.gouv.fr is the French traffic info site

Peter

Eurocentric

We just traveled from the Luberon to Barcelona via car to Perpignan and train from there. I think the time is about the same as the best you'd do driving all the way, but as you've stated there is a savings when the drop fee is figured in.

There's a 4:54 departure that arrives in Barcelona at 7:59, allowing you to make it in one day. Just be sure to allow enough time to get there through heavy traffic. Hertz office is a few blocks from the station, so drop off the others and bags, then the car. Plan to hit Perpignan no later than 4:00, 3:30 if you haven't bought tickets in advance.

We missed this train but there was a later one that still got us there by about 9:30.