Getting to St Tropez

St Tropez is often considered as having achieved mythical status. Uniquely on the French Riviera, St Tropez faces North and this accounts for the wonderful light the town receives including the wonderful sunsets. However, getting to St Tropez and its famous beaches can be tricky.

The fact that St Tropez is not easy to get to perhaps adds to its unique charm and mythical status. Even when you get to St Tropez, you will find that the famous Pampelonne beaches are another 4 miles out of town

St Tropez By Car

Without a car St Tropez is not the easiest place to reach after you arrive at Nice airport. The motorway does not run to St Tropez and there is no rail connection. The nearest rail station is St Raphael which you can travel to from Nice. From St Raphael you could get a taxi or bus. If you are travelling without too much baggage and don’t mind a long transfer time then there is a bus from the airport. You could time your trip to catch the boat from Nice to St Tropez athough the service is basically a tourist day trip there and back. It would be best to contact the boat operator Trans Cote D’Azur.

Boat Nice to St Tropez — Catch the boat from Nice to St Tropez

The main A8 autoroute from Nice does not go to St Tropez. You have to leave the autoroute and take the smaller roads to St Tropez which are notorious from their traffic jams especially in the summer months. These traffic jams could ruin your whole trip to St Tropez. You could decide to try and park the car at St Maxime and take the short ferry trip to St Tropez or arrange your visit off-peak if you are able.

The taxi fare from Nice to St Tropez is very expensive and it would probably be better to arrange a private transfer in advance. You can hire a car in Nice and drive but during the summer months you will encounter long traffic jams. If you leave Nice at 7.00am you could be in St Tropez by 8.30am but if you leave Nice at 9.30am you may not arrive until after 1pm. Having said that, it would probably be cheaper to hire a car in Nice rather than in St Tropez where prices can be much higher.

Boat from St Maxime to St Tropez

An alternative is to travel along the coast to St Maxime where there are regular ferries to St Tropez. The site http://www.bateauxverts.com/ gives full details. There is also a bus service which runs from St-Raphael to St Tropez. A regular train service runs from Nice to St-Raphael. There is a ferry service from St Raphael to St Tropez that runs during the peak vacation periods.

Boat from Nice and Cannes to St Tropez

Details of the boats from Nice and Cannes to St Tropez can be found at Ferry Boat Nice to St Tropez. The boats are really for day trips from Nice and Cannes which allow about 4 or 5 hours in St Tropez to look around. However, you may be able to speak to the operator and arrange to go on one day and return on another. This would allow you to book a hotel in St Tropez for a couple of nights.

Getting to St Tropez Beaches

One thing you should be aware of is that the famous Pampelonne beaches are quite some distance out from the town of St Tropez. They are almost 4 miles out of St Tropez and are part of the neighbouring area of Ramatuelle. You will get a good idea of how far the Pampelonne beaches are from the town by searching Google maps and having a look at Street View for the area. You will see the route from St Tropez to Tahiti beach and to Club 55. You could take the expensive mini cab journey to reach the beaches but of course you would have to arrange to get a taxi back again. There is also a bus that runs from St Tropez to the beaches.