One of the best tours we've taken on a vacation, for both value and breadth. Would heartily recommend this tour for anyone who doesn't mind not going too deep into a region, but covering a lot of different things with short stops and tight schedule.
Staying in Nice, we knew we wanted to take in a lot of sight-seeing (the one requisite was seeing the Casino at Monaco) on the one full day in downtown Nice. So planned ahead and looked in Viator for full-day tours that included hotel pick-up. The best match was one that was offered by Star Tour, to include both Monaco and Cannes, with a small group (maximum of 8 people) with an English-speaking guide. Named: French Riviera in One Day from Nice. It cost about $100 per person, and clearly stated it did not include food. There is also a generous cancellation policy (as long as 24 hours before). I got a text message and email, confirming the time of pick-up (the tour was scheduled for 9 AM) to be 20 minutes.
Our guide, Isaora (Isa), personally stopped by our lounge exactly as stated, and let us know that she had found temporary parking close by. We were gong to take a 9 person Ford van, and were the first ones. She let us know that we were going to have 7 total tourists on the morning portion (Monaco) and then have only 5 for the afternoon (Cannes).
I knew right away that we were going to have a good tour, just with Isa's personality and obvious love of the area. She gave us interesting facts as she drove, and was a very safe driver, driving through the mountainous roads, giving very scenic views of the ocean and towns from top. And because we came during low season, she was able to drop us off closer to our destination, and didn't have to worry about crowds.
Morning stops:
-Eze - 50 minutes, walking around the town, visiting few retail shops.
-Perfume Factory - 60 minutes, including a scheduled free tour.
-Monaco - 50 minutes
- 11:55 - saw the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace.
- Cathedral of Monaco - on our own, we found the cathedral and went inside. This is the resting place of the royal family of Monaco, including Prince Rainer and his wife, Princess Grace.
-Grand Prix course - Isa took us on a driving tour of a part of the race course.
-Casino of Monte Carlo - 20 minutes - Monte Carlo is one of the 4 cities of Monaco, the capital This stop was very quick, giving us minutes to take outdoor pictures of the casino and the luxury cars in front.
We then drove back to Nice, and dropped off 3 that only took the morning tour. At this point, it was already 2 pm. We then picked up one additional person, and then headed in the opposite direction towards Cannes.
Afternoon stops:
-St Paul de Vence - 50 minutes. a small, village up in the hills, with cute shops and restaurants.
-Antibes - 45 minutes - resort town, known for the most number of super-yachts on the French Riveria. There is a nice town center, and had the most tourists of all the places we stopped at. There is also beautiful views of the ocean, and an ocean walk (though parts of it were closed because of construction)
- Cannes - 35 minutes - picture opportunity in front of the red carpet of Cannes. It is also a very high-end retail street, with many of the European fashion houses having retail stores.
We got back to our hotel by 6:50...so almost 10 hours on the tour total. The vast majority was spent on sightseeing vs driving around.
Note that this is a driving tour. On the areas where we were dropped off, it was up to us to find places to visit, and return at the right time. In every place, the time given seemed like the right amount of time, and every participant was good about coming back on-time to keep the schedule. Because there are so many great places to visit, so close by, your time in the car just being driven is minimized.
As mentioned, Isa was great. Because this is a European tour, gratuities are not expected, but definitely deserved one. She even dropped us off at her recommended restaurant for dinner, before being on her way.
I consider something like this a sampler, letting us know any places that we would want to come back to for a deeper dive. There is not enough time to eat at a sit-down restaurant or take a optional tour. There is a quite a bit of walking, and the experience would go best if you prepared by having your own food and beverages. But all of that was clearly indicated in the tour description, and except for the things not controllable (weather, crowd size), this tour delivered...over delivered actually. read more