Greetings and happy new year!
We%26#39;ll be traveling to Nice from Italy by train and I have a car reserved for pick-up with Europcar at the Nice airport (we are not staying in Nice). When I look at the raileurope website it only shows Nice Ville as a destination but does anyone know if it is possible to continue on and disembark at St. Augustin station instead? Or do most trains not stop there? It would be great not to have to catch the bus from the Ville station out to the airport!
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It is possible, but unlikely if you%26#39;re on an international train from Italy. The international trains generally only stop at major stations.
You%26#39;ll need to get hold of the timetable for the train you%26#39;re on - you could try checking the Italian Trenitalia website. If your train doesn%26#39;t continue after Nice and doesn%26#39;t stop at St Augustin, then you can either change trains in Nice onto a local train, or get the bus from the railway station directly to the airport, or get a cab. Taking into consideration number of bags and time of day.
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Although St Augustin is very close to the airport it is a rather confusing walk and there are no taxis. Turn left out of the station and go down to the traffic lights. You then need to cross three roads in close proximity to each other and turn right along the main dual carriageway (Can%26#39;t remember what this is in American?) When you turn the corner at the hotel school, cross the road and turn right. About 80 yards along there is a stop for the free bus that runs between the terminals. Car rental pick up is close to Terminal 2.
It is simpler all round to get bus 99 from outside Nice Ville station, especially as it is almost certain you will have to change trains there anyway.
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Happy New Year to you too!
Are you able to arrange to pick up your rental car from the Europcar depot next to Nice railway station instead of from the airport and so not need to catch any public transport?
Added bonus of avoiding the (usually dire) Europcar agency at Nice Airport :)
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If your train journey from Italy requires a change of train at Ventimiglia, then your train onwards into France will stop at St Augustin. But the Rail Europe site usually only shows through trains from Italy which terminate at Nice Ville, which is before St. Augustin. For a website which gives all train journeys from Italy to Nice Ville see www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html, and for journeys from Italy to Nice St.Augustin see reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en… But even if you are changing at Ventimiglia, I think it would be better to get the bus direct from Nice Ville for the reasons given by LondonBob.
You should also take Sooz%26#39;s advice seriously - the delays at Europcar Nice Airport can sometimes be long.
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Soooz makes a good suggestion to pick up the car at the train station... will save you time and a lot of hassle getting out to the airport.
The car rental offices at Nice Ville are at the end
of the station to your right as you go out the doors.
One caveat though... Europcar will try to hit you for
an extra fee for pickup at the station. Get that point
straight with them first...
Nice is not big enough or busy enough to have to
be worried about driving out of town from the station.
I did it last summer without a problem... let me know if you can use directions.
Rob
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Thanks so much everyone for your responses. Unfortunately the Europcar website only indicates pick up at the airport. Looks like the bus might be easiest. I%26#39;m also looking into the Nice airport bus from Genoa, as suggested by Perilizia on an earlier thread. I%26#39;m not traveling until June but just trying to get the logistics straight for piece of mind :-)
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Rob, we must have been writing at the same time! Good to know there is the option of picking up at the train station. I%26#39;ll try to contact Europcar and see, if the extra fee is not too much it would be worth paying. Thanks, Lori
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They certainly are at the station... you then
pick up your car from a parking lot atop a hotel next door...
At the end of our trip we took a taxi from the station to the airport... seems to me it was between 30 and 40 Euros so you can balance that against any extra fees for the station pickup.
Rob
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You could also pick up a Europcar car at Menton, where any train that you get from Italy will stop about half an hour before Nice. The office is less than five minutes from the train station in Avenue Thiers - and although it%26#39;s not too bad driving out of Nice, small-town Menton would be even easier.
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Hello again Rainsoaked,
There is definitely a Europcar agency right next to the railway station in Nice.
The reason it may not have come up as a rental option for you could be due to opening hours.
If you want the fastest and simplest pickup for your onward journey,the railway station would definitely be best.
Other agencies have offices at the station too including Alamo , Hertz and Avis
There is usually a supplement payable for picking up from the airport OR the rail station so if the station pickup is open/available to you there shouldn%26#39;t be any further surcharge.
I like suggestion above of collecting from Menton and this should avoid any station or airport charge.
However,it%26#39;s also worth considering where your drop off will be. Last time we rented with Europcar they didn%26#39;t charge any one way fee, but double check this as terms and conditions change all the time.
I see you are renting in June, when it is usually very busy every day of the week(this year could be different).
Unless Europcar Nice Airport responds to the credit crunch with a massively improved service, I would avoid them if at all possible. If you do end up picking up your car rental from the airport, any of the other agencies there are better in terms of queues.
You obviously have done your homework on pricing,but if you are able to cancel/amend your current deal with Europcar it could be worth checking to see if anyone else is offering a better deal now. Rates change constantly and as mentioned watch out for those hidden extra charges to make sure you are comparing like with like.
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