Nice Cote d’Azur Airport is the gateway to the French Riviera or Cote d’Azur located on France’s south coast overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, and the second largest airport in France.
Only 3 miles from central Nice, the journey into the city takes about 15-20 minutes.
Nice Airport has two terminals: One and Two. Airlines flying in and out of Terminal Two including Air France, easyJet and Air Corsica (CCM), whilst airlines using Terminal Two include BMI, flybe, flyglobespan and Ryanair.
There are Nice Airport car hire desks at both terminals which are represented by the major car hire companies (booked by easyCar) and the desks are generally open until 10pm (alternative arrangements can be made for those arriving out of hours). The car hire desk at Terminal 1 is to the right of the Information Desk near Gates A1 and A2, with the Terminal 2 car hire desks between gates A2 and A3. Having completed the necessary documentation, the vehicles may then be collected from a separate zone, “Zone Loueurs”, at Nice Terminal 2 behind P5 car park, accessed either by foot from Terminal 2 Arrivals or by free airport shuttle bus from Terminal 1 bus stop 1 to bus stop 8.
When collecting your hire car remember to take both parts of your International driving licence; the photo card and printed sheet. You will also need to leave a credit card deposit even if you have “paid” for your car hire in advance, so ensure that you have enough credit to cover this as it can be many hundreds of pounds depending on the car type. The amount isn’t physically deducted from your card (do check terms and conditions) but authorisation will be processed.
Remember to drive on the right, and if possible to arrive with Euros to pay for any tolls. Should you be considering driving from France to Italy or Spain, check that the car hire company is happy with you doing so. Do not drink and drive. The blood alcohol limit is 50mg, which for many is a very small glass of wine. The French police are strict if this rule is broken, so it is best just not to drink at all when you know you will be driving.
The French roads are a dream to drive on, especially the toll roads, but do watch the speed limits which on the motorways varies depending on the weather.
The drive time between Nice Airport and Cannes is about 30 minutes, with Antibes just 20 minutes from the airport. A little further afield is the bustling seaside towns of Frejus and St Raphael which are around 45 minutes from Nice, although should you choose to drive along the coast (and do make sure you have plenty of space on your camera’s memory stick), the journey can take considerably longer.
Tags: Airports, car hire, Europe, France, Nice
On the subject of car hire, I’m not sure how many people actually read news about travel – but I thought it was really interesting to see articles about lack of car hires at the moment. I think a lot of companies expected a lot less business due to the recession and then suddenly, bam, huge amount of tourists! Apparently in some places the large cars are cheaper than small cars, simply because everyone is trying to get small ones.
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