Travel connections

We must confess that St. Tropez and the Maures Cornice are places to remote for just passing by or stopping over. There is no train station, and they are not part of tourist packages in the "Europe in one week" style. People who go there do so in order to stay for a while. Therefore, it takes a little effort to organize travel. The distances, as indicated in the following, are those from Pramousquier.

How to reach Pramousquier ?

1)    By plane:

   ¤ St Tropez Airport  (La Mole) - airport code LTT - 12 km north (15 min) - a very close but small airport mainly used by private jets (the open air parking lot is interesting for those who like fancy European cars). Regular commercial flights are proposed from April through September from Nice (5 shuttles per day) and Lyon (Air France), and from Zurich and Geneva (Swiss Airlines). Car rental is onsite. Turn left at the airport exit and follow the mountain road D27 to Col du Canadel (nice view on Cap Nègre and Pramousquier) and le Rayol-Canadel. In Canadel, turn right at D559 intersection, Pramousquier is at 1.5 km.

   ¤ Toulon-Hyères Airport (Hyères le Palyvestre) - airport code TLN - 30 km east (30 min.). Direct flights from Paris (9 per day - Orly airport only), Brest, Lille and London, and connection with other European hubs via Clermont-Ferrand. Car rental and public buses are onsite. At the airport exit, follow the coastal road D42 direction St Tropez. At N98 intersection, turn right heading for St Tropez. Leave N98 at Bormes-les-Mimosa and take the right hand direction D559 to St Tropez by coastal road (the sign says "St Tropez par la Côte", do not take St Tropez via La Mole). Pramousquier is at 9 km after le Lavandou.

   ¤ Marseille International Airport (Marseille-Marignane) - airport code MRS - 137 km west (90 min. by tollway). Regular flights from Paris (30/day) and many major European Cities. Car rental on site and bus connection to Marseille train station St. Charles (every 20 min.). There is no direct bus connection to Toulon from Marseille airport. By car, take the highway to Marseille and then tollway to Toulon.

   ¤ Nice International Airport (Nice-Côte d'Azur) - airport code NCE - 123 km east (2 hours 30 min. or 2-4h by car according to season). Second airport in France (challenged by Lyon). Regular flights from Paris and all major European cities, direct intercontinental flights from North America (NYC, Montreal, Toronto) and Africa. Car rental on site and bus connections from Nice airport to St Raphael station (in St Raphael bus change to St Tropez), Hyères, Toulon. Bus connection to Nice station.

2)    By train (www.sncf.com) :

    ¤ Marseille station (Marseille St Charles): 114 km West (90 min.). Hourly direct TGV trains from Paris city (3 hours for 800 km / 500 miles !), Lyon, Rennes, Nantes, Lille and Brussels; direct TGV trains from Paris CDG airport (3 hours 1/2) and Lyon airport (90 min). Car rental on site. From Marseille St. Charles station (bus shuttle from the airport), you will need to take the very convenient (at least hourly) train connection to Toulon station (45 min).

   ¤ Toulon station (Gare de Toulon): 49 km (45 min.). Direct TGV trains from Paris city (4 hours) or Paris CDG airport (4 hours 1/2), Lyon, Lille, and Nice. Rapid trains from Italy and Spain. Car rental on site. From Toulon station there is a direct bus connection with Pramousquier (bus #103 St. Tropez, bus stop is right in front of station on the right-hand side).

3)    By bus (Sodetrav: +33 (0)494-189-340 - no website at present):

Pramousquier is served by the public bus line 103 : Toulon - St. Tropez. The bus stop is on the cornice right in front of the residency. The bus drivers are friendly and they will ask you where you wish to go when you enter the bus in Toulon. The answer is Hameau de Pramousquier Pierre et Vacances. Fare in 2002 is 10.50 Euros (one way). The stop is the one following Cavalière. In Cavalière, next to the bus stop there, you'll find the rental agency Gouyet-Louvet (that is 2 kms before Pramousquier). Do not confuse with Cavalaire which is further east - you need to get off the bus before Cavalaire). Travel time from Toulon station to Pramousquier is 80 min. Bus #103 leaves about every hour or hour 1/2. Some buses do not go beyond Le Lavandou centre. In this case this is written on the front panel of the bus, and according to the schedule you may either wait for the next bus, or take a taxi cab once in Le Lavandou (9 km / 6 miles to Pramousquier). Please remember that you need the digicode to enter the residency.

4)    By car (for easy maps check www.viamichelin.com):

   ¤ from Toulon: 49 km

Leave the centre of Toulon by following the direction "Hyères - Nice". Departing from the TGV station, you need to turn right on the first bridge crossing the rail tracks, right again immediately after the bridge, and then right again thereafter crossing the tracks once more. This leads you to highway A57 direction Nice, Hyères (Toulon centre map). At km 10 (in your car), that is at the intersection between highway A57 and A570, take highway A570 (right lanes) direction Hyères and St Tropez. This highway ends with a traffic circle when arriving in Hyères (Hyères-les-Palmiers). Here the highway A570 becomes N98 crossing Hyères and then bypassing La Londe. Follow the direction St Tropez (always strait ahead). Stay on N98 until Bormes-les-Mimosas. There at km 35 you will hit the intersection N98/D559, where N98 leads to St Tropez through the mountains while D559 leads to St Tropez by the coastal road. Take D559 strait ahead (do not turn left) directions "St. Tropez par la Côte" and "Le Lavandou". Cross Le Lavandou following the directions St Tropez and Cavalaire. On the Maures Cornice (still D 559), pass the hamlets of Saint Clair and Aiguebelle. Then you arrive in Cavalière (not Cavalaire). Follow the direction St. Tropez, Cavalaire, Pramousquier. The Agency Gouyet-Louvet (where you may need to stop to get the keys) is left-hand side on this beach road D559, just in front of a bus stop right at the beginning of the Cavalière beach. Continue in the same direction: the road climbs a bit to cross the Cap Nègre peninsula, and then goes down again when you arrive in Pramousquier. Leave the entrance of Club Med on your right side and continue on D559 for 200 m. The entrance of Hameau de Pramousquier is on your right, easy to recognise by a white and blue signpost "Pierre et Vacances" on your right, and a special lane to turn left for the cars coming from the opposite direction. Be sure to have written down the digital access code of the residency, as you will need it to enter. To park your car once you passed the gates, stay on your left and then enter "Parking Rose" on your right.

   ¤ from Nice (distances from Nice Centre Promenades des Anglais - km 0): 129 km

Take highway (toll) A8 west direction Aix and Marseille. Exit A8 at km 77 (in your car) "Le Muy" in direction Ste. Maxime and St. Tropez. Take D125 and then D25, always heading for Ste. Maxime and St. Tropez. In Sainte Maxime (at km 98) turn right on N98 to St Tropez. The next 8 kms are critical and during summertime it can take an hour or much longer to get through... After Port Grimaud on N98, close to a lunar park and shopping centre left-hand you will hit a huge traffic circle with red lights at the entrances. This is the La Foux crossing well known for its traffic jams. Here (at km 106 from Nice City) you need to follow the direction Cavalaire - La Croix Valmer (not St. Tropez) and join D559 (Corniche des Maures). You will see the St. Tropez Hospital right-hand side and the St. Tropez high school left-hand side along the road before arriving at La Croix Valmer (km 113) and then Cavalaire (km 119). In Cavalaire, follow the direction Le Lavandou. After Cavalaire, pass the villages of le Rayol and Canadel, and you arrive in Pramousquier (km 129). The residency is on the left-hand side of the road, after the restaurants and grocery right-hand, with a special lane to turn left and a blue signpost "Pierre et Vacances Hameau de Pramousquier".

In case you arrive in Nice early by a transatlantic flight, got some sleep during flight and then rent a car at the airport, you may have time to take the very nice coastal road all the way down to St Tropez / Pramousquier, rather than the highway. In this case at the airport follow the direction Antibes (N7 / N98), then Cannes (N98) par la Côte, La Bocca, La Napoule. If you want to skip the crowded Cannes area, you can also join the coastal road directly from highway A8 by taking the "La Napoule-Mandelieu" exit of A8 (the signpost on the highway also says "Corniche de l'Esterel"). Once on N98, you follow the beautiful Esterel Cornice through Théoule-sur-Mer, Anthéor, Agay, Boulouris before arriving in St. Raphael. Continue on the coastal road N98 through St. Aygulf, les Issambres, and Ste. Maxime. 

Please note that during July-August it can take up to 6 or even 10 hours to go from Nice to Ste. Maxime by the coastal road, with long lines at gas stations, so this is recommended only in winter, fall and spring where it takes only 3 hours including short stops.

Our recommendations

A car is useful to visit some very nice places around Pramousquier and St. Tropez. If you come here for a week of sunshine, relaxing, and strolling through the streets of St. Tropez only, a car is not necessary.

If you do rent a car, arrival through St. Tropez or Nice airport is most convenient, but Toulon station is fine, too.

If you don't rent a car, prefer arriving by train at Toulon station where you can get a direct public bus to Cavalière and Pramousquier. Fares for direct TGV trains between Paris City and Toulon can be as low as 35 Euros (2002 prices, one way) if you make reservation and payment on the internet 30 days in advance (www.sncf.com - click on the British flag for the English version of the SNCF website and look for "Decouverte J30"). Since air tickets in Europe are rather expensive, the money you save using TGV train vs. an airplane ticket can pay a few nights in downtown Paris!