France - South West Med coast without a car?

[DonnaHaywood]

DH and I (no kids) are going to a wedding near Narbonne in August next year, and would like to extend the stay for an extra week's holiday. We really fancy the coast around Collioure. We don't want to hire a car, however (DH can't drive, I can but am definitely not confident enough to drive on French coastal roads!).

Could anyone familiar with the area suggest whether it is navigable by public transport? There is a train from Narbonne to Collioure. I'm just worried that being limited to public transport (or occasional taxi) will mean we can't do the things we really want to do - visit other towns like Banyuis-sur-Mer, climb down the coves to swim, I'd really like to cross the Spanish border and visit Portbou...

Also, will Collioure be unbearably busy in mid-August? Any alternative suggestions in the area?

So in terms of my experience of French public transport: trains are manageable with mediocre-moderate french, and are fairly reliable. The French railway app is very useful.

Buses on the other hand, I have found to be quite variable and difficult. I've found they don't go where the online timetable says, or the timetable online is old, or it does go where it says but there are special rules about getting on and off which means you can only get on at some stops and not at others but this isn't indicated on the timetable...

I think you'd need a car.
Driving in France is no different really from driving here - apart from the obvious. You get used to it very quickly, and driving a LH drive car is easier than driving a RH car if you're driving in the right.

Thanks both. DH speaks decent French so I think we'd be okay communication-wise. Just worried that due to the bus problems you describe we'd end up feeling confined to the city.

I know a car would give us much more freedom, but I'm not a confident driver, and I think the stress would affect my enjoyment too much. I have driven on a trip to southern France before but I only shared the motorway driving - then-DP did the coastal roads around Cannes, and I know I would have really struggled (we were in a big RH drive car to be fair).

Hm, suppose we could go and risk it, with hiring a car there as a back up (although an expensive one!).

We were in/near Narbonne this August. It was incredibly hot. It'd be that that'd make relying on public transport difficult. I had lots of plans to visit far more places than we did but the weather made that more difficult. I'd hire a car - it's easy to drive in France.

Thanks @SwedishEdith, that is food for thought - I can imagine the heat making things more difficult...

Did you like Narbonne? Another option for us could be spending a few days there instead of travelling further afield - wedding is in Ginestas, nearish by, but that looks like a sleepy village where three days will be plenty!

Narbonne is lovely, as is Nearby Beziers.

We have been to Collioure in early August and it was heaving. We arrived late morning and only just managed to park the car. All six car parks were displayed as full but fortunately we found a space. The streets were busy, the shops were very touristy and we did not check cafes on Trip Advisor and made two poor choices. Nevertheless we enjoyed visiting the castle (which wasn't too busy) and Collioure is a beautiful place. We enjoyed it for a day trip but I was glad not to be staying there the whole week.

I think not having a car would be a definite advantage in Collioure itself. However you might find yourself a bit restricted for other places. Eg. Maybe you would want to drive into the Pyrenees for a day or to a quiet beach. I think you would also need to book train tickets 3-4 months in advance to get the cheapest prices.

I would say the driving in the south west is easier than around Cannes. The autoroute would be ok if you avoided driving on Saturday. Then you could potter round the local coastal roads (which are flatish until you get to Collioure and the road between Argeles and Collioure is fine).

We were pleasantly surprised by a visit to Perpignan. On Summer Thursdays they have outdoor concerts in the different squares all evening. Restaurants are more reasonably priced than in the coastal places and you can enjoy the music while you eat. I would recommend going there on a Thursday whether by car or train.

In your position I would see if there is a bus to Banyuls. If so you would probably have enough places to explore by train/bus without needing to hire a car. NB we drove our car all the way from the UK (taking St Malo ferry).

To be fair to Narbonne, it rained very heavily the whole day we were there and I got soaked but my impression was that while it was pretty, I wouldn't want to spend more than a day there as there wasn't a huge amount to do. We took a train there from Carcasonne (very pretty, definetely worth a visit). The train network is okish but not massively extensive in that area and while we were there, heavily affected by strikes.

I agree with SJane45S, I spent 3 days/nights in Narbonne in May and while a pleasant enough place, I found it rather dull with little to do and with hindsight would only have spent the night there before moving on..

I did go all over that area using public transport and found the trains very good, except when they were on strike and I had to resort to using BlaBla car (great way to meet locals, although best suited to solo travel). Download the SNCF apps and get train tickets on that, saves queuing up.

There’s a €1 bus that goes from Perpignan down the coast via Collioure, Argeles, Banyuls etc all the way to Cerbere at the Spanish border. It runs all summer and is v good value. It’s v easy (and cheap) to do that side of the French coast without a car.

Id rather stay in coillouire than narbonne.

We go every year to Banyuls and the public transport is wonderful. There is the train and a 1€ bus that goes from Perpignan to the Spanish border. The road is busy and winds down the corniche so although we take the car we use public transport a lot. Don't hesitate, though I would stay in Port Vendres or Banyuls as Collioure is busier and more expensive. We love it.