Parking, getting around and reaching Saint-Tropez

For Saint-Tropez, the boat beats the car hands down. The ferry leaves from the port of Sainte-Maxime and crosses the gulf in about fifteen minutes, when the road can take an hour at the height of summer.

Many of our tenants who work on the other side of the gulf have ended up giving up the car.

As for the main roads, the coast road runs east towards Fréjus and inland towards le Plan de la Tour. You reach the A8 motorway in about forty minutes, and Nice airport in an hour and a half out of season. That is why some of our tenants work in Nice or in Toulon.

Living in Sainte-Maxime, working in Saint-Tropez

It is the most common daily commute in the gulf, and the most resented. By the coast road, a short distance becomes an unpredictable journey time from June onwards, and frankly painful in August.

The ferry gets around the problem by crossing the gulf. It escapes the queues by design, and it turns a dreaded round trip into a bearable one. Check this season's timetable before you plan your days: the service is not the same all year.

For anyone working in Saint-Tropez, renting in Sainte-Maxime often remains the best compromise: the rental market here is a little more open than in Saint-Tropez, and the crossing settles the question of the road.

Parking

Each of our addresses provides a private space, inside the gate or in a lock-up garage. It is a standard we have set ourselves for a long time. Indeed, a home without parking becomes unliveable from June onwards on this coast.

The Domaine des Coralies and the Domaine du Préconil have private car parks behind the gate. Les Figuières, on route du Plan de la Tour, works the same way. Le Panoramic, in the town centre, has lock-up garages of its own.

In practical terms, that settles the matter before signing. So you do not have to look for a space in the evening, or move the car for the market. Visitor parking, however, stays public: warn your guests in July and August.

Buses and the station

The gulf bus network serves the main neighbourhoods of Sainte-Maxime and links the nearby towns. The lines reach Saint-Raphaël to the east, where the nearest station is. From there, trains serve Cannes, Nice and Marseille.

To the west, the network serves Grimaud, Cogolin and Saint-Tropez. Frequencies rise in season and drop in winter. Therefore, check the timetable for your line before relying on the bus alone to get to work.

For everyday use, the most convenient stop of all our addresses sits two minutes from Le Domaine des Coralies. The town centre is also very well served. The hillsides, on the other hand, remain car territory.

The ferry

The ferry leaves from the port of Sainte-Maxime and reaches Saint-Tropez in about fifteen minutes. The road, by contrast, goes all the way round the gulf and can take an hour at the height of summer. So the boat wins comfortably, and it avoids parking at the other end.

Crossings are frequent in season, more spread out in winter. So people who work on the other side of the gulf plan their day around the boat timetable. Several of our tenants have ended up giving up the car for this trip.

You can walk to the harbour from the town centre and from rue Léon Gaumont. From the other neighbourhoods, allow a few minutes by car, then parking nearby. In practice, it is the only local trip where the car is no use at all.

Motorway and airports

The coast road links Sainte-Maxime to Fréjus and Saint-Raphaël to the east. Inland, route du Plan de la Tour opens up the hinterland and cuts across towards the motorway. You reach the A8 in about forty minutes in normal conditions.

Nice airport sits about an hour and a half away out of season. Toulon-Hyères is closer in distance, but less well served. So some of our tenants work in Nice or in Toulon and come home every evening.

One last piece of advice, and it holds for everyone: in July and August, add a serious margin to every trip towards the west of the gulf. The coast road fills up between 11am and 2pm, then again in the late afternoon. Leaving early solves almost everything.

Cycling, underrated

The seafront path links the harbour to the first beaches without leaving the water's edge. It turns an impossible summer trip into ten minutes on a bike. Several of our tenants have made that choice.

The gradient stays moderate from the centre to the Préconil valley. It gets serious towards the hillsides and route du Plan de la Tour. In practical terms, an electric bike settles the question for almost everyone.

Plan for a store or a garage to keep it in. Our developments have closed car parks, which makes things simpler. Moreover, a bike left outside by the sea suffers from the salt.

School journeys

Nursery and primary schools are spread across the residential areas. The secondary school sits in town. The sixth-form college, however, means a trip to Saint-Raphaël or Cogolin depending on the course.

School bus services cover the towns around the gulf. The arrangements change every year, so check with the town hall or the region before the school year starts. In practice, you settle this when you sign the tenancy agreement.

For families, this point weighs as much as the rent. A quarter of an hour saved morning and evening adds up to more than a hundred hours a year. Therefore, we always raise it before the viewing.

July and August

For two months a year, the traffic changes character. The coast road fills up in the middle of the day and in the late afternoon. Public parking fills up from the morning.

Residents simply adapt. They shop early, they avoid beach hours, and they keep their parking space. So the season passes without a second thought.

Finally, warn your visitors. The private spaces in our developments are reserved for residents, and public parking becomes scarce. The rest of the year, however, the question never comes up.

The cost of a car

The car budget depends above all on the area. From the hillsides, count on at least two trips a day into the centre. From the valley or Les Virgiles, the car can stay at the gate for days.

Add insurance, servicing and visitor parking in season. So two homes at the same rent can cost very different amounts over twelve months. We talk about it before the viewing, because nobody thinks about it in front of photos.

For a family, the question becomes the second car. On the hillsides, it is often unavoidable. In the valley or in the centre, one is enough for most of our tenants.

Our journey times

From Le Domaine des Coralies and Le Domaine du Préconil, the town centre is a quarter of an hour on foot. The beach follows close behind. So an ordinary day passes without a car.

From Les Figuières, on route du Plan de la Tour, allow a few minutes by car for everything. In return, you come home to silence. From Le Panoramic, on rue Léon Gaumont, you are already in town.

Each listing gives the times to the centre, the beach, the schools and the shops. Moreover, it states the parking provided. Therefore, you compare real journeys, not impressions.

In short

Parking is settled when you choose the home, not afterwards: each of our developments provides a private space. You can walk into the town centre from the valley and from Les Virgiles. The bus serves the neighbourhoods and links Saint-Raphaël, where the station is.

For Saint-Tropez, the ferry beats the car hands down, especially in summer. You reach the A8 in about forty minutes and Nice in an hour and a half out of season. So working elsewhere in the gulf remains entirely possible.

Chaque fiche de logement indique les durées vers le centre, la plage, les écoles et les commerces, ainsi que le stationnement fourni. Par conséquent, vous comparez des trajets réels. Appelez-nous au 06 07 85 66 10 si vous hésitez entre deux secteurs.

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