Nice Airport: get to your base
Tram, train, coach or taxi? Choose by where you sleep. The first transport decision should be boring.
Nice centre: tram. Coastal town with a station: check Saint-Augustin plus TER (regional train). Too much luggage, too many children or an awkward hotel: a taxi becomes a sensible buy.
Central Nice: tram line 2
Line 2 serves both terminals, Jean Médecin and Port Lympia. Nice Airport says the ride to Jean Médecin is under 30 minutes and trams run roughly every 7 to 8 minutes on weekdays. The trams are step-free, which helps with suitcases and pushchairs.
The dedicated Aéro ticket currently costs €10 return and includes connections. If you already have a loaded Lignes d’Azur card, the general network fare can also be used for airport access.
Useful. Airport public transport ↗︎ · Lignes d’Azur airport fare ↗︎ · Jean Médecin map ↗︎
Antibes, Cannes, Monaco or Menton: Saint-Augustin + TER
The station you want is Nice Saint-Augustin, beside Grand Arénas. The tram is free between Terminal 2, Terminal 1 and Grand Arénas, and SNCF describes Saint-Augustin as the multimodal station built closer to the airport.
From there, trains head west towards Antibes and Cannes, and east towards Monaco and Menton. This usually makes more sense than dragging luggage into Nice-Ville just to come back out again.
Nice Saint-Augustin station ↗︎ · Google Maps ↗︎ · Book train ↗︎
A direct coach can beat the train when luggage is the priority
ZOU! currently lists line 80 from Nice Airport to Monaco and Menton, and line 81 from Nice Airport to Cannes. They are worth checking when you want a direct luggage-friendly ride without changing between tram and train.
ZOU! airport coach lines ↗︎ · Buy ZOU! ticket ↗︎
Taxi: the expensive answer that can still be the right one
Nice Airport publishes indicative fixed 2026 fares from the airport: €32 to central Nice, €72 to Antibes / Juan-les-Pins, €85 to Cannes and €95 to Monaco, excluding supplements.
Four people, late arrival, children, several bags or a hillside hotel can change the calculation very quickly. The point is not to avoid taxis, just to avoid paying for one when the tram or train does the job perfectly well.
Official airport taxi fares ↗︎
Villefranche, Beaulieu and Cap-Ferrat
Villefranche-sur-Mer and Beaulieu-sur-Mer have coastal stations, so the TER is the first option to check. Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is different: the peninsula is not on the railway. Train to Beaulieu plus bus or taxi may work, but with luggage a direct taxi can be a very sensible indulgence.
Rental car: not automatically on day one
If your first days are Nice plus the coastal railway line, do not collect a rental car automatically. Rent it when the itinerary actually needs one: inland villages, road-trip sections or places where public transport becomes a real hassle.