Hi all! I%26#39;m traveling to La Ciotat and am staying at Hotel IBIS. I%26#39;m landing at MRS airport. What is the best/safest way for me to travel from the airport to IBIS. I%26#39;m not familiar w/ the area at all and can%26#39;t speak french! I%26#39;m afraid I might get scammed. How much would a taxi be? Are there any other options? I will be meeting somebody in La Ciotat who has a car so I won%26#39;t be renting a car.
Thanks so much! I really appreciate it!
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Hello - I have been to Cassis twice in the last few weeks which is stop before La Ciotat on the rain out of Marseille. It is very straightforward to get to, and safe.
When you land at Marseille Airport, you will see signs directing you to the shuttle bus to the city. It takes a few minutes to walk to where the bus departs. Taxis are very expensive - I was quoted 60 euros. Buy a ticket for the bus at the kiosk - it costs €8.50 each way. You cannot buy the ticket from the driver. The bus takes 25 minutes and goes directly to Gare St Charles railway station. It doesn%26#39;t stop anywhere else. Get off the bus and walk into the railway station and look for the trains to a Ciotat - I think you will be looking for the Toulon Train. Ask any station conductor as they shuld speak some english. I think you need to head towards platforms 3,4 and 5 - that area. La Ciotat is only 30 minutes on the train and costs about 6 euros each way. You won%26#39;t get scammed if you stick to the official shuttle and the train. You could be inLa Ciotat within an hour of landing at Marseile and it will cost you about €14. Slightly cheaper is to take the shuttle atthe airport to Vitrolles Railway station a few mins away but not worth the hassle for the €4 saving. To get back to the airport, just reverse the steps above! Hope that helps.
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A few extra points. At Marseille St Charles you will need to buy your ticket. Several of the staff in the Ticket Office speak good English and I am sure they are all used to dealing with requests from people whose knowledge of their language is far from good. Although lines build up there they do move quite quickly. You cold try using a machine but many first time visitors find them off-putting. Before getting on the train use oe of the yellow %26quot;compostez%26quot; machines to date stamp your ticket. Just look out for what other passengers are doing. The trains run about once an hour.
Secondly, Ibis La Ciotat is quite a way from the station and the town centre. Therefore, unless you are being met at the station you will have to take a taxi. This might be the most expensive part of the whole transfer.
I hae used the shuttle to the rail station, and while I didn%26#39;t find it a hassle there are disadvantages. Firstly, at te airport you need to get a ticket from a machine (see above). Secondly there are some potentially awkward gaps in the timetable. However, it might be worth considering for your return trip as you would be able to get a through ticket from a real person at La Ciotat station. A timetable for the service is available on the Marseille Aeroport website. The money you save wold be worth a couple of drinks.
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