Nice Airport to Cannes: coach, train, taxi or private transfer

Getting from Nice Airport to Cannes is a short run along the coast: Cannes railway station is about 28 km by road from Terminal 2, south-west of the airport (OpenStreetMap). There is a dedicated coach, ZOU! line 81, a train from a station a short walk from Terminal 1, official Nice taxis with a flat rate to Cannes, and cars booked in advance.

This guide uses the timetables, fares and rules published by the airport, by the regional ZOU! network, and in the operators’ open timetable data.

The short answer

The ZOU! 81 coach

Line 81 is the regional ZOU! express coach between the airport and Cannes. At Terminal 2 it leaves from bay 2 of the bus station, on the arrivals level through exit doors A1 or A3. At Terminal 1 the bus station is on the arrivals level through exit door A0, at the car-park shuttle stop opposite the platforms. The airport notes that the bus reaches Terminal 1 after leaving Terminal 2 and stops there on request: signal the driver.

From the airport the coach runs by motorway, the A8, to Le Cannet, Place Benidorm (by the tourist office) and ends at Cannes railway station (Gare SNCF).

Timetable. The printed timetable has been valid since 2 June 2026 and is marked every day. The region’s open timetable data, published on 5 October, confirms it: the same timetable on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 2 October to 31 December 2026, so the clock change on 25 October does not alter it. There are 25 departures a day from Terminal 2 (our count):

• 07:35, 08:40 and 09:30;
• then every 25 to 35 minutes until 18:05;
• then 18:45, 19:30, 20:15, 20:50 and 21:55.

Up to the 20:50, each bus is timetabled at Terminal 1 five minutes after Terminal 2. The last one, at 21:55, takes a different route, through Antibes and Vallauris with stops on the way, and is due at Cannes station at 22:46. The printed timetable shows it at Terminal 1 at 22:00, but the timetable data lists it from Terminal 2 only. If you land at Terminal 1 late in the evening, the free tram to Terminal 2 takes that doubt away.

Journey time. From Terminal 2 to Cannes station the timetable gives 50 to 55 minutes; from Terminal 1, 45 to 50 minutes. ZOU! says its times assume normal traffic and are given as an indication, and asks passengers to be at the stop 5 minutes before the bus is due.

Tickets. The airport asks you to buy your ticket before you board: at the Service Centre in Terminal 2 (cards only), or as an SMS ticket from t-zoukeolis.fr, which you show to the driver. ZOU!’s timetable gives a single at €21.40 bought at a ZOU! agency, from the e-shop or as an SMS ticket, and €21.80 sold on board; the airport lists the on-board surcharge as €0.40. The airport says there are no on-board sales at the Terminal 1 stop, so buy an SMS ticket before the bus arrives. Buy the SMS ticket at the stop, not before you fly: a single is valid from the moment you pay and expires 1 hour 30 minutes later.

• Groups: an SMS ticket for 3 people is €45.00 and for 4 people €51.40. On board, a group ticket for 3 to 9 people starts at €45.80. Group SMS tickets may be valid for less time than a single, so buy them as the bus arrives.
• Children: under 4 travel free, and children aged 4 to 11 get 50% off a single on the express lines.

Going back. From Cannes the coach leaves the railway station, calls at Le Cannet and ends at Terminal 2; it does not call at Terminal 1. Every day the first bus leaves Cannes at 05:10, reaching Terminal 2 at 05:55, and the last at 19:50, reaching it at 20:35. For a Terminal 1 flight, the free tram links the two terminals.

The train from Nice Saint-Augustin

There is no railway platform in the terminals. The station is Nice Saint-Augustin, which the airport puts less than 500 metres from Terminal 1, a 7-minute walk along a pedestrian path from exit door A0. Our map check puts the station building about 400 metres from the Terminal 1 tram stop. The airport adds that access to the platforms has moved to the other side of Avenue Maître Maurice Slama, next to the Grand Arénas newsstand.

From Terminal 2, trams on lines 2 and B are free between Terminal 2, Terminal 1 and the Grand Arénas stop, which stands beside the station. The airport gives a line 2 tram about every 7 to 8 minutes and a line B tram about every 10 minutes on weekdays, except 1 May. For weekends, the Lignes d’Azur timetable data for 17 and 18 October shows no gap longer than 10 minutes on Saturday, or 12 minutes on Sunday, between trams from Terminal 2 to Grand Arénas from 07:00 to 20:00.

Trains to Cannes. Regional SNCF trains on lines C3 and C13 stop at Nice Saint-Augustin, along with Transdev’s Nice–Marseille trains. The timetable data for 6 October to 12 December 2026 shows:

• Monday to Friday: the first train at 05:39; the last at 22:49 Monday to Thursday and 23:36 on Fridays. There are four or five trains an hour between 07:00 and 20:00, except at lunchtime: no train leaves between 12:29 (12:30 from 19 October) and 13:31.
• Saturday: the first train at 06:10 (06:09 from 24 October), four or five an hour between 07:00 and 20:00, and the last just after midnight, at 00:22 (00:23 from 24 October).
• Sunday: the first daytime train at 06:10 (06:09 from 25 October), four or five an hour between 07:00 and 20:00, and the last at 22:50. In the early hours of Sunday morning, trains also leave at 01:08, 01:21 (01:23 from 25 October) and 01:56.

The trip takes 21 to 39 minutes, depending on the train: Transdev’s trains are timetabled at 21 to 29 minutes and the SNCF trains at 28 to 39. The clock change on 25 October does not alter this pattern, but the data shows a different timetable from 13 December 2026, and some dates already differ: on Wednesday 11 November, a public holiday, the first train is at 06:08, and on Saturday 5 December the data shows far fewer trains, the last at 23:36. The airport’s train page gives a simpler summary of the service; the times above come from the operators’ timetable data, so check your own date before you travel.

The train reaches Cannes railway station, the same stop as the coach. The airport points you to ter.sncf.com and the SNCF Connect app for tickets. We do not quote a fare here: check it for your date when you buy.

Taxis at the airport

Official Nice taxis wait at the ranks on the arrivals level: after baggage reclaim, follow the TAXIS signs. The airport is clear about the alternative: decline offers from anyone who approaches you, because official taxis are not allowed to pick you up away from the ranks. An official taxi has three marks:

• on the roof, a lit TAXI ville de Nice sign with the taxi’s three-digit number;
• inside, information on the fares and flat rates set by prefectoral order;
• inside, a meter showing the price.

The fare. The airport’s 2026 taxi sheet, which cites prefectoral order No 2026-051, lists a flat rate of €85 from the airport to Cannes. It labels the figure an indicative fare including VAT and excluding supplements, and the same sheet says the price to pay is the one on the meter plus any supplements, so check the meter before you pay, as the airport advises. The supplements it lists include:

• €2.00 for a suitcase-sized bag, which the sheet applies to the fourth bag;
• €4 for a fifth passenger;
• 10% on icy or snowy roads;
• motorway tolls and tax, only when the taxi is carrying you (uniquement en charge).

You can pay by card in the taxi for any fare, whatever the amount, and a receipt is compulsory from €25. If you think you were overcharged on a ride from the airport, the airport gives the address of the taxi inspection service at Nice town hall: send the complaint with a copy of the receipt and the taxi number.

Pick-ups and drop-offs at the terminals

Taxis pick up only at the ranks, as above. For private cars, the airport lists Kiss & Fly drop-off car parks (déposes minutes) within a 1-minute walk of the terminals; the airport pages we checked do not set out charges or time limits for them, so we do not quote any.

Which option suits your trip

• One or two people, in time for a coach between 07:35 and 21:55, with a hotel near Cannes station: the 81 coach. It is one bus to the railway station, and the timetable is the same every day of the week.
• Landing after the last coach: the train runs later, until 22:49 Monday to Thursday, 23:36 on Fridays, just after midnight on Saturdays and 22:50 on Sundays, but it means the walk or tram to Nice Saint-Augustin first. After that, a taxi or a car booked in advance.
• A family of four: four separate singles cost more than the 4-person SMS ticket at €51.40. The taxi’s flat rate is €85 plus supplements, such as €2.00 for a fourth suitcase-sized bag. Both the coach and the train stop at the railway station; a car goes to your door.
• A hotel away from the station, or a villa in the hills: the coach and the train both leave you at Cannes station, so you still have the last leg with your bags.
• Flying home early: the first coach leaves Cannes at 05:10 and reaches Terminal 2 at 05:55, any day of the week. For anything earlier, plan on a taxi or a booked car.

The private transfer

On LocalsRide you post your route, date, time and the number of passengers. Local drivers send offers showing the vehicle and a price, with a star rating from past passengers once the driver has completed rides. You choose one and pay by card online when you accept it, and the price of the accepted offer does not change.

The driver comes for the pickup time you booked, and airport pickups include 60 minutes of free waiting from then, so a long delay can use them up. If your flight is delayed, message your driver in the LocalsRide chat. If you ask for a name sign, each offer shows whether the driver will meet you with one. Child seats and a note about your luggage go in your request, so drivers see them before they make an offer, and each offer’s details show the vehicle’s luggage capacity: check it if you are travelling with a pushchair or more than one case each.

The gain over the coach and the train is the last stretch: the car goes to your address, not to Cannes station, and it leaves at the pickup time you booked rather than at the next slot on a timetable. For two people travelling light in the daytime, the 81 coach is the sensible answer.

Checking a transfer for your date

Whether you get offers on this route depends on the drivers available on your date. Enter your pickup time and your Cannes address and see what offers arrive before you count on a car, then compare them with the coach and the train above. Driver offers for Nice Côte d’Azur Airport are on our Nice Airport transfer page.