Pampelonne is not one beach but a series of them
That is the first mistake: saying "Pampelonne" is not enough. The beach stretches nearly 4 km within Ramatuelle, from Club 55 in the north to Bonne Terrasse in the south, with around thirty establishments. Over a kilometre separates Club 55 from Nikki Beach, with separate road accesses and car parks that do not connect on the road side. Taking the wrong access usually means driving back out and around.
The hours that cause trouble
Two windows concentrate the difficulty. Between 11am and 1pm everyone arrives at once: the Route des Plages saturates and the clubs' car parks fill. Between 6pm and 7:30pm everyone leaves at once, and that is the worst moment to hope for an available vehicle. In between, mid-afternoon, traffic is markedly lighter. It is the best time to move from one establishment to another or head back to change.
Parking
The clubs' car parks are paid, limited in number, and full early in high season. Informal roadside parking is regularly ticketed and, in places, now physically closed off. That is what makes a private car poorly suited in July and August: the time saved on the drive is entirely lost hunting for a space, then walking across sand with your things.
Villas and unsurfaced tracks
Some of the villas overlooking Pampelonne, or up on the heights towards Cap Camarat, are reached by narrow dirt tracks that are sometimes steep. A low saloon scrapes or gives up. Worth flagging when booking transport: the right vehicle is not the same one, and better to know before arrival than at the end of the track.
The shuttle solution
In high season, what works best is not the one-off transfer but the shuttle: a dedicated vehicle and driver rotating between your villa or hotel and the beach, by the day or by the week. It removes both problems at once — parking and the 6:30pm return — and lets you change establishment mid-day without getting back in the car. It also makes dinner on the beach with a late return possible, at an hour when the area is very poorly served.