The problem: Saint-Tropez has no station and no commercial airport
That is where the whole question starts. Saint-Tropez sits at the end of a peninsula, with no railway station and no airport taking scheduled flights. La Môle airport, 17 km away, is reserved for business aviation. Any arrival from Nice therefore involves a change: 93 km by road, or a detour by sea. The stated 1h30 holds out of season; in August, between 5pm and 8pm, add 30 to 45 minutes on the descent into the Golfe.
By rental car
The most obvious option, and the most disappointing in practice. The drive itself is fine — A8 to Le Muy, then the D25 and D559 — but the problem starts on arrival. In high season the centre of Saint-Tropez is closed to traffic for much of the day, car parks fill by mid-morning, and the car becomes a permanent constraint: get it out, park it, find it again. Many visitors stop using it altogether after two days.
By train, then taxi or bus
There is no station in Saint-Tropez. The usable stations are Saint-Raphaël-Valescure (about 40 km) or Les Arcs-Draguignan (about 45 km), both served by TGV and TER from Nice. From there a 45-minute to one-hour transfer remains. A bus connection exists from Saint-Raphaël but it is slow and seasonal. This option only makes sense if you are already arriving by train from further afield, not from Nice airport.
By boat
Seasonal sea links connect Sainte-Maxime, Saint-Raphaël and Cannes to Saint-Tropez. It is pleasant, it avoids the traffic entirely, and arriving by sea into the port remains one of the finest entrances there is. But it is not a solution from the airport: you first have to reach the departure port by road, work within limited timetables, and stop counting on it late in the day or out of season. Keep it for an excursion, not for an arrival transfer with luggage.
By helicopter
The Nice–Saint-Tropez link exists and takes about twenty minutes. It is by far the quickest option, and it has its clientele. Two caveats: it depends on the weather, and it does not drop you at your final destination — a transfer remains between the helipad and your address. Over a stay, it solves the arrival but not the following days' travel.
By private chauffeur
This is what we do, and the bias is acknowledged — but the argument rests on concrete points. The driver waits in arrivals with your flight tracked: a delay shifts the pickup with nothing for you to do. The journey is door to door, with the luggage, at any hour. Above all it settles the parking question on arrival, which is Saint-Tropez's real problem in season. Over a stay, a chauffeur at disposal extends that logic to the following days: beach, dinners, late returns, without ever looking for a space.
What we recommend, case by case
Arriving with luggage, as a family or after a long-haul flight: the private transfer, without hesitation. A rental car, for a stay spent entirely in the village and at Pampelonne, is often a poor calculation. Out of season, October to May, with travel across the Var: the car regains its appeal, the roads are clear and parking becomes possible again. And if your flight lands at Toulon-Hyères rather than Nice, you save half an hour of road — worth checking when buying tickets.