Access to the GR52 via ZOU!, the public transport service for the PACA region
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Translated into English.

Original post
GO
Zou! is the public transport service for the Région Sud Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. We're Canadian and our plan was to hike the Mercantour Great Crossing (GR52). After landing in Nice, we needed to find transport to the trailhead in the village of Entraunes. It took us two months to figure out that the only service available was Zou!'s shuttle, and—after countless calls (not easy from Canada)—to actually speak to someone at the company. Even though they confirmed our reservation, on the day of the trip, they weren’t waiting for us. We ended up stranded in Guillaumes because the driver hadn’t been "informed" that he was supposed to go all the way to the terminus that day. In 40 years of traveling the world, I’ve never encountered a situation where customer service was this nonexistent and access to a region this difficult. I just wanted to share this experience to warn you if you’re planning to rely on public transport to reach the GR52...
MA Mathews Globetrotter ·
Hi, have you contacted ZOU!’s management? It’s obvious that public transport in the Alpes-Maritimes is scarce, with no more than 3-4 train lines.

However, did you know that you could have reached the GR52 above Tende, a town that’s accessible via the Nice-Tende train? After that, the GR52 passes by forts like the Fort de Tende and continues through the Vallée des Merveilles.
GO Gorbanzobean ·
In Tende, we’d be on the fifteenth stage of the Grande Traversée du Mercantour, which has 18 in total. Maybe by doing the route in reverse, but then we’d just have to start from Menton and we’d still have the same transport issue when arriving in Entraunes... As for communicating with Zou’s management, that’s all we’ve been doing for months—no responses, or we get a dismissive reply, as if they’re just trying to brush off the problem. As you can see on this official GR20 map, it doesn’t pass through Tende...
MA Mathews Globetrotter ·
good evening, my bad because actually it's the GR52 A that starts from Tende 😛 Indeed, the plain GR52 starts from Menton according to Geoportail
GO Gorbanzobean ·
No harm done... Actually, the suggested itinerary starts in Entraunes and ends in Menton. Probably to better manage the elevation changes, but it’s also nicer to be rewarded with the Mediterranean at the end of the journey.

To update my review of ZOU!: we managed to board the bus (675) that took us from Puget to Entraunes by simply telling the driver, "We have a reservation," even though it hadn’t been honored. The driver, who looked like an ex-con with no way to verify our claim, had no choice but to take our word for it and let us on. We paid him directly for the fare. Two passengers, just as unpleasant, had hammered into us the day before on the trip between Nice and Puget that "reservations are mandatory, otherwise you won’t get on." But why is everyone so angry around here? Moral of the story: ZOU! is possible, but you have to force your way in. Oh, and the customer service we contacted on the same day we wanted to travel told us it was too late to reserve because "The sheet" had already been given to the driver the day before. ??? But nowhere on ZOU!’s website or their official schedule—which mentions the need to reserve—is there any indication of a deadline for making a reservation. When we called ZOU!’s central office, the bus was still 4 hours away from departing Nice. If they don’t know about modern communication tech, they could’ve sent a messenger on horseback to inform the driver. But ZOU! just doesn’t care...

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