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The Côte d'Azur is the most-booked yacht charter region on earth by weekly transaction count. About 280 yachts work the Riviera stretch from Saint-Tropez to Menton each summer at 30m and above. A 40m motor yacht out of Cannes in the second week of July runs roughly $280,000 a week. The same yacht in early June runs $210,000. Add 30 percent APA, 20 percent French VAT, and 10 percent gratuity, and the full check on a Cannes-based July charter clears $500,000 fast. This is the most expensive Mediterranean coast to charter on. It is also the densest.
The Riviera stretches about 110 kilometers from Saint-Tropez to the Italian border. The anchorage rotation that most charters actually use is shorter: Cannes to Cap d'Antibes, the Lerins, Cap Ferrat, and Monaco, with Saint-Tropez tagged on at the western end. Total cruising distance for a Cannes-Monaco week is under 60 nautical miles. The yacht does not work hard. The restaurants ashore do.
The Côte d'Azur is motor-yacht country. Sailing inventory in the region is light. The wider hulls and the restaurant-driven rhythm of the coast (short hops, anchor near a marina, tender ashore for lunch and dinner) suit motor yachts in the 35m to 60m range. Above 60m, the anchorages start to dictate the itinerary more than the captain does. The Lerins anchorage off Cannes holds maybe twenty yachts above 60m comfortably. In August it tries to hold fifty.
When to charter the Côte d'Azur
The Riviera season is structured around four event peaks and three calm windows.
The Cannes Film Festival. Mid-May, usually the second and third weeks. The yacht moorings off Cannes and the Croisette are pre-booked by film industry charterers 12 months in advance. Most of the fleet is at Cannes specifically for the Festival. Yacht rates in this period are 20 to 30 percent above the early-June baseline. The trip shape is centered on Cannes itself, with day trips to Saint-Tropez or the Lerins between dock returns.
Monaco Grand Prix. Last weekend of May. The Monaco harbor is at capacity. Most yachts position off Cap Ferrat or further afield and tender in. Rates over the Grand Prix weekend are at peak. Three-day mini-charters around the Grand Prix are a separate market with its own broker dynamics. We have a separate guide on this in the Monaco destination page.
Bastille Day and the July peak. July 14 through the rest of July is the first half of the summer peak. Cannes, Antibes, and Saint-Tropez are full. Anchorage tolerance drops. The Cap d'Antibes restaurants (Eden Roc, Bacon, the Pinède at Plage Keller) are booked well ahead.
The August peak. First three weeks of August are the highest concentration of yachts on the Riviera. Rates peak. The anchorages are over-trafficked. The trip is a scene as much as a yacht week. If the goal is the Riviera scene, this is when to go. If the goal is the coast, this is exactly when not to.
The calm windows. Late June, late July, and the first three weeks of September are when most Riviera charters that we would book ourselves actually happen. The water is warm enough, the anchorages are useable, and the restaurants are at their best.
The anchorage rotation
A working knowledge of the actual anchorages matters here because most readers know the destination names better than they know where yachts anchor. The Riviera rotation that most weekly charters actually follow:
Saint-Tropez and Pampelonne. The Gulf of Saint-Tropez at anchor, with tender into Saint-Tropez town or to Pampelonne for lunch (Club 55, La Réserve à la Plage, the Pampelonne beach club row). Most yachts above 50m anchor off Pampelonne in good weather and shift further into the gulf when the mistral builds. The town moorings inside Saint-Tropez fit yachts up to roughly 45m at the new dock and 60m on the long quai. Bigger yachts tender in.
The Esterel coast and Théoule. Often skipped in standard Cannes-Monaco itineraries. The red rock coast between Saint-Raphael and Cannes offers calmer anchorages than the rest of the Riviera and the lunch options at Anthéor and Le Trayas are an underrated stop for groups that want one day off the Riviera scene.
Cannes and the Lerins. Anchored off the Croisette or in the Bay of Cannes, with day trips to the Lerins islands (Sainte-Marguerite and Saint-Honorat). The Lerins anchorage on the south side of Sainte-Marguerite is one of the calmer day stops on the coast. Lunch at La Guerite ashore is the standard option.
Cap d'Antibes. The anchorage between the Cap and the Lerins is the most-used overnight spot in the central Riviera. Anse de la Garoupe and the Plage de la Salis are the calm-weather options. The Cap d'Antibes restaurants (Eden Roc, Bacon, La Pinede) are the Riviera dinner core. Yachts of 70m and above can anchor here in good weather but the holding is variable in the mistral and the captain's call matters.
Cap Ferrat. Anchored in the Bay of Villefranche between Cap Ferrat and Nice or off Beaulieu. The Villefranche bay is the deepest anchorage on the Riviera and absorbs yachts of any size. The Hotel du Cap Eden Roc and La Réserve at Beaulieu are the dinner anchors. Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat itself takes yachts up to about 40m at the dock.
Monaco. Port Hercule for yachts under 60m if a slot is available. Port de Fontvieille for smaller. Most charter yachts anchor off Monaco in the bay (Larvotto or Cap Martin) and tender in. The Grand Prix weekend, the Monaco Yacht Show in late September, and the Top Marques weekend are the three times of year when slot availability matters most.
What a typical Côte d'Azur charter week looks like
A common Cannes-to-Monaco week:
| Day | Anchorage | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Sat | Cannes | Boarding mid-afternoon, dinner aboard or at Astoux et Brun in town |
| Sun | Lerins / Pampelonne | Day at the Lerins, dinner at Club 55 or aboard |
| Mon | Saint-Tropez | Day in town, lunch at Sénéquier, dinner at La Vague d'Or |
| Tue | Saint-Tropez / Pampelonne | Beach club day at La Réserve à la Plage |
| Wed | Cap d'Antibes | Lunch at Plage Keller, dinner at Bacon |
| Thu | Cap Ferrat | Lunch at the Hotel du Cap, dinner at La Voile d'Or |
| Fri | Monaco | Day in town, dinner at Yoshi or Le Louis XV |
| Sat | Monaco / disembark | Disembark mid-morning |
This itinerary holds for yachts up to about 70m. Above 70m, Saint-Tropez town and Monaco port become tender-only and the rhythm shifts toward longer anchored stretches with shore visits by tender.
Côte d'Azur charter cost math
| Line item | Range (40m motor yacht, July peak) |
|---|---|
| Weekly rate | $230K to $320K |
| APA (30%) | $69K to $96K |
| VAT (20% French, on rate + APA) | $60K to $83K |
| Gratuity (10%) | $23K to $32K |
| Full check | $382K to $531K |
The VAT line is the major Côte d'Azur cost variable. A French-flagged charter departing France pays the full 20 percent. A charter structured to depart from a non-French port (Italy, Monaco-flagged charter on certain itineraries) can reduce the effective VAT meaningfully, with proper contract structure. Most large brokers will have a default position on this and will optimize on request. Brokers who do not surface VAT options in the pitch are giving you the unoptimized version of the contract. The Mediterranean weekly rates guide covers the structural options.
What we would change about a typical Côte d'Azur charter
Three things, in order of how much money each saves or how much trip quality each adds.
Skip the August second week. The third week of August (the actual French summer holiday peak) is the loudest the coast gets. The yacht selection is at its weakest. The same yacht eight weeks earlier costs 30 percent less and the coast is calmer. Most repeat Côte d'Azur charterers we know book the last week of June or the first week of September.
Add a day on the Esterel. Standard Cannes-to-Monaco itineraries skip the Esterel coast between Saint-Raphael and Cannes. A morning anchored off Anthéor with tender into Le Bouton d'Or for lunch is one of the most pleasant under-trafficked stops on the Riviera. Most brokers will not propose this unless asked.
Take Monaco off the itinerary for a non-event week. Monaco outside the Grand Prix, the Yacht Show, and the Top Marques weekends is a one-night stop, not a destination. A Cannes-Saint-Tropez-Cap d'Antibes-Cap Ferrat-Cannes loop without Monaco is a calmer week with the same trip quality.
What we passed on
We do not run a separate destination page for Nice itself. Nice is a hub for arriving and departing flights, not a charter anchorage in any meaningful sense. The Promenade des Anglais beach moorings are not a yacht destination. Yachts working out of Nice usually anchor in the Villefranche bay or off Cap Ferrat.
We also have not added a Cassis or Marseille destination page on the western Riviera. The geography is good but the broker fleet positioned that far west is light, and most Cannes-based charters do not run the longer leg west of Saint-Tropez.
The rest of the trip
VillasForKings covers the Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Saint-Tropez, and Mougins villa side. HotelsForKings covers the Hotel du Cap Eden Roc, La Réserve, and the Riviera hotel layovers. RestaurantsForKings covers the Riviera Michelin and beach club restaurants the yacht's chef will not match. BarsForKings covers what is open after midnight on the Riviera coast, which is less than the brochures suggest.
FAQ
What does a Côte d'Azur charter actually cost? A 40m motor yacht in July runs $230,000 to $320,000 per week before APA. Full check including 30 percent APA, 20 percent French VAT, and 10 percent gratuity lands between $400,000 and $560,000. Larger yachts scale roughly linearly. A 60m yacht in the same week runs $480,000 to $620,000 headline, full check $850,000 to $1.1M.
Can I anchor off the Hotel du Cap in Antibes? Yes, the Cap d'Antibes anchorages east and west of the Cap accept any size. The Eden Roc restaurant and pool club are tender-accessed from yachts at anchor. The hotel does not own the anchorage but the management coordinates dock space for guests dining at the restaurant.
Is the Lerins anchorage open at night? The Lerins (Sainte-Marguerite, Saint-Honorat) is a day anchorage in practice. Overnight is allowed and reasonably calm but most yachts return to Cannes or move to Cap d'Antibes for the evening.
How early do I need to book a July Riviera charter? For yachts under 50m, 6 to 9 months ahead is enough for the second-tier of broker inventory. For yachts above 60m and for any Cannes Film Festival or Monaco Grand Prix week, 12 to 18 months is realistic.
Do Riviera yachts work as one-way charters to Italy? Yes. Cannes to Portofino is a common one-way week (4 to 6 nights cruising the western Ligurian coast). The positioning fee runs $15K to $35K depending on yacht size.