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Saint-Tropez sits on the southern shore of the Cote d'Azur at 43 degrees north, 100 kilometres east of Marseille and 80 kilometres west of Nice, with a winter population of 4,200 that expands to 80,000 across the working summer peak. The working day-charter calendar runs from late April to late October with the peak window from 20 June to 5 September. A 15-metre motor yacht with crew for a Pampelonne day in July runs €5,500 to €9,500 with French VAT, fuel, gratuity, and provisions on top. The working day-charter inventory operates from three bases: Vieux Port Saint-Tropez (working slip inventory to 60 metres, premium 18m+ band), Port Grimaud (working 12m to 25m midmarket band, 12 kilometres west across the Gulf of Saint-Tropez), and Sainte-Maxime (working 10m to 18m budget band, 14 kilometres north across the gulf). Nice Airport (NCE) and Toulon-Hyeres Airport (TLN) handle the working air access with the canonical 1 to 1.5 hour transfer to Saint-Tropez.
The point of a Saint-Tropez day charter on a 7 to 10 hour loop is the Pampelonne beach anchorage cluster (the 5-kilometre south-facing beach with 27 working beach clubs from Tahiti Plage at the north to Bonjour at the south, including Club 55, Loulou Ramatuelle, La Plage des Jumeaux, Verde Beach, Bagatelle, Bagatelle Bahia, Indie Beach, Nikki Beach, La Reserve a la Plage, and Moorea Plage), the Cap Camarat anchorage (the working southwest-coast anchor 4 nautical miles south of Pampelonne with the canonical Cap Camarat lighthouse and the clear-water swim positions), the Iles d'Hyeres cluster (Porquerolles and Port-Cros, 35 to 45 nautical miles southwest of Saint-Tropez, the working national-park anchor calendar at the cleanest single Mediterranean water on the Cote d'Azur), and the Vieux Port sunset and dinner calendar at Senequier, Le Cafe, Brasserie des Arts, and Sailor.
The working day-charter pattern combines a morning Vieux Port departure (9am to 10am window), a southeast 4 to 6 nautical mile run to the Pampelonne anchorage, a 4 to 5 hour anchored swim and lunch window at the Club 55 or Loulou Ramatuelle tender access, and an afternoon return via the Cap Camarat or the Pampelonne north for the sunset stop and the working evening return to Vieux Port. The extended pattern adds the Iles d'Hyeres rotation as a 12-hour or 14-hour working day from Vieux Port.
When to day-charter Saint-Tropez
May. Pre-season. Water 17 to 19 degrees Celsius, air 20 to 25 degrees. The working shoulder window with full operator inventory online by 15 May, reduced rates at the €2K to €6K band running 25 to 35 percent below July-August peak, and limited beach club operations (Club 55 opens 1 May, Loulou Ramatuelle from late April, La Plage des Jumeaux from early May). Cleanest single window for the working Cannes Film Festival calendar (mid-May) where the working Cannes-Saint-Tropez day-charter pattern absorbs the festival client overflow.
June. Peak begins. Water 20 to 22 degrees, air 23 to 28 degrees. The working day-charter calendar at 75 to 85 percent of peak rates through 15 June, climbing to full peak from 20 June with the Monaco Grand Prix and the Cannes Lions calendar driving the working pre-peak demand. The cleanest single working day-charter window with the Pampelonne beach club calendar at full operating strength and reduced peak congestion.
July and August. Peak. Water 22 to 24 degrees, air 26 to 30 degrees. The Pampelonne anchor calendar at 90 to 100 percent utilisation with the working 50 to 100 yacht-and-day-charter positions on peak August Saturday at the working anchor zones (depths 5 to 12 metres on sand 200 to 400 metres off the beach). The Vieux Port slip inventory runs at full peak with the working harbour-quay congestion through the day and the working evening departure pattern at 6pm to 8pm. Rates at peak; book 6 to 10 weeks out for premium inventory.
September. Late peak. Water 21 to 23 degrees, air 22 to 27 degrees. The cleanest single shoulder window with full operator inventory through 25 September, reduced beach club minimum-spend calendar, the working Saint-Tropez Voiles regatta from late September through early October absorbing the working classic-yacht calendar, and rates at 70 to 80 percent of peak from 15 September. The cleanest single window for the working repeat-Saint-Tropez day-charter visit.
October. Shoulder. Water 19 to 21 degrees, air 19 to 24 degrees. Operator inventory reduces from 15 October with most premium boats moving to winter base by 30 October. The Saint-Tropez Voiles classic regatta (the canonical working classic-yacht regatta from 1981) absorbs the working first-week-of-October calendar. The working closing window for the year with rates at the €1.5K to €4K band on the available inventory.
November to April. Offseason. Limited operator inventory, closed Pampelonne beach club calendar (Club 55 closes 31 October, reopens 1 May), and the working Saint-Tropez winter pattern at the year-round Saint-Tropez town restaurants (Senequier, La Vague d'Or, La Pesquiere, Le Girelier, La Renaissance).
The Saint-Tropez day-charter zones
Pampelonne (the canonical day-charter beach). 4 nautical miles southeast of Vieux Port. The 5-kilometre south-facing beach in the Ramatuelle municipality with 27 working beach clubs from Tahiti Plage at the north (the canonical 1946 Patrice de Colmont club, now the working Tahiti Plage Beach Hotel and restaurant cluster) to Bonjour at the south. The working anchor calendar at depths 5 to 12 metres on sand 200 to 400 metres off the beach with the working Posidonia seagrass protection program restricting the working anchor positions to designated sand patches. The working tender approach to each beach club's tender dock at the centre-front position.
Club 55 (the canonical working Pampelonne restaurant). Pampelonne Boulevard Patch, working from 1955 at the Patch family-run base. The Brigitte Bardot 1956 La Verite filming-base anchor with the canonical Cote d'Azur lunch product. Reservations 60 days out, minimum cover €200 per person plus drinks. The working tender dock at the centre-south of the working Club 55 beach position. The Senequier-style aperitif and the working Mediterranean grilled-fish lunch.
Loulou Ramatuelle at Tahiti Plage. The working high-end beach restaurant in the Loulou Paris-Saint-Tropez group at the north end of Pampelonne. Working lunch from 1pm, working DJ-set afternoon calendar from 3pm. Reservation 30 days out, minimum cover €150 per person plus drinks. The cleanest single beach club for the working post-Club 55 afternoon DJ calendar with the working tender access at the Tahiti Plage tender dock.
La Plage des Jumeaux. Working Pampelonne south at the Bord de Mer Plage des Jumeaux, the working Joel Robuchon-influenced beach restaurant since 1970. Working lunch from 12:30pm, reduced afternoon DJ-set calendar. Reservation 14 to 30 days out, minimum cover €120 per person plus drinks. The cleanest single working lunch position for the food product over the DJ-set product.
Cap Camarat. 4 nautical miles south of Pampelonne. The working 130-metre cliff with the Cap Camarat lighthouse (1831) and the working clear-water swim positions at the Cap Camarat south anchor (depths 8 to 25 metres on rock-and-sand bottom). The cleanest single working afternoon swim position from Pampelonne with the canonical Cote d'Azur cliff-and-water Mediterranean product. No restaurant inventory at Cap Camarat; the working lunch runs on board.
Baie de Cavalaire. 8 nautical miles south of Saint-Tropez via the Cap Camarat passage. The working southwest-coast bay with the Plage de Cavalaire and the working beach club calendar at La Plage du Layet (the working Le Layet beach restaurant from 1969). The working overflow position when Pampelonne at full peak congestion.
Iles d'Hyeres (Porquerolles and Port-Cros). 35 to 45 nautical miles southwest of Saint-Tropez. Porquerolles (the 7-kilometre Mediterranean island in the Port-Cros National Park, working anchor calendar at the Plage Notre-Dame, Plage d'Argent, and Plage de la Courtade with depths 5 to 15 metres on sand) and Port-Cros (the working national-park island with the Plage de la Palud and the Plage du Sud anchors). The working 14-hour day-charter rotation from Saint-Tropez with the working west-southwest 35 to 45 nautical mile transit; most premium operators run the Iles d'Hyeres only on dedicated bookings at the €8K-and-up band.
Vieux Port and the Saint-Tropez town front. The working charter base with the canonical Senequier (the working Saint-Tropez red-cafe institution from 1887), Le Cafe (working from 1789, the canonical Place des Lices Saint-Tropez cafe), Brasserie des Arts, and Sailor at the Vieux Port quay. The working sunset return calendar absorbs the working aperitif window at Senequier or Le Cafe with the working tender access at the Vieux Port quay.
A standard Saint-Tropez day charter (8 hours)
| Hour | Position | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 | Vieux Port board | Boarding at the slip, provisioning check, departure briefing |
| 10:30 | Southeast to Pampelonne | 25-minute run southeast to the Pampelonne anchorage |
| 11:00 | Pampelonne anchor | Swim, paddleboard, watersports at the Pampelonne anchor (90-minute window) |
| 12:30 | Club 55 lunch | Tender ashore to Club 55 for the working Pampelonne lunch (2.5-hour window) |
| 15:00 | Cap Camarat | Cross south 4 nautical miles to Cap Camarat for the afternoon swim |
| 16:30 | Pampelonne north | Return north to the Tahiti Plage anchor for the Loulou Ramatuelle afternoon DJ set (optional) |
| 17:30 | Coast return | Slow run west along the Saint-Tropez gulf past Salins and La Moutte |
| 18:00 | Vieux Port return | Return to Vieux Port quay, optional Senequier aperitif window |
This is the canonical Saint-Tropez full-day rotation on a 15 to 18 metre motor yacht with 6 to 10 guests. The structure adjusts for the mistral wind calendar (the canonical Provence northwest wind running 30 to 50 knots, forcing the Pampelonne anchor unworkable on peak mistral days with the working alternative at the Cavalaire south-coast anchor under wind protection), for the Iles d'Hyeres extension (which forces a 6am departure and a 7pm return on the working 14-hour day), and for the working Saint-Tropez Voiles regatta calendar (which forces the working day-charter pattern around the classic-yacht race course in the Saint-Tropez gulf from 25 September through 7 October).
Saint-Tropez day-charter boat size guidance
9m to 13m RIBs and motorboats. €2K to €4K per day, 6 to 10 guests, working Pampelonne day-loop at 28 to 40 knots. No on-board chef; lunch by stop at Club 55 or Loulou Ramatuelle. The clean fit for groups of 6 to 8 prioritising the working Pampelonne anchor and the working beach club calendar.
14m to 18m motor yachts. €4K to €8K per day, 8 to 12 guests, crew of 2 to 4, working on-board lunch service with a chef on the premium operators (Stage 1 Yachting, Septieme Sens Yachting, Yacht Charter Saint-Tropez, Riviera Yachts Mediterraneans). The working day-charter midmarket and the cleanest single band for the standing Saint-Tropez product.
18m to 25m motor yachts. €8K to €15K per day, 10 to 14 guests, crew of 3 to 5, full chef and stewardess, working overnight extension capacity, working tender garage with the watersports inventory (paddleboard, Seabob, jet ski, wakeboard). The working premium day-charter band with the structured Pampelonne and Cap Camarat calendar.
25m to 35m motor yachts. €15K to €30K per day, 10 to 12 guests, full crew of 5 to 7, multi-day flexibility, full overnight option. The working extension-charter band for clients combining Saint-Tropez day product with the working Monaco, Cannes, or Portofino overnight rotation.
Saint-Tropez day-charter cost math
| Line item | Range (15m motor yacht, 8-hour day, July peak) |
|---|---|
| Boat day rate | €5.5K to €9.5K |
| French VAT (20% on the boat rental) | €1.1K to €1.9K |
| Fuel (Pampelonne day loop, 30 nautical miles) | €0.3K to €0.7K |
| Crew gratuity (10% to 15%) | €0.6K to €1.5K |
| Provisioning add-on (lunch, drinks, snacks) | €0.5K to €1.5K |
| Club 55 lunch (per person, 8 guests) | €1.6K to €3K |
| Loulou Ramatuelle afternoon (per table of 8, minimum spend) | €1.2K to €4K |
| Working full check (Pampelonne + Club 55) | €9K to €17K |
| Working full check (Pampelonne + Iles d'Hyeres extension) | €11K to €22K |
The Saint-Tropez day-charter cost runs at the highest end of the Mediterranean day-charter market on a per-day basis given the working chef-and-crew inventory on the 15m+ band, the 20% French VAT on the boat rental, the working Pampelonne beach club minimum-cover calendar, and the working Vieux Port slip premium. The working cost-control move is to book the day charter at the €5K to €7K band, take the working Pampelonne anchor with on-board lunch rather than the Club 55 working €200 per person cover, and run the working sunset return to Senequier or Le Cafe at the Vieux Port front.
Operator ranking (the working day-charter inventory)
We rank rather than list. The working Saint-Tropez day-charter operator inventory we would book runs at the following band:
Stage 1 Yachting holds the working premium band at Vieux Port with the 18m to 30m motor-yacht inventory (Sunseeker, Pershing, Princess, Riva, Sanlorenzo). Working crew quality, on-board chef on the 18m+ inventory, working Club 55 and Loulou coordination, and the cleanest single chartered fleet at the working Vieux Port slip. [VERIFY: 2026 fleet additions pending operator confirmation].
Septieme Sens Yachting holds the working motor-yacht charter band at the 15m to 25m bracket from the Vieux Port and Port Grimaud bases with the working Sunseeker Predator and Pershing inventory. The working operator for the performance-motor-yacht day-charter at the €6K to €12K band. [VERIFY: 2026 fleet additions pending operator confirmation].
Yacht Charter Saint-Tropez holds the working midmarket band at the 12m to 20m bracket from the Port Grimaud base. The cleaner alternative for clients prioritising the Port Grimaud cleaner traffic and the €4K to €8K rate band over the Vieux Port slip premium.
Riviera Yachts Mediterranean holds the working catamaran and motor-yacht charter band at the 14m to 22m bracket with the working Lagoon and Sunseeker inventory for the larger-group day-charter product (10 to 14 guests).
We pass on the high-volume mass-aggregator listings on GetMyBoat, Click and Boat, and Borrow A Boat for Saint-Tropez peak-season bookings. The working operator-direct booking at the four named operators above runs cleaner on cancellation, on weather-call discretion (the working mistral calendar at Saint-Tropez can force a Pampelonne no-go with the working operator-direct switch to the Cavalaire south-coast rotation), and on the working beach club coordination. The aggregator product runs the working day-charter for shoulder-season bookings (May, late September, October).
What we would change
The Pampelonne anchor calendar runs congested at peak August Saturday and Sunday with 50 to 100 yacht-and-day-charter positions on the working designated anchor zones. The cleanest single fix is the weekday Pampelonne visit (Monday through Thursday) or the working early-morning arrival (anchor down by 10:30am) before the working day-charter inventory from Vieux Port arrives at the noon window. The working Pampelonne Saturday and Sunday calendar runs cleaner from the Vieux Port early-departure operator-direct booking.
The Club 55 minimum-cover calendar runs working at €200 per person on the working lunch booking with the working dessert and aperitif add bringing the typical 8-guest cover to €2K to €3K before any DJ-set or sunbed add. The working cost-control move runs the working pre-1pm lunch booking (cleaner working pricing structure) or the working alternative at La Plage des Jumeaux at €120 per person minimum, with the same Pampelonne anchor and tender access pattern at 40 percent below the Club 55 price band.
The Vieux Port slip inventory at peak August runs at the canonical Saint-Tropez harbour congestion with the working harbour quay running 60 to 100 percent occupied through the working 11am to 6pm window. The cleanest single move is the 9am embark before the working harbour congestion peak or the working Port Grimaud or Sainte-Maxime alternative base with the working 20-minute tender-or-RIB transfer to the Vieux Port quay for the dinner stop.
The rest of the trip
VillasForKings covers the Saint-Tropez private villa inventory at La Capilla, Les Parcs de Saint-Tropez, Salins, La Moutte, and the Ramatuelle hillside cluster with the working private-pool and direct-Pampelonne-access inventory. HotelsForKings covers the Cheval Blanc Saint-Tropez (formerly the Hotel de Paris), the La Reserve Ramatuelle, the Pan Dei Palais, the Lily of the Valley at La Croix-Valmer, the Villa Marie at Ramatuelle, and the Airelles Gordes alternative for the working Saint-Tropez-Provence extension. RestaurantsForKings covers Club 55 at Pampelonne, Loulou Ramatuelle at Tahiti Plage, La Plage des Jumeaux at Pampelonne, Verde Beach at Pampelonne, Bagatelle Saint-Tropez, La Vague d'Or (3-star) at the Cheval Blanc, Le Girelier at the Vieux Port, Senequier at the Vieux Port, and Brasserie des Arts at the Place des Lices. BarsForKings covers Senequier at the Vieux Port, Le Cafe at the Place des Lices, the Quai Bar at the Cheval Blanc, the Loulou Ramatuelle DJ-set calendar, and the working VIP Room and Les Caves du Roy at Saint-Tropez town.
FAQ
Do I need to book a Saint-Tropez day charter in advance? For July and August peak, yes. Book 6 to 10 weeks out for the premium 15m+ motor-yacht inventory at Vieux Port; the working RIB and small-motorboat band at €2K to €4K from Port Grimaud and Sainte-Maxime opens 1 to 2 weeks out at the working operator level. May, June, late September, and October open inventory on 48 to 72 hour notice with full operator selection.
Can I day-charter to Monaco from Saint-Tropez? Not cleanly as a working single-day rotation. Monaco sits 80 kilometres east of Saint-Tropez with the 2.5 to 3.5 hour transit each way; the working day-charter rotation absorbs the 8-hour day at the Pampelonne anchor and Cap Camarat, not the cross east to Monaco. The cleaner Monaco day-charter from Saint-Tropez is the working 2-day overnight rotation with the Cannes midpoint stop on the 18m+ motor-yacht band. We cover Monaco day-charter on the Monaco day charter page.
What size group fits a Saint-Tropez day charter? 6 to 10 guests on the 12m to 15m motor-yacht band, 10 to 14 on the 18m to 22m motor-yacht band, 14 to 20 on the 25m+ inventory. Groups above 12 should book the larger-motor-yacht band at Stage 1 Yachting or Septieme Sens for the stable deck space, the working chef-and-crew capacity, and the working Club 55 reservation pattern (Club 55 runs cleaner on tables of 6 to 8 than on tables of 14+).
Is Pampelonne worth the working anchor congestion? Yes, for first-time Saint-Tropez day-charter clients. The Pampelonne 5-kilometre beach holds the canonical Cote d'Azur beach club product with the working 27-club inventory and the Club 55, Loulou Ramatuelle, and La Plage des Jumeaux calendar. The working anchor congestion runs material at peak August Saturday and Sunday but absorbs cleanly on weekday or early-morning visits. For repeat Saint-Tropez day-charter clients prioritising clear-water swim over beach club product, the working Iles d'Hyeres extension is the cleaner answer.
How does Saint-Tropez day-charter cost compare with Cannes? Comparable at the working 15m motor-yacht band, both running €5K to €8K at peak per day before extras. Saint-Tropez runs higher on the working Club 55 minimum-cover calendar (€200 per person versus €100 to €150 at the Cannes beach club product at Croisette); Cannes runs higher on the working Vieux Port slip premium during the Cannes Film Festival window in May. We cover the comparison on the Saint-Tropez vs Cannes day charter page.