MonacoTop · Riviera yacht itineraries

French Riviera yacht itineraries, with distances and cruising times

Three Riviera charter itineraries from Monaco and Cannes, leg by leg: sea distances in nautical miles, cruising time at 12, 20 and 30 knots, and the anchoring rules captains plan around.

Distances are published sea distances between harbours, rounded; where sources disagree the range is shown. Cruising times are worked out from them: about 12 knots for a displacement yacht, 20 to 30 knots for a planing motor yacht. Weather, the yacht and the captain decide the day.

A week from Monaco: Cap Ferrat, Antibes, the Lérins islands and Saint-Tropez

Short hops for the first days, one longer run to Saint-Tropez, and the return to Port Hercule on the last day.

Day	Leg	Distance	At 12 kn	At 20 kn	At 30 kn	Plan
1	Monaco → Beaulieu-sur-Mer	3–4 nm	15–20 min	10 min	5–10 min	Out of Port Hercule to the bay of Beaulieu: a swim stop and lunch at anchor.
2	Beaulieu-sur-Mer → Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat	1 nm	5 min	5 min	5 min	Round Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat; the night in Villefranche bay.
3	Cap Ferrat → Cap d'Antibes	11 nm	55 min	35 min	20 min	Across the Baie des Anges to Cap d'Antibes and Port Vauban.
4	Antibes → Golfe-Juan	8 nm	40 min	25 min	15 min	Past Golfe-Juan to the Lérins islands: the channel between Sainte-Marguerite and Saint-Honorat.
5	Cannes → Saint-Tropez	23–25 nm	1.9–2.1 h	1.2–1.3 h	45–50 min	The longer run along the Estérel coast to Saint-Tropez.
6	Saint-Tropez → Pampelonne	6 nm	30 min	20 min	10 min	A beach day off Pampelonne.
7	Saint-Tropez → Monaco	45–55 nm	3.8–4.6 h	2.3–2.8 h	1.5–1.8 h	Back to Monaco: the longest leg, best started in the morning.

Day trips from Monaco: Menton, Cap Ferrat and Sanremo

Three days that each start and end in Port Hercule, suited to a day charter.

Day	Leg	Distance	At 12 kn	At 20 kn	At 30 kn	Plan
1	Monaco → Menton	4–5 nm	20–25 min	10–15 min	10 min	East to Menton and the Garavan bay, then back for the evening.
2	Villefranche-sur-Mer → Monaco	5 nm	25 min	15 min	10 min	West to Villefranche and Cap Ferrat for lunch at anchor.
3	Monaco → Sanremo	15–17 nm	1.3–1.4 h	45–50 min	30–35 min	Across the border to Sanremo in Italy.

A weekend from Cannes: the Lérins islands, Antibes and Saint-Tropez

Three short days from the Vieux Port, with the islands minutes away.

Day	Leg	Distance	At 12 kn	At 20 kn	At 30 kn	Plan
1	Cannes (Pointe de la Croisette) → Îles de Lérins	1–2 nm	5–10 min	5 min	5 min	The Lérins islands: swim in the channel between Sainte-Marguerite and Saint-Honorat.
2	Cannes → Antibes	10–12 nm	50 min–1 h	30–35 min	20–25 min	East round Cap d'Antibes to Port Vauban.
3	Cannes → Saint-Tropez	23–25 nm	1.9–2.1 h	1.2–1.3 h	45–50 min	West along the Estérel to Saint-Tropez.

Anchoring rules on the Riviera

Posidonia seagrass is protected: yachts of 24 m and over may not anchor on it from Théoule to the Var (Cannes, Lérins, Antibes) and in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, and the limit drops to 20 m east of the Var (Nice, Villefranche, Cap Ferrat, Beaulieu, Menton). source
Yachts of 45 to 80 m declare an anchorage to the semaphore in advance; yachts of 80 m and over need authorisation and use designated zones off Cannes, Golfe-Juan, the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, Pampelonne and Menton. source
A 5-knot speed limit applies in the channel between Sainte-Marguerite and Saint-Honorat. source

Distances: sea-seek.com, alliedyachting.com, savvy-navvy.com, the NGA Sailing Directions (Pub. 131) and charter operators' published tables.

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