BOAT-COMPARATOR Guide
The best boat trips from Cannes and the Lérins Islands
Sainte-Marguerite, Saint-Honorat, the Estérel, Cap d'Antibes: the itineraries for a perfect day at sea out of Cannes.
Cannes is arguably the best departure port on the French Riviera for a first day at sea: barely past the harbour wall, you are already among the Lérins Islands. These are the itineraries that never miss.
The great classic: Sainte-Marguerite and Saint-Honorat
Fifteen minutes of motoring and you anchor in turquoise water between the two islands, on the "plateau du milieu". Swimming, paddleboard, lunch on board or at La Guérite (book ahead!), then a loop around Saint-Honorat and its fortified abbey. Doable even in a license-free boat — the perfect family outing.
The red coast of the Estérel
Head west toward Théoule, the Pointe de l'Aiguille and red-rock calanques plunging into emerald water. Allow a good hour by RIB to the bay of Agay, with a lunch stop at the Maubois calanque. The red-rock-on-green-water contrast is the most photogenic on the coast.
Around Cap d'Antibes
Eastward, run along the Croisette then Cap d'Antibes to the legendary Garoupe bay and its century-old villas. Chic anchorage, gin-clear water, and a return past Juan-les-Pins at sunset.
Practical tips
Leave before 9:30 to get the calm anchorages, watch the easterly wind that raises chop in the afternoon, and consider the neighbouring ports — Mandelieu, Golfe-Juan, Antibes — often cheaper than Cannes proper for the same waters: the Boat-Comparator search shows them automatically.
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