Private yacht charter in Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez looks north across its gulf to Sainte-Maxime and the Maures hills, with the long beach of Pampelonne on the other side of the peninsula. A Saint-Tropez yacht charter takes it the way it is best taken: the harbour for the evenings, the bays for the days, and the rest of the French Riviera, from the Îles d'Hyères to Cannes, within a few hours.
The town is small and its quays are full in high summer, so the yacht does the work a hotel cannot. It anchors off the beaches by day, sends the tender in for dinner and moves before the traffic does.
Saint-Tropez from the water
The port. Around 800 berths in two basins, owned and run by the town, with quays for the largest yachts. In July and August berths are in high demand, and many yachts anchor off and come in by tender.
Pampelonne. Five kilometres of beach south-east of the town, in Ramatuelle, lined with beach clubs. Since June 2025 the bay has had a municipal mooring field of about 210 buoys, reserved online, and its anchoring zones were redrawn in June 2026: anchoring over the Posidonia seagrass is prohibited, and yachts of 45 metres and over may anchor only in designated zones, with separate areas for those of 80 metres and over.
The Canebiers and Les Salins. Two bays just east of the town, close enough to the port for an evening ashore by tender.
Cap Camarat and Cap Taillat. South of Pampelonne, past the lighthouse of Camarat, the coast turns wilder, with smaller coves for a quieter swim.
The Îles d'Hyères. Port-Cros and most of Porquerolles lie within the Port-Cros National Park, created in 1963 and the first in Europe to protect land and sea together. Anchoring is regulated there, with mooring buoys off the islet of Bagaud. The islands are two to three hours west, worth a night when the weather is settled.
The Esterel and Cannes. East across the Gulf of Fréjus, the red rock of the Esterel leads to the Lérins islands and Cannes, about two and a half hours under way.
A week from Saint-Tropez
A week can stay close or travel. Staying close, two nights around the town and Pampelonne, a day south past Camarat and Taillat, then two nights at Port-Cros and Porquerolles before the run back. Travelling, east along the Esterel to the Lérins and Cannes, on to the Cap d'Antibes and a night in Monaco, then back west with a stop at the Lérins. No leg is much more than three hours for a motor yacht at a typical cruising speed.
When to go
The season runs from May to early October. June and September bring warm water and room in the bays; July and August are the busiest months, the weeks around 15 August most of all. The mistral reaches this coast as a strong westerly, mostly outside high summer; when it blows, Pampelonne, which faces east, lies in the lee of the land. The town's own calendar adds the Bravades in mid-May and Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, the regatta that fills the port and the gulf from late September into early October.
Marinas and arrival
Charters embark in the port of Saint-Tropez or, when the week leans east, in Cannes or Antibes. The small airport of La Môle is 15 kilometres from the town, Toulon-Hyères about 50 kilometres, and Nice Côte d'Azur, the main international gateway for the Riviera, around 95 kilometres. Transfers to the port, or to the yacht at anchor by tender, are arranged in advance.
Yachts and what a week costs
Saint-Tropez draws yachts from across the Riviera for the summer, and the tenders matter here as much as the yacht, since much of the day is spent going ashore from anchor. As a Mediterranean guide, a 20 to 30 metre motor yacht runs from around EUR 30,000 to EUR 80,000 a week before running costs, a 30 to 45 metre yacht from around EUR 80,000 to EUR 250,000, and yachts above 50 metres from around EUR 250,000, quoted individually. The Advance Provisioning Allowance of 25 to 35 percent, VAT for the cruising area and a gratuity of 5 to 15 percent take the week to roughly 130 to 150 percent of the base rate, and July, August and the weeks of Les Voiles sit at the top of the range. What a yacht charter costs sets out each line.
A yacht rental in Saint-Tropez by the day follows the rhythm of the town: the yacht anchors off Pampelonne in the morning, the tender runs guests to the beach clubs for lunch, and the evening ends on the quay in town. For a week, the same yacht adds the Îles d'Hyères and the run east to the Lérins and Cannes, and the mooring at Pampelonne is reserved before the day.
How a Saint-Tropez charter is arranged
We shortlist the yachts that suit your group and the season, plan the days around the anchorages and the evenings ashore, and set out the full cost before anything is signed. The Saint-Tropez yacht charter guide covers the beach clubs and the event weeks in more depth, and our French Riviera itineraries show how a week on this coast can be shaped.
Tell us your dates, the size of your group and what you have in mind, and we will come back with a shortlist. Start the conversation.
