Booking a Nice Boat Trip: at the Quay or Ahead

Nearly every Nice boat trip can be booked ahead, and some can only be booked ahead. This guide covers when to book, what happens at the ferry desk, what you lose if you are late, how refunds and weather calls work, and the fees some boats collect on board.

Do you need to book at all?

For the small boats, yes. A RIB takes 12 people at most, and a charter takes one party at a time, so a date can fill. The scheduled boats carry far more, but the Monaco and Saint-Tropez boats sail only on certain days.

Booking ahead also fixes your refund terms. Every trip here refunds in full if you cancel 24 hours before it starts.

Can you buy a seat at the ferry desk?

Trans Côte d'Azur has a ticket desk under a yellow awning on Quai Lunel, and it publishes its own 2026 fares in euros. It does not publish the desk's opening hours. So you cannot plan on finding it open, or on a seat being left.

Here are the operator's desk fares beside the prices listed for booking ahead, which are in dollars.

Under-4s travel free to Monaco at the desk. Booked ahead, your seat is held and your refund runs to 24 hours before.

What fills up first?

The 12-seat boats, the evenings and the charters. The sunset RIB and the sunset catamaran are the evening options, and in July and August it pays to book them a few days ahead.

A charter holds one party per slot, so a popular hour goes once. The scheduled boats have the most room, but only on their own days: Monaco on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, Saint-Tropez on fewer days as the season ends.

How far ahead should you book?

It depends on the boat and the month.

• Charters: as soon as your date is fixed. Each one takes a single party per slot.
• Evening boats in July and August: a few days ahead.
• The 12-seat RIBs: ahead of a busy weekend or a holiday, and for a group.
• The day boats: once you know which day you want. Monaco sails three days a week, and Saint-Tropez on fewer days in spring and autumn.
• The 1-hour cruise: it sails twice a day, six days a week, so it is the easiest to fit in at short notice.

Booking early costs you nothing if your plans change: you can still cancel for a full refund up to 24 hours before.

Is a day boat a tour?

No. The scheduled boats to Monaco and Saint-Tropez sell you the crossing and nothing else. There is no guide ashore, and you plan your own day in the town. Food, drinks and anything you visit there are paid separately.

The Saint-Tropez coach day is the opposite: hotel pickup in Nice, a driver-guide and a short boat crossing of the bay from Sainte-Maxime, for $158. Its own listing says it takes place in a vehicle. The boat tour from Nice to St Tropez page compares the two.

Voucher or mobile ticket?

Most bookings arrive as a mobile ticket that you show on your phone. For the scheduled boats to Monaco and Saint-Tropez there is one more step. You swap your voucher at the operator's desk 30 minutes before sailing.

For the speedboat, you meet the captain at the boat on its pontoon. For the Nissa RIBs, you meet in front of the tram stop at Port Lympia. The map of the departure points shows each quay.

What happens if you're late?

You lose the trip, and usually the fare. The rules are strict because a boat cannot wait.

Build in a margin for traffic and for finding the right quay. Each operator uses its own quay, and the wrong one costs you the boat.

How does free cancellation work?

Every trip here refunds in full if you cancel at least 24 hours before it starts. Inside 24 hours, you pay. A no-show is treated the same as a late cancellation.

Many listings also let you reserve now and pay later. It shows beside the price when you pick a date.

What if the weather cancels your boat?

The operator decides, on the day. Nissa Croisières postpones or cancels with a refund in bad weather. Trans Côte d'Azur may cancel or retime a crossing for weather. The snorkel boat sails in rain, but a bad sea postpones it.

A charter captain may take you to a calmer bay instead of cancelling. Our page on the best time to visit explains the wind and the mistral month by month.

If a boat is cancelled, you are offered a refund or another date, depending on the operator. So book the trip you care about most early in your stay, and keep a spare day behind it. If the forecast looks poor, cancel yourself more than 24 hours ahead and keep your refund.

Which boats charge a fee on board?

Only charters, and only some. The fee sits in each charter's own exclusions and is paid when you board, on top of what you booked.

• SARDiiNE and Tiber Plaisance: €300 in local fees.
• The day-cruiser from the cape: €300 for the captain and fuel.
• Les Balades au Soleil: €150 for the skipper and €150 for diesel, not by card. A pickup in the Port of Nice is €100 more, and a towel €10.
• The four-hour charter for up to four: none. The skipper and fuel are in its fare.

How do you pay for extras and tips?

Carry some euros in cash. Les Balades au Soleil will not take a card for its fees, and drinks are sold on the scheduled boats. The other charters do not say how they take their fee.

Tips are not included on the Nissa RIBs or the Saint-Tropez coach day, and are optional on the 1-hour cruise. Nobody puts one in the fare.

How do you book for a group?

For four or five people, compare a per-group charter with a shared boat at the per-person price. Five places on a shared swim trip cost $284 to $626; the whole boat for four hours costs $987.

A large group on a 12-seat RIB takes most of the boat. Book those seats together, and early. For a party bigger than five, ask a charter for its limit first.

For a group, one person should book and hold every confirmation. On the day, the operator checks one booking, not each of you, and a late member of your party can cost the whole group the boat.

What should you check before you pay?

• What the fare buys: a seat, a place on a shared boat, or the boat.
• The quay: the exact harbour and pontoon on your booking.
• The arrival time: 10, 15 or 30 minutes early, by operator.
• The fee on board: read the exclusions of any charter.
• Age and weight limits: on the RIBs and the snorkel boat.
• The last date: several boats stop sailing in October.

The visitor guide gathers the quays, fares and fees on one page, and our frequently asked questions answer the rest.

What do you need on the day?

• Your booking on your phone, or the voucher for the day boats.
• Euros in cash for any fee on board and for drinks.
• Swimwear and a towel for any trip with a swim stop; the RIBs provide no towel.
• A hat and sunscreen on a RIB, which has no shade.
• Time to spare: arrive by the time your operator asks, not at the minute of departure.

If anything on your booking is unclear, ask the operator before the day, not at the quay.

Frequently asked questions

Trips worth booking ahead

Nice to Monaco Round-Trip Ferry Tickets

The scheduled boat to Monaco: out at 09:30, back at 17:00, nearly seven hours ashore. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays until 31 October.

From $61 per person

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From Nice: Round-Trip Transportation to Saint Tropez by Boat

The scheduled boat to Saint-Tropez: out at 09:00, five hours ashore, back in Nice at 19:00. Regular sailings end on 20 October, with street-sale boats on 23 to 25 October.

From $112 per person

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Nice to Monaco Speedboat Tour: Coast, Mala Cave & Swimming

Two and a half hours on a fast RIB past the capes and the Mala cave into Monaco's harbour, with a swim stop. Nobody goes ashore; snorkel gear is not included.

From $85 per person

Check Availability