You can go from Nice to Saint-Tropez by boat, but only on the days one boat sails. If this is the Nice boat trip you want, the date decides more than anything else, and the season is nearly over.
Trans Côte d'Azur runs one day boat from Nice to Saint-Tropez. It is a scheduled public boat, not a tour: you buy a return seat, you get five hours in the village, and the boat brings you back the same evening.
You board at Quai Lunel in the Port of Nice. The desk sits under a yellow awning, and you swap your voucher there for a boarding ticket. Arrive 30 minutes before sailing, because the boat does not wait.
The boat runs west along the coast. There is no swim stop and nobody talks you along the way. What you pay for is the crossing, and the day in Saint-Tropez.
The boat does not sail every day, even in summer. From mid-May it sails four days a week, then six in July and August. In October it drops to two days a week, and the regular timetable ends on 20 October.
| Period in 2026 | Days the boat sails | Leaves Nice |
|---|---|---|
| 12 May to 30 June | Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday | 09:00 |
| 1 July to 31 August | Every day except Monday | 09:00 |
| 1 to 30 September | Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday | 09:00 |
| 1 to 20 October | Tuesday and Saturday only | 09:00 |
| 23, 24 and 25 October | The street-sale sailings, Friday to Sunday | 08:15 |
| From 26 October | No sailings until the 2027 timetable | — |
Then come three extra sailings. Saint-Tropez holds its street sale on the weekend of 23 to 25 October, and Trans Côte d'Azur adds a boat on each of those days. They leave Nice earlier, at 08:15, and you get Saint-Tropez from 10:45 to 16:00.
After 25 October you cannot reach Saint-Tropez by boat from Nice until the 2027 season. A date after that may still show on a booking calendar, so check the operator's page first. The other boats and their last dates are on the best time to visit.
Five hours is enough for the village on foot, with lunch. It is not enough for the beaches, which lie outside the village. Plan a loop from the harbour and you will not need a taxi.
If you land on a Tuesday or a Saturday, go up to the Place des Lices first. The market is a morning affair, and you arrive at 11:30. After that, take the lanes up to the Citadelle de Saint-Tropez, come down through La Ponche, and finish on the harbour front before 16:30.
A second way to reach Saint-Tropez from Nice is a guided day by road. It picks you up at your hotel in Nice and drives you to Sainte-Maxime. From there you cross the bay to Saint-Tropez by boat, the only stretch of the day on the water.
Its own listing is clear that the day takes place in a vehicle, not on a boat. What you get in return is a driver-guide, the hotel pickup, a beach swim stop, and Port Grimaud, the lagoon village built on canals. The drive home runs past the red rock of the Esterel.
Pick the boat if you want the sea and the most time in Saint-Tropez. Pick the coach day if you want a guide, a pickup from your hotel and Port Grimaud on the same day.
| The boat from Quai Lunel | The coach day | |
|---|---|---|
| Time on the water | About 2.5 hours each way | One short crossing of the bay |
| Time in Saint-Tropez | Five hours, 11:30 to 16:30 | Free time; the listing gives no hours |
| A guide | None; you explore on your own | A driver-guide all day |
| Getting to the start | You walk to Quai Lunel | Hotel pickup in Nice |
| A swim | No swim stop | A beach swim stop |
| Port Grimaud | Not on the route | Its canals, after Saint-Tropez |
| Price | $112 per person | $158 per person |
The prices are per person, as each operator lists them, and neither adds a fee on board. Food and drinks are extra on both: on the boat they are sold on board.
The day boat from Quai Lunel, or the guided day by road with a crossing of the bay.
The boat fare buys the return crossing and nothing else. There is no guide, no meal and no drink in the fare. You spend the five hours as you like, and you pay for what you eat.
The desk fare and the online fare are not the same figure. Trans Côte d'Azur's own 2026 fare is €84 for an adult. The listing you book online shows $112 per person, and gives you free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
A day boat along an open coast depends on the sea. On its Monaco line, Trans Côte d'Azur keeps the right to cancel or retime a crossing for weather, technical issues or low demand. The Saint-Tropez listing itself states only its 24-hour cancellation terms.
If your date falls in October, you have fewer spare days to fall back on. Book an early sailing in your stay, not the last one, so a cancelled boat still leaves you another day. How each operator handles rough seas is in the FAQs.
The timetable, the street-sale sailings, the landing quay, the desk fares and the list of sights are Trans Côte d'Azur's own 2026 pages, checked 26 September 2026. The market days come from Saint-Tropez's tourist office. What each booking includes comes from its own listing.
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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A day by road with a driver-guide: hotel pickup, a boat across the bay into Saint-Tropez, free time there, the canals of Port Grimaud and a beach swim. Food and drinks are extra.
From $158 per person
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Three hours on a 12-seat catamaran from a jetty in Cannes, not Nice, anchored off the islands with paddleboards and snorkels. Drinks are not in the fare.
From $125 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: find Quai Lunel on the departure-point map, read the visitor guide, or compare every boat trip on Nice Boat Tours.