Visiting Nice by Boat: Quays, Tickets and Timings
There is no gate on the sea, so a boat ticket in Nice buys a boat, not admission. If you are weighing up boat trips in Nice, the three things to settle first are what your fare buys, which quay you board at, and whether the boat still sails on your date.
The coast is free: your fare is the boat
Nobody charges you to look at the Baie des Anges or the Promenade des Anglais from the water. What you pay for is a place on a boat, and in Nice that means one of three quite different things, often side by side in the same list of prices.
A seat on a scheduled boat is the cheapest way out. A place on a shared boat adds a swim stop and a crew that talks you along the coast. The whole boat is yours on a charter, and the price is set per group or per person with the boat to yourselves.
| What you buy | What it is | What it costs | What can come on top |
|---|---|---|---|
| A seat on a scheduled boat | The 1-hour coast cruise, or the day boats to Monaco and Saint-Tropez | $33 to $112 per person | Drinks, sold on board |
| A place on a shared boat | A RIB or a catamaran with a swim stop, some capped at 12 | $56 to $125 per person | A towel on some; tips |
| The whole boat | A private charter from Nice or a harbour along the coast, 1 to 4 hours | $86 per person to $987 per group | On some, €300 paid on board, or €150 skipper and €150 fuel |
| A coach day with a crossing | Saint-Tropez and Port Grimaud by road, with a short boat across the bay | $158 per person | Food and drinks |
Fares here are shown in US dollars, as each operator lists them. Trans Côte d'Azur also publishes its own fares in euros on its timetable pages, and those are the figures you meet at its desk.
Which quay you board at
Most boats leave the Port of Nice, but not from one place. The port has several quays and pontoons, and a walk from the wrong one to the right one can take longer than the minutes you have. The boats that do not wait for anyone are the ones with the strictest rules.
Trans Côte d'Azur works from Quai Lunel, where you exchange your voucher at its desk 30 minutes before sailing. Nissa Croisières meets in front of the Port Lympia tram stop, the terminus of tram line 2 from the airport, and refuses late arrivals. AMC Cape Grace boards from the pontoon below Quai Amiral Infernet.
| Where you board | Where it is | What leaves there | Be there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quai Lunel | The Trans Côte d'Azur desk under a yellow awning, Port of Nice | The 1-hour cruise, the Monaco and Saint-Tropez day boats, some charters | 30 minutes before, to exchange your voucher |
| Port Lympia tram stop | Quai Napoléon 1er, Port of Nice | Nissa Croisières' RIBs: the Mala cave and the sunset trips | 15 minutes before; late arrivals are refused |
| Quai Amiral Infernet | The pontoon below the quay, Port of Nice | AMC Cape Grace's catamaran, morning and sunset | Boarding 10 minutes before |
| Pontoon G04 | Quai Entrecasteaux, Port of Nice | The Monaco speedboat | As your booking says |
| Poseidon dive centre | Its office in the Port of Nice | The snorkel boat | As your booking says |
| Beaulieu-sur-Mer marina | East of Nice, past Villefranche | SeaZen's solar boats | As your booking says |
| Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat harbour | On the cape, by the tourist office | Private charters | As your booking says |
| Port Silva Maris | Below Èze, on foot down past the gate | Private charters | As your booking says |
| Pointe Croisette, Cannes | The wooden jetty at 106 Boulevard Eugène Gazagnaire | The Cannes catamaran | As your booking says |
Some charters start further along the coast: at Beaulieu-sur-Mer, on the cape at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, or at Port Silva Maris below Èze, which you reach on foot. One catamaran leaves from Cannes, 25 minutes from Nice by train by its own listing. Every quay is plotted on the departure-point map.
The season ends in stages
Summer is the easy time: most boats sail daily. The end of the season does not come on one date, though. Each operator stops on its own day in October, and the last sunset sailings stop first.
| The boat | When it sails | Last sailing of 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| AMC Cape Grace's sunset catamaran | 18:30 to 20:30 from 1 September | Timetable printed only to 5 October |
| Trans Côte d'Azur to Saint-Tropez | Tuesdays and Saturdays in October, 09:00 | 20 October; street-sale boats 23-25 October |
| Nissa Croisières' sunset RIB | 1 hour 30 in October | 30 October |
| Trans Côte d'Azur to Monaco | Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, 09:30 | 31 October |
| Trans Côte d'Azur's 1-hour cruise | Daily except Mondays, 11:00 and 15:00 | 1 November |
These are the operators' own 2026 timetables. A date after the last sailing may still show on a booking calendar, so check the operator's page before you plan around it. How the months compare for sea, sun and wind is on the best time to visit.
Not sure which boat suits you?
A seat, a shared boat or the whole boat: compare every Nice boat trip side by side, with the fees printed beside each price.
Who each boat is for
The rules come from the listings, and they differ more than you might expect. On Nissa Croisières' RIBs, children under 5, people over 75, pregnant women and anyone over the weight limit may not board, and there is no toilet or shade on board. Swimming there is unsupervised, so non-swimmers stay on the boat.
The Poseidon snorkel boat takes no one under 12, and you must swim unassisted: it provides no life jackets. The charters state that they are not wheelchair accessible. For a pushchair, the Trans Côte d'Azur ferry to Monaco is the one listing that says it is stroller accessible.
On the day: what to bring
- A towel and swimwear. Nissa's Mala cave trips and SeaZen's solar boat do not provide towels, and one charter charges €10 each.
- Cash. The bar on the 1-hour cruise has taken cash only this season, and one charter's skipper and fuel fees are paid on site, not by card.
- A hat and sunscreen. The RIBs have no shade, and two hours on the water in summer is a long time in the sun.
- Your booking, on paper or a phone. Trans Côte d'Azur exchanges it at the desk for a boarding ticket.
Weather, rough seas and refunds
Every trip listed here refunds in full if you cancel at least 24 hours before it starts. A late arrival or a missed boat is not refunded, which is one more reason to find your quay the day before.
The sea decides the rest. Nissa Croisières postpones or cancels with a refund in bad weather. Trans Côte d'Azur cancels a crossing only when the boat cannot sail, and may change a departure time. On a charter, the captain may swap an exposed stretch for a calmer bay, as one family found when the swell turned their Monaco run into an afternoon in Villefranche's bay.
Asked before you go
Where do the boats leave from?
How early should I arrive?
What is a fee “payable on site”?
Which boat trips include a swim stop?
Are the boat trips suitable for children?
Can I cancel my booking?
Is “skip-the-line” a thing on the boats?
Next: read what travellers said, see the gallery, or compare every boat trip on Nice Boat Tours.