Saint Tropez Private Boat Charter: Your Own Boat on the Bay

★★★★★ 5.0 (116 traveller reviews)

The whole boatMarines de CogolinSkipper at the helmPrivate, up to 6

Three or four hours on a small sports boat that is yours alone, for up to six people. Your skipper runs you past the big boats in the port, stops twice for a swim and drops you for an hour in the canal town across the gulf. Skis, wakeboards, tubes and paddleboards come with the boat. Fuel is paid on top, before you sail.

Hours, prices and access verified by the Saint Tropez Tours team — last checked 2026-09-26.

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Three or four hours, your group of six

The port and its superyachts

You start at Marines de Cogolin, the marina at the head of the gulf, and the first stop is the one everyone wants a photo of. Your skipper takes you along the Port de Saint-Tropez for about half an hour, past the superyachts moored along the quay and the bars on the waterfront. From the water you see the old town the way the painters did: the pastel house fronts, the bell tower and the hill of the citadel behind.

This is the part a walk cannot give you. From the quay you look up at the big boats; from a small boat you pass between them, low on the water, and the skipper has a story for most of them.

A swim off Plage des Graniers

Next you anchor off Plage des Graniers, a sandy beach on the way out of town, for about half an hour. Swim, snorkel, or stay on board. If you would rather have a drink on the sand, you can wave down the tender that runs to the beach bar. Your skipper can also book you a table at the beach restaurant there, which you pay for yourself.

An hour in the millionaires' bay

The longest stop is an hour moored in the Canoubiers, the wide bay beyond the town nicknamed Millionaires' Bay for the villas on its slopes. This is where the paddleboards and the snorkels come out, and where travellers try the wakeboard or the tube behind the boat. If your party includes a first-timer on skis, you have the whole hour and nobody else waiting for the rope.

Want the same bay at dusk, with a drink poured for you? The sunset boat from the port anchors in the Canoubiers for two hours for up to eight, for $923 a group plus €100 fuel per booking.

Port Grimaud on foot

The last hour is ashore. Port Grimaud is a canal town across the gulf, designed by the architect François Spoerry and given its building permit in June 1966, and it is sold as the Little Venice of France. Your skipper drops you on its canals to walk the bridges, eat an ice cream or stop for a beer, then runs you back to the marina. Every way onto the water, shared or private, is compared on our page of Saint Tropez boat tours.

The three hours, stop by stop

1. Meet the skipper. Outside the harbour master's office at Marines de Cogolin, five minutes before your start, or at the port in town if you paid for collection.
2. The port. About 30 minutes along the quays and the superyachts.
3. The beach. About 30 minutes at anchor off Plage des Graniers: swim or snorkel.
4. The bay. About an hour moored in the Canoubiers: paddleboards, skis, tubes.
5. Port Grimaud. About an hour ashore in the canals, then back to the marina. The four-hour option gives the skipper an extra hour to spend where you choose.

Who this suits, and who should book something else

What $435 covers, and what the fuel adds

Where the boat waits: the harbour master's office

The boat's home port is Marines de Cogolin, at the head of the gulf round from Saint Tropez. You meet outside the Capitainerie, the harbour master's building, five minutes before your start. Wait outside: do not go in. Parking de la Plage, a large open car park, is close by. Starting here costs nothing extra.

If you have no car, the skipper can collect you from the port in town, from Sainte-Maxime or from Port Grimaud for €50, which you ask for when you book. In town the pick-up is the pontoon in front of the Capitainerie on the Port de Saint-Tropez. The meeting-point map shows both harbours, and the visitor guide covers the ferries and buses round the gulf.

Know before you go

• Shoes off. Nobody wears shoes on board: take them off on the dock and carry them.
• Bring lunch and drinks. There is ice, water and glasses; the rest is yours to bring.
• Fuel is paid before the trip. €90 for three hours, €120 for four. Add €50 if you are collected in town.
• Infants ride on a lap. There are buoyancy aids for everyone in the water.
• No smoking on board. Dogs are welcome, two at most.
• The weather decides. A rough day moves your date, or you get your money back.

What travellers said back at the marina

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