Hours, prices and access verified by the Saint Tropez Tours team — last checked 2026-09-26.
Where you stay in Saint Tropez decides how far you travel to your boat. Most
charters and the catamarans berth across the gulf at Marines de Cogolin, a few boats leave from
the port, and the road days collect you. Many Saint Tropez guided tours pick you up at your
door, so choose the base first.
How the gulf changes the question
The town sits on the south shore of the gulf, and the gulf shapes everything. Sainte-Maxime
faces it across the water, Port Grimaud and Cogolin close its head, and Ramatuelle and Gassin sit
on the peninsula behind it.
Les Bateaux Verts link them by sea: 15 minutes from Sainte-Maxime, 20 to 25 from Port Grimaud,
about 25 from Marines de Cogolin. Each base below carries the same four labels: getting across,
the tours that start there, who it suits and the trade-off. No hotels are named. Pick the place,
then book what suits you in it.
In the town: walk to the port
A room in town puts the port, the market on Place des Lices and the museums on your doorstep.
It is the base for a first stay.
The town
Getting across
You are there. The shuttle boats leave from the port.
Tours from here
The sunset boat boards at the Capitainerie on the port. One Pershing half day boards by the Capitainerie too. The shared van meets outside the Hôtel de Paris Saint-Tropez, and the private tour meets you on Quai Suffren or where you are staying.
It suits
A first stay without a car, and cruise passengers on a night ashore.
The trade-off
The highest prices on the gulf, and a boat or a drive to most charters.
If you bring a car, park it once. Parking du Nouveau Port has 1,477 spaces; street meters
charge €3 for the first hour and climb steeply after three.
Sainte-Maxime: across the water
Sainte-Maxime faces the town across the gulf. It has its own port, and the
shuttle boats cross from it all day.
Sainte-Maxime
Getting across
Les Bateaux Verts cross in about 15 minutes.
Tours from here
The Pershings collect from its port on request, and the bay boat does for €50. The wine day and the private tour collect you here, and the road day from Nice crosses from here by boat.
It suits
A cheaper base with the town 15 minutes away.
The trade-off
Your evenings in town depend on the last boat back.
Ramatuelle and the long-beach side
Ramatuelle owns Pampelonne, the long beach south of the town, with the village of Gassin
close by. This is the quiet, green side of the peninsula.
Ramatuelle and Gassin
Getting across
By road only; no shuttle boat calls here.
Tours from here
The wine day and the private tour both collect you here, free within 10 km.
It suits
Beach days, villages and quiet evenings.
The trade-off
You need a car or a transfer for almost everything.
A village terrace framed by bougainvillea and palms, looking out over wooded hills
Port Grimaud and Cogolin: where the boats berth
The head of the gulf is where most boats live. Port Grimaud is the canal town, and Marines de
Cogolin is the marina beside it where most charters and the catamarans berth.
Port Grimaud and Cogolin
Getting across
Les Bateaux Verts reach the town in 20 to 25 minutes.
Tours from here
The bay boat meets outside the Capitainerie at Marines de Cogolin, free from here. The full-day Pershings and the catamarans board here too.
It suits
Anyone who plans two or more days on the water.
The trade-off
It is not the town, and you cross the gulf for its evenings.
Planning days on the water?
Compare the charters and the catamarans, with where each one boards and the fuel each price leaves out.
Cavalaire-sur-Mer and Le Lavandou are beach towns west of the peninsula, outside the gulf.
The half-day catamaran sails from both, as well as from Cogolin.
Cavalaire and Le Lavandou
Getting across
By road; the town is on the far side of the peninsula.
Tours from here
The catamaran from either harbour. The private tour to Bormes-les-Mimosas stops an hour in Cavalaire and spends two hours in the flower village.
It suits
A beach holiday with the town as a day out.
The trade-off
Every other tour means the drive round.
Nice or Cannes: come for the day
You do not have to sleep here at all. From May to October a scheduled boat gives you five
hours ashore.
Nice or Cannes
Getting across
2.5 hours by sea from Quai Lunel in Nice, or 1 hour 15 from Quai Saint-Pierre in Cannes.
Tours from here
The scheduled boats, and the road day from Nice, which collects you at your hotel.
It suits
A day in the town on a coast holiday based elsewhere.
The trade-off
Five hours is the whole visit, and the boats stop in late October.
Which base suits which tour
Match your plans to a base here. The road days collect you anywhere within 10 km, so they fit
most bases on the gulf.
Base
To the town
Tours that start or collect here
Best for
The town
You are there
The sunset boat, a Pershing half day, the shared van, the private tour
A first stay; no car
Sainte-Maxime
15 minutes by shuttle boat
Charter collection on request; the road days collect within 10 km
Easier prices; the shuttle
Ramatuelle and Gassin
By road
The road days collect you
The long beach; quiet
Port Grimaud and Cogolin
20 to 25 minutes by shuttle boat
Most charters and the catamarans
Days on the water
Cavalaire and Le Lavandou
By road
The catamaran's other two harbours
The catamaran; a beach base
Nice or Cannes
2.5 hours or 1 hour 15 by sea
The scheduled boats; the road day from Nice
A day trip; a wider coast
Getting in without a car is slow: there is no railway station. The ZOU! 876 bus from
Saint-Raphaël takes about 1 hour 15 minutes, from €3.
Questions about where to stay
What is the best area to stay in Saint Tropez?
The town itself, if you want to walk to the port, the market and the museums. If most of your days are on the water, look at Marines de Cogolin or Port Grimaud, where most charters and the catamarans berth. Sainte-Maxime is the cheaper base across the gulf.
Is Sainte-Maxime a good base for Saint Tropez?
Yes, if you do not mind a boat in the morning. Les Bateaux Verts cross in about 15 minutes, and the charters will collect you from its port on request. The wine day collects you there too.
Can I stay in Saint Tropez without a car?
Yes. The town is small enough to walk, the shuttle boats cross the gulf, and the road days collect you. There is no railway station: the ZOU! 876 bus from Saint-Raphaël takes about 1 hour 15 minutes.
Where can I park?
Parking du Nouveau Port has 1,477 spaces, Parking des Lices 307 and Parking Foch 100; Place du XVe Corps gives the first two hours free. Street meters charge €3 for an hour and jump sharply past three.
Should I stay in Nice or Cannes and visit for the day?
It works well from May to October. The scheduled boats give you five hours ashore, from Quai Lunel in Nice or Quai Saint-Pierre in Cannes. Out of season, only the road day from Nice is left.
Is there a railway station in town?
No. Take the train to Saint-Raphaël and the ZOU! 876 bus, about 1 hour 15 minutes from €3, or the 878 along the coast from Toulon. The nearest airports are Toulon-Hyères, about 49 km away, and Nice, about 91 km.
Where these facts come from
The crossings are Les Bateaux Verts' own schedules, and the trains, buses and parking are the
town's pages, checked 26 September 2026. Every pickup and meeting point comes from each tour's own listing.
Six to seven hours in a private van with a driver-guide, door to door from anywhere within 10 km of town: estates round the gulf, then Côtes de Provence vineyards inland. Tasting fees are paid at each estate.
From $487 per person plus tasting fees, paid at each estate
Four hours on a Pershing 45 for up to ten, collected from your own port on the gulf at 09:00 or 14:00: an hour at anchor in each of two bays, with snorkels, a paddleboard and towels. Fuel is extra.
From $1,858 per group (up to 10) plus a fuel surcharge; the amount is not published
Nine hours with a driver-guide from your hotel in Nice: the drive west, a boat across the gulf into town for free time, then the canal village on the way home. Food and tips are extra.
