One of the jewels of the French Riviera, the upscale resort town of Cannes is a hugely popular jumping-off point for boating excursions in the Mediterranean.
Boats line the port of Cannes (Photo: Chris Yunker via Flickr / CC BY 2.0)
Famed for its international film festival, sandy beaches, upmarket boutiques and palatial hotels, Cannes attracts huge numbers of visitors throughout the year – including many seeking exclusive entrance to the area’s legendary yachting fraternity. If you’d like to embark on a memorable boating adventure from this famous town, we’ve picked out three great online resources for finding the right vessel for your tastes and needs.
Click & Boat
A renowned name in the boat rentals market, Click & Boat list more than 40,000 vessels for hire across the globe. A peer-to-peer platform, owners can create a free listing for their boat by adding pictures, a description, a price, and advice about the local cruising area. Renters can then contact them directly via an online messaging service to ask any questions, as well as view feedback from previous renters. Bareboat rentals are the cheapest option, but you can also have a captain onboard for an additional cost. When we searched for boat rentals in Naxos, there were over 50 vessels available, with the cheapest option an 8-metre sailboat complete with skipper, bathing platform and deck shower, priced at €37 per day before fees.
SamBoat
Another well-established industry name, SamBoat lets you search for your ideal boat according to price, size, dates of travel and other requirements. Then, when you’ve found one that meets your needs, you send a booking request to the boat owner. If the request is accepted, you pay the rental fee directly to SamBoat who then deposit it to the owner when your rental period begins. On the day itself, you board the boat and make sure it fits with the descriptions before signing your contract. When we looked for Cannes rentals, we found hundreds of options (including both crewed and bareboat charters) with prices starting at €140 per day (before fees) for a 4-metre open motorboat.
Arthaud Yachting
For the truly affluent, you could always join the ranks of the South of France’s superyacht elite. Founded over ten years ago by a family with a rich nautical history, Arthaud Yachting is primarily an events management agency but also specialises in ultra-luxury private boat rentals on the Côte d’Azur. They list a number of yachts of a grand scale, each featuring a wide range of on-board equipment that allow for exhilarating activities such as scuba diving, big game fishing, water skiing, wakeboarding, jet skiing, paddleboarding and snorkelling during your trip. If you’ve got big yachting ambitions and a budget to match, these might be the guys for you.