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Cannes is the busiest day-charter market on the French Riviera between June and September, with over 180 licensed yachts above 16m operating out of Vieux Port and Port Canto in 2026. Peak July day rates start at €3,500 for a 16m motor cruiser and reach €22,000 for a 30m motor yacht with chef. The festival week in mid-May and the yacht-show week in mid-September push another 30 to 60% on top of that, and inventory disappears five to nine months out for both. This piece covers the two ports, the rate band by yacht size, the licensed operators we shortlist, the festival and show-week premium, and the operators we have passed on.
The companion pieces are the Cap d'Antibes day charter, the Nice and Villefranche operators, and the Cannes-Cap d'Antibes weekly route. For Saint-Tropez, see the Saint-Tropez day charter piece.
The two ports
Vieux Port (Port de Cannes). The central port at the foot of the old town, adjacent to the Palais des Festivals. Larger commercial fleet (110 to 130 licensed day-charter yachts), wider yacht-size range from 16m to 35m, the most chef-equipped inventory, the most marina services, and the slowest exits in July and August due to congestion. Embarkation here puts you 300 meters from the Carlton, the Martinez, and the Imposing. Most clients staying in the central Croisette hotels embark from Vieux Port.
Port Canto. Smaller marina, on the east side of the Croisette near the Palm Beach point. Fewer yachts (60 to 75 in the day-charter band), faster exits to the Lerins anchorage, easier transfers for clients staying east of the Carlton (Cap d'Antibes hotels in particular often prefer Canto for their guests' Cannes-side days). The Canto fleet skews 18m to 26m.
Both ports host the same caliber of operator. The choice is logistical, not categorical. Vieux Port if your hotel is central and you want the widest fleet. Port Canto if your hotel is east of the Carlton or you want exit speed.
Rate bands for 2026
All rates below are peak July and August, per day, in euros, private charter with captain, crew, fuel at standard cruising, basic provisions. Chef is +€500 to +€900 depending on yacht. Shoulder months (June, September outside show week) run 20-30% lower.
- 16m to 18m motor cruiser. €3,500 to €5,500.
- 18m to 22m motor yacht. €5,500 to €8,500.
- 22m to 24m motor yacht. €7,500 to €11,000.
- 24m to 28m motor yacht. €10,500 to €15,500.
- 28m to 32m motor yacht. €14,500 to €22,000.
- Above 32m. €20,000 to €40,000+, mostly weekly-charter yachts being released for occasional day work.
Sailing yachts of equivalent LOA run 15-25% below motor yacht rates and represent under 8% of the Cannes day-charter fleet.
Festival-week and yacht-show week premium
Two periods change the maths.
Festival de Cannes (mid-May). The eleven days of the film festival push day-charter rates by 30 to 60% above the headline July rates. Booking is essentially closed by 1 January for the May dates. The 22m to 32m yachts price at peak-summer-plus-50% and the inventory is allocated to studios, distributors, and corporate clients on annual retainers. Independent client bookings are possible but you are competing with industry.
Yachting Festival de Cannes (mid-September). The 5 to 10 September yacht show. Day-charter rates jump 35-55% above September's natural shoulder rate. Most charterable yachts above 24m are actually exhibiting at the show itself and not commercially available; the day-charter inventory at show week is the 18m to 24m band. Booking horizon is 4 to 7 months.
For both periods, expect: 50% deposit at booking, balance 30 days out, cancellation policy that gives the operator the full fee inside 45 days, and the rate quoted is firm and not negotiable. Outside those weeks, normal Cannes booking terms apply (30% deposit, 30 days for balance, 60-day cancellation grace).
Cannes operators worth booking
We have run quotes, vetted licenses, and where possible boarded yachts at five operators currently out of Cannes. The shortlist:
Olympic Yachting. Mixed fleet 18m to 30m motor yachts, operating from both Vieux Port and Port Canto, the deepest catalogue of chef-equipped 22m+ inventory in Cannes, and the booking team that answers fastest in our experience. The 26m motor yacht (Sunseeker generation, captain since 2017) is the right Cannes-side call for a Lerins-and-Sainte-Marguerite day at €11,500 to €13,500 peak. Their festival-week allocations book by January. Rates land mid-band.
Yachtline. Smaller fleet (under 15 yachts in the 18-24m range), professional crews, and a useful sailing-yacht subset that includes two 18m and one 22m sailing yachts. The sailing program is the strongest of the Cannes operators. Service standards consistent.
Burgess Day Charter Cannes. Burgess runs occasional commercial day-charter work out of Cannes during the show weeks. Inventory is the larger end of the fleet (28m+). Pricing is at the top of the band. Useful when you need a corporate-host setup during the yacht show.
Sea-Net Yachts. Smaller operator, 18-22m fleet, owner-with-professional-captain model, lower headline rates, less marketing. Good for clients who want a less-corporate experience.
We have also worked with a chef-and-yacht service that pairs independent yachts with name chefs from the Cannes restaurant scene. That is a different product (closer to a private-event catering bundle around a yacht) and we cover it separately in the Riviera chef-aboard piece.
Cap d'Antibes-side operators that also serve Cannes
Most Cannes day-charter clients staying at the Cap d'Antibes hotels embark from Port Canto in Cannes or from IYCA Antibes. The IYCA-based operators are covered in detail in the Cap d'Antibes day charter piece, but a few work the Cannes side as well:
- Sea-Net Yachts (mentioned above) has Antibes-side inventory.
- One of the major Cap-d'Antibes operators repositions 24m+ yachts to Port Canto on Cannes-side booking weeks.
For clients staying at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, the Bel Air Cap-Ferrat, or one of the Cap d'Antibes villas, the recommendation is to embark from IYCA and cruise to Lerins rather than embark from Cannes. The transfer saves 30 to 40 minutes and the anchorage is the same.
Operators we pass on
We do not list:
- One Vieux Port operator we have priced four times in 12 months. The quotes consistently came in 15-25% above market for the same yacht booked through Olympic or Yachtline. We checked the affiliate chain. The operator does not have central agency on the yachts they list and is re-broking through a markup model.
- One Croisette pop-up operator that activates in May for festival week and resells industry-allocation yachts to clients who do not know better. They are real but the price gouge during festival is 60-80% above the underlying rate.
- Two operators advertising "exclusive yacht parties" with overloaded passenger counts. Both have received complaints to the Affaires Maritimes regarding licensed capacity. We will not list them.
Routes worth running
The standard Cannes day is a Lerins-and-Sainte-Marguerite anchorage with a return via the Esterel coast. Other routes:
- Lerins anchorage with lunch ashore at La Guérite. The Cap d'Antibes-side anchorage on the south of Sainte-Marguerite, tender to La Guérite at the southern point. Lunch reservation is mandatory and booking horizon is 30-60 days in shoulder, 60-90 in July-August. The Cannes day a third of all clients want.
- Esterel coast. West to Mandelieu and Théoule, anchor at Calanque d'Anthéor or Cap Roux. Quieter than Lerins, no lunch ashore option, requires you to plan for an on-board meal. The right call for clients who specifically want a less-crowded day.
- Cannes to Cap d'Antibes loop. Out to Lerins, then east to Garoupe and the Cap d'Antibes south coast, lunch at Plage de la Garoupe or aboard. Returns via the Cap d'Antibes east side.
- Cannes to Monaco day. Eight-hour transit-heavy day. We pass. If you want Monaco, embark from Nice or Cap-Ferrat.
The honest yacht-size recommendation
For a Cannes day with a group of six to eight, the call is a 22m to 24m motor yacht with chef. The day is comfortable, the Lerins anchorage rewards a flybridge setup, the price at €8,500 to €11,500 peak is consistent with the rest of the Riviera, and the chef-aboard option turns the lunch from "tender to La Guérite, pay €250/head" to "stay on the yacht, eat better, save the tender time."
A 26m to 28m for the same group is a 20-30% comfort gain at 30-50% higher price. Justifiable if the group has spent on the hotels and wants the day to match. A 30m+ is excessive for a Cannes day unless the booking is for 10-12 people, in which case a 30m chef-equipped is the right fit at €15,000 to €18,000 peak.
A 16m to 18m motor cruiser is the budget call for two-couple parties. The day works, the lunch is ashore rather than aboard, and the rate at €3,500 to €5,500 is reasonable.
Lunch ashore: the short list
The Lerins-anchorage day usually puts lunch at one of three places.
- La Guérite (Sainte-Marguerite). The reference. Reservations 30-60 days out in shoulder, 60-90 in peak. The 14:00 service is the right slot. Tender drop is on the beach.
- L'Escale (Sainte-Marguerite). Closer to the fort. Simpler menu, easier booking, less scene. We rate it under La Guérite but it is the back-up.
- Plage de la Garoupe (Cap d'Antibes). If the day routes east. La Garoupe Plage Keller is the right call. Tender to the swim platform of the beach club.
Lunch in Cannes proper (Vieux Port or Croisette) is not a yacht-day lunch program. Save the Cannes-restaurant evening for after the charter.
Where to stay
For Vieux Port-based days, the Carlton, the Martinez, the Imposing Barrière, and the Mondrian Cannes keep the transfer under 10 minutes. For Port Canto-based days, the JW Marriott, Five Seas, or the Five Hotel work. For Cap d'Antibes-side embarkation, Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, Belles Rives, or the Cap d'Antibes Beach Hotel. See hotelsforkings.com/cannes for the picks. For dinner before or after, restaurantsforkings.com/cannes and barsforkings.com/cannes.
How to book
Book 90 to 180 days out for July and August, 180 to 270 days for festival or yacht-show weeks, and 30 to 60 days for shoulder. Confirm in writing: rate, included crew, fuel (most Cannes operators include fuel at standard cruising, then meter excess above 4 hours underway), chef inclusion, anchoring permit, embarkation port, and named captain. Verify the operator against the Affaires Maritimes register.
For the wider Riviera context, the Cap d'Antibes day charter, Nice operators, and Monaco day reality are the calibrations.