France yacht charter,
arranged personally.

Leonidas Marousos
Yacht charter broker, DMA Yachting

Spectacular, and increasingly the smart way to do both events. During the Cannes Film Festival or the Monaco Grand Prix, a yacht is your private base right in the action: no hotel scramble, no restaurant queues, and, for the Grand Prix, potentially a berth with the track in view.

The catch is scarcity. These are the most demand-heavy weeks on the coast: the best yachts and, for Monaco, the prized harbour berths book close to a year ahead and command premium rates. Inquire very early, and be ready to commit.

We hold confirmed-berth yachts and know how each event actually runs from the water. See Cannes Film Festival charters, Monaco Grand Prix charters, and yachts with confirmed GP berths.

Chris de Kock
Yacht charter broker, DMA Yachting

It is one of the reasons people charter here. Your private chef provisions from the Riviera's superb markets, Antibes, Nice, the Cours Saleya, and cooks to your preference sheet all week, so the menu is yours: Provencal produce, fresh fish and rose at anchor rather than a hotel buffet.

And when you want to go ashore, few coasts compete: the Riviera's Michelin-starred restaurants and legendary beach clubs are a tender ride away, and the crew books the tables and the beach-club daybeds so you skip the queues.

Tell us on the preference sheet how the week should balance onboard dining and going out, and the chef and route are built to match. More: the best dining experiences and the top beach clubs to arrive by yacht.

Martina Asmus
Yacht charter broker, DMA Yachting

No. Our service is free to you. Like a travel agent, we are paid a commission from the yacht's side, and the charter fee is the same whether you book through us or approach the boat directly. There is no markup for using a broker.

What you get for that same price on the Riviera specifically: knowledge of which yachts and crews actually deliver, negotiation on your behalf, the preference sheet and route handled, and, uniquely, access to the ECPY contract that can waive 20% VAT, which only an accredited broker can arrange.

The one thing we ask: pick one broker and work with them. The same inquiry sent to five brokers just means managers see your name five times, and nobody can negotiate well for you after that.

Daniel Asmus
Owner & ECPY-accredited charter broker, DMA Yachting

APA stands for Advance Provisioning Allowance. On most French Riviera charters the yacht is booked on a base rate plus expenses, and the APA is a running fund, usually around 30 to 35 percent of the base rate, that the captain draws on for fuel, food, drinks, berthing and the other daily running costs of the trip.

You pay it before the charter, the captain accounts for every euro spent, and whatever is left is refunded at the end. Think of it as a pre-loaded onboard wallet rather than an extra fee, so a slower, closer route costs less than a fast, marina-heavy one.

French VAT applies on top of the base rate as well. We show the base rate, VAT and APA as separate lines in your first quote, so the full number is clear before you commit.

Yanna Pristas
Owner & ECPY-accredited charter broker, DMA Yachting

Yes, and it is one of our favorite routes. From the French Riviera you cruise east past the Gulf of Saint-Tropez and the Iles d'Hyeres, then make the crossing to Corsica and on to the Maddalena archipelago and Sardinia's Costa Smeralda, some of the most beautiful anchorages in the Mediterranean.

It works best on a motor yacht or a fast catamaran with the range for the open-water legs, over a week to ten days so the passages feel like part of the adventure rather than a rush. The captain times each crossing to a settled weather window.

One practical note: crossing into Italian waters changes the VAT and cruising formalities for that leg, which we handle for you in advance. See our Antibes to Corsica and Sardinia itinerary for a sample route.