Cannes Yachting Festival Yacht Charter

Why Cannes Yachting Festival belongs on the water

Cannes Yachting Festival day-by-day

Indicative running order based on prior editions. Final times are released by the organisers closer to the date; your concierge will confirm the working schedule for your charter week.

1. Day –3 to –1

   Sat–Mon pre-week

   Yacht arrivals & rig

   Charter yachts arrive Cannes from the prior week's locations — Saint-Tropez, the Îles d'Hyères, Antibes, or returning from August Corsica and Sardinia cruises. Vieux Port and Port Pierre Canto berths take up across the weekend; exhibitor yachts complete display dressing Sunday and Monday. The town quiets briefly before the festival opens Tuesday.

2. Day 1 — Tue

   Festival opens, soft preview

   Festival doors open 10:00. The first day is the calmest walk-around — broker schedules are flexible, headline yachts are taking thorough 45-minute walk-throughs, and the press preview programme runs in the morning. Tuesday-evening receptions at the Carlton beach, the Martinez and on a handful of headline brokerage yachts in the Vieux Port.

3. Day 2 — Wed

   First full working day

   Densest single working day of the festival. Buyer-side walk-throughs of the headline superyacht inventory at Port Pierre Canto concentrate Wednesday morning and afternoon. Brokerage second-round meetings begin in the late afternoon. Wednesday-evening dinners at La Palme d'Or, Le 38, Tetou and the principal-table venues across Cannes.

4. Day 3 — Thu

   Sailing area peak & exhibitor density

   Sail Area at the Vieux Port peaks Thursday — sailing-yacht inventory, catamaran displays and the land-based exhibitor programme are at maximum density. Brokerage walk-throughs at Port Pierre Canto continue. Thursday evening hosts the festival's largest yacht-club reception programme — the international yacht-club delegations rotate through the headline yachts.

5. Day 4 — Fri

   Second-round & decision day

   Buyer-side principals concentrate Friday on second-round walk-throughs of the two or three yachts that have survived the week. Brokerage closing-conversation meetings dominate the late afternoon. Friday-evening dinners are the working principal-and-broker dinner table at La Palme d'Or, the Eden Roc terrace, or on board.

6. Day 5 — Sat

   Public peak, broker calm

   Public attendance peaks Saturday — the working buyer-side calendar generally pauses, and Saturday afternoon is the day for the Cannes-week lunch escape (La Guérite on Île Sainte-Marguerite, Tetou at Golfe-Juan, or on-board on the foredeck). Saturday-evening closing reception programme runs across the headline yachts and at the Carlton beach.

7. Day 6 — Sun

   Festival closes, decision wrap

   Final festival day, doors 10:00–18:00. Light morning attendance for any remaining principal walk-throughs. Decision conversation between principal and broker on the surviving shortlist; offer or expression-of-interest letter drafted with the brokerage by Sunday evening. Quiet closing dinner ashore or on board.

8. Day 7 — Mon

   Departure or onward cruising

   Departure day. Charter yachts disembark guests in the morning at Cannes for private-aviation departures from Nice, or — for clients who extend — slip lines for a 3–5 day Riviera continuation: Saint-Tropez, Porquerolles, Cap-Ferrat or onward to Monaco for the lead-in to Monaco Yacht Show two weeks later.

Where the week actually happens

The berths, terraces, lounges, and tables that define Cannes Yachting Festival. Access varies: some require a host on the inside, others can be arranged through our concierge.

• Berth
  Port Pierre Canto — east Cannes

  The festival's Superyacht Extension and the natural charter berth for buyer-side principals across the week. Modern marina with deep-water capacity, fifteen-minute walk along the Croisette to the Vieux Port exhibitor programme, five-minute tender to the Vieux Port quay. The default working charter berth for the 40-metre-plus bracket across Yachting Festival.

• Berth
  Vieux Port Cannes

  The festival's Sail Area and the principal exhibitor jetty. Side-on and Mediterranean-stern positions for 30–50m yachts within walking distance of the entire festival footprint; tighter and more public-facing than Port Pierre Canto, but the more central choice for charter yachts whose buyers want maximum convenience to the show floor.

• Hotel & dining
  Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc — Antibes

  The defining principal-table dinner venue for the festival's anchor evenings. Helicopter access from Cannes-Mandelieu, fifteen minutes by car. Pavillon Eden Roc and the terraces are the contested principal-table reservation across Wednesday and Thursday nights of the festival.

• Hotel & dining
  Hôtel Martinez — Cannes Croisette

  La Palme d'Or restaurant is the festival's most-contested principal-table dinner reservation; Mademoiselle Gray rooftop is the calmest late-evening venue on the Croisette. Direct walking distance from the Vieux Port for principals who prefer Cannes-town hosting.

• Hotel & dining
  Hôtel Carlton Cannes

  Reopened newly with Pierre Gagnaire's Le 38 The Restaurant — the contested newer principal-table dinner reservation alongside La Palme d'Or. The Carlton beach hosts a number of brokerage reception programmes across the festival.

• Restaurant
  La Guérite — Île Sainte-Marguerite

  Ten minutes by tender from the Vieux Port. The festival's most-loved daytime escape; the natural Saturday lunch venue when the public peak makes the show floor uncomfortable for principal guests.

• Restaurant
  Tetou — Golfe-Juan

  Traditional bouillabaisse house twenty minutes' car west of Cannes. The contested traditional-Riviera lunch venue for senior client tables that want distance from the festival pace; consistently full across festival week.

• Yacht club
  Yacht Club de Cannes

  The historic Cannes yacht club, host to a number of festival-week receptions for international yacht-club delegations. Useful introduction point for visiting principals seeking yacht-club affiliations across the Mediterranean and Atlantic.

• Restaurant & bar
  La Mome — Cannes Old Town

  The late-evening segue venue when the festival dinner table has finished. Bar room runs until 02:00 across festival week; the natural after-dinner extension for the principal-and-broker working table that wants to continue the conversation in a less formal setting.

• Beach & dining
  Plage du Majestic — Croisette

  The Majestic Barrière's beachfront — the festival's contested working-lunch reservation. Useful early-evening reception venue alongside the on-board programme; consistently programmed end-to-end across the festival.

What Cannes Yachting Festival actually costs

Indicative all-in budgets for a seven-night charter timed to the event. Base rates are the yacht only; APA (advance provisioning, typically 30–35%), VAT where applicable, and event-week berth supplements sit on top.

A seven-day yacht itinerary around Cannes Yachting Festival

1. Day 1 — Mon

   Cannes board, soft evening

   Board mid-afternoon at Port Pierre Canto. Walking orientation of the festival footprint at the Vieux Port and the Superyacht Extension, an early-evening Champagne service on the aft deck, a quiet on-board dinner before the festival opens Tuesday.

2. Day 2 — Tue

   Festival opens, soft walk-around

   Late-morning entry to the festival via the Vieux Port. Walking schedule of the headline brokerage inventory through the afternoon. Tuesday-evening reception on a headline brokerage yacht for introduction, then a quiet principal-and-broker dinner at the Martinez.

3. Day 3 — Wed

   First full working day

   Working day. Five or six scheduled walk-throughs of the principal's shortlist at Port Pierre Canto and Vieux Port. Working lunch on board for the principal-and-broker table of ten. Wednesday-evening dinner at La Palme d'Or by helicopter or on board for the principal table of twelve.

4. Day 4 — Thu

   Sail Area & broker network day

   Sail Area walk-through morning for the principal whose interest extends to the sailing-yacht inventory. Brokerage and yacht-club reception programme through the afternoon and early evening. Thursday-evening dinner at the Eden Roc — helicopter to Antibes, full Eden Roc terrace evening, helicopter return after midnight.

5. Day 5 — Fri

   Second-round walk-throughs

   Friday morning concentrated on second-round walk-throughs of the surviving shortlist. Working lunch on board for the principal table and the lead brokerage. Friday-evening principal-table dinner at Le 38 The Restaurant at the Carlton or on board.

6. Day 6 — Sat

   Lunch escape & closing reception

   Saturday lunch at La Guérite on Île Sainte-Marguerite — tender from Port Pierre Canto, two-hour lunch, return mid-afternoon. Saturday-evening closing reception aboard a peer brokerage yacht, quiet on-board dinner to follow.

7. Day 7 — Sun

   Decision day, festival close

   Final walk-through morning at the festival of the two-yacht final shortlist. Decision conversation Sunday afternoon with the lead brokerage. Quiet closing dinner on board or at Tetou. Departure Monday morning, or onward Riviera continuation through to Monaco for the lead-in to Monaco Yacht Show.

What life on board looks like

How Cannes Yachting Festival actually gets booked

1. T–10 to T–12 months
   Yacht longlist & berth strategy

   Charter enquiries for the following September festival open in November or December of the prior year. Port Pierre Canto and Vieux Port allocations firm up through spring; serious berth conversations need to be open by March for the festival in September.

2. T–6 to T–8 months
   Yacht contracted

   Yacht contracted with 50% deposit by February or March for a September festival. Berth contract confirmed in parallel.

3. T–4 months
   Hosting & walk-through programme drafted

   Walk-through schedule of festival inventory drafted with lead brokerage partners — principal's interest list refined to a 12–20 yacht shortlist, walk-through appointments scheduled across the festival days. Restaurant reservations confirmed across La Palme d'Or, Le 38, Tetou, the Eden Roc and the principal-table dinner venues.

4. T–2 months
   Guest list & dietary lock

   Final guest list, arrival flights, dietary requirements, stateroom assignments to chief stewardess. Helicopter shuttle slots between Cannes-Mandelieu and the Eden Roc helipad coordinated for the principal-table dinner nights.

5. T–4 weeks
   Walk-through rehearsal

   Captain and chief stewardess walk through the festival-week daily flow with the broker — tender movements, on-board working-meeting schedule, reception logistics. Brokerage walk-through schedule confirmed in writing with each shipyard or selling broker.

6. Festival week
   Live concierge

   On-site concierge from Monday before opening through Sunday close. Master schedule held in real time; broker-on-call for any escalation.

Yachts suited to Cannes Yachting Festival

Examples from our current fleet. Final yacht and berth are matched to your group and event week at proposal stage.

Cannes Yachting Festival charter — questions answered in depth

• What does a Cannes Yachting Festival yacht charter cost, all-in?

  A typical charter on a 42-metre yacht for the festival week (six nights, Monday arrival through Sunday close) runs €340,000–€570,000 all-in. That comprises a base charter fee of around €200,000–€350,000, APA of 30%, the Port Pierre Canto berth supplement of €30,000–€65,000, and concierge, restaurant, helicopter and walk-through coordination of €45,000–€90,000. A 50-metre yacht moves the all-in to €580,000–€1.0m; 60m+ moves beyond €1.5m.

• How is Cannes Yachting Festival different from Monaco Yacht Show?

  Three meaningful differences. First, the inventory breadth — Cannes shows the full vertical (sail, catamaran, motor 18–60m); Monaco focuses sharply on motor yacht 40m-plus. Second, the buyer profile — Cannes is more weighted to first-time and move-up superyacht buyers in the 24–40m bracket; Monaco draws established 50m-plus owners. Third, the operational pace — Cannes runs calmly with two marinas and walking-distance logistics; Monaco runs compressed with helicopter-only access and saturated berths.

• Can I get a Port Pierre Canto berth for the festival?

  Yes — engagement by March of the festival year is recommended for the better positions. Port Pierre Canto offers transient charter berths across the festival week, contracted separately from the yacht; the marina inventory is broader than at Monaco-week equivalents but is taken up through the spring.

• Can I host brokerage and shipyard meetings on board?

  Yes — this is the most common single use-case. A chartered yacht at Port Pierre Canto gives the buying-side principal a private, controlled environment for the conversations that should not happen on the show floor: financing introductions, second-round walk-through follow-ups, family-office advisor calls. The sky lounge or formal indoor dining is the venue for these working meetings.

• What's the right yacht size for the festival?

  For a first-time or move-up superyacht buyer charter where the yacht is the working base: 36–46m. For a brokerage or shipyard host running an organised week: 47–58m. For a multi-yacht headline sales activation: 59m+. The 40–50m bracket is the sweet spot for most festival-week charters — large enough to host meaningfully, controllable enough for a tight working programme.

• Can I extend the charter into Monaco Yacht Show two weeks later?

  Yes, and this is a popular continuation for the established buying-side principal. A two-week continuation cruise (Cannes through Saint-Tropez or Portofino during the intervening fortnight, into Monaco for the Yacht Show) allows the principal to cover both shows on a single yacht and a continuous calendar. Charter pricing typically moves to a bridging rate across the intervening fortnight.

• How does charter inventory at Cannes compare with Monaco?

  Broader, calmer, and slightly more competitive on price. The mid-bracket (40–55m) inventory available for Yachting Festival is wider than for Monaco Yacht Show; the pinnacle bracket (75m+) is narrower at Cannes because most pinnacle yachts skip Cannes to position for Monaco.

• What's the weather in mid-September?

  Reliably 24–27°C daytime, 18–21°C overnight, calm seas in the Bay of Cannes. Reception evenings on the aft deck through festival week are weather-friendly with very high confidence. Late-September Mediterranean Mistral risk begins to rise from the 25th onward; festival weeks falling earlier in September are the calmest.

• How do guests get to Cannes?

  Nice Côte d'Azur airport is the primary point of arrival — 25 minutes by car from Port Pierre Canto, eight minutes by helicopter to Cannes-Mandelieu heliport, then a short tender to yacht. Private aviation infrastructure at Nice is extensive; helicopter and yacht-side transfer coordination is standard across our festival charters.

• Can children come?

  Yes — Yachting Festival is the most family-friendly of the major Cannes weeks. The walk-through programme is calm and adult-led; the parallel programme run by the chief stewardess (Île Sainte-Marguerite beach mornings, paddle-boarding off the swim platform, La Guérite lunches) sits comfortably alongside. We have run multi-generational family weeks bracketing Yachting Festival with no operational issue.

• Is the WiFi on board good enough for business use?

  Yes. Mediterranean charter yachts at the relevant scale run Starlink with redundant cellular failover; bandwidth supports board calls, video conferencing, walk-through video review and a connected household. Cannes cellular coverage is excellent across both marinas.

• What about discretion for high-profile buyers?

  Strong by default. Yachting Festival is a working show without paparazzi infrastructure; the marina perimeters are controlled; the brokerage walk-through programme is conducted with structural confidentiality. For specific principal-protection requirements we coordinate with the guest's existing security director and trusted regional close-protection partners; it is not a default add-on.

• What's the cancellation policy?

  Yacht charter cancellation follows the MYBA agreement signed at contract — typically 50% deposit non-refundable from signing, balance at six months, full balance non-refundable inside ninety days. Berth contracts at Port Pierre Canto and Vieux Port are non-refundable from allocation. Specialist charter cancellation insurance is strongly recommended and we introduce a broker at contracting.

Plan a cannes yachting festival yacht charter from a private superyacht — front-quay berth, Michelin-level crew, helicopter and concierge handled end-to-end.