Ask ten charter guests why they picked the French Riviera and you’ll get ten different answers, and that’s really the point of this coastline. Unlike a lot of Mediterranean destinations that have one clear identity, this stretch of water between St Tropez and Nice changes character every twenty or thirty nautical miles. I’ve had clients who wanted nothing but St Tropez and wouldn’t consider moving the yacht once in five days. I’ve had others who treated it as a moving buffet: a night in Cannes, a night in Monaco, lunch off Cap Ferrat, gone by the weekend. Both are the right way to do it. The wrong way is picking a base without knowing what each one actually gives you.

St Tropez: The one everyone thinks they know

St Tropez has a reputation that arrived decades before most of today’s charter guests were born, and somehow it still holds up. The bay in front of the old town fills with yachts from June onwards, and by August it’s less a harbour than a floating parade. What people don’t expect until they’re actually there is how much of the appeal has nothing to do with the port at all. Pampelonne beach, a short tender ride south, is where the real day happens: a string of beach clubs, Club 55 chief among them, where lunch can run four hours without anyone checking a watch. Anchor off Pampelonne in the morning, and you’ve essentially rented the best seat at the best show on the coast.

The trade-off is obvious: St Tropez in July and August is loud, expensive, and fully booked months out. If your guests want to be seen, this is where you bring them. If they’d rather not fight for a table, it’s worth…

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