Nice to Monaco, by sea.

The coast road from Nice to Monaco is one of the famous drives of the world, and the sea beneath it is better. Forty minutes from the Port de Nice on a flat morning, with Villefranche, Cap Ferrat, Beaulieu, Èze and Cap d’Ail sliding past on the left, and then the Rock and the towers of Monte-Carlo stacking up ahead of you exactly as they were meant to be seen.

There is no ferry from Nice to Monaco. The only way to do it by sea is on a private boat, which is a better way in any case, because a private boat can stop.

The route, and where you can stop

Out of the Port de Nice and east round the point into the bay of Villefranche, twenty minutes in. Then Cap Ferrat, with the Passable and Paloma coves either side of the peninsula and the lighthouse on the tip, and Beaulieu-sur-Mer tucked in behind it, which is where the fleet lives. Èze-sur-Mer next, under the cliff village, then the long wall of Cap d’Ail with Mala beach in its notch, and finally the harbour mouth of Port Hercule.

Every one of those is a place to drop the anchor. A swim in Villefranche on the way out, lunch at Mala on the way back, and Monaco in between is the most popular version of this day.

How long Nice to Monaco takes by boat

Forty minutes on the quickest boat in the fleet on a flat morning, from the quay at Nice to the harbour wall at Monaco. From Beaulieu-sur-Mer it is twenty-five. Add ten minutes for a slower boat, and add more if the sea has any weather in it: the captain will tell you honestly what it is doing before you commit, and if the run east is going to be uncomfortable there is always somewhere calm to go instead.

Arriving in Monaco from the water

Coming in from the sea you pass the harbour wall at the same angle the Grand Prix boats do, with the palace on the Rock to your right and the Casino above the Larvotto to your left. Port Hercule itself is one of the busiest harbours in the Mediterranean, and visiting berths are scarce in summer, so most Monaco days do not tie up at all. The boat anchors off the Larvotto beaches or the Japanese Garden, the tender runs you in, and you have the Principality on foot while the boat waits.

During the Grand Prix and the Yacht Show the harbour closes to visiting boats entirely, and the water outside the wall becomes the best seat in the Principality. There is a separate guide to that.

What a Nice to Monaco boat trip costs

From €1,400 a day for the boat, plus the captain at €350 and fuel at cost for the route. A Nice to Monaco return is a short run, so the fuel on this day is modest. Half days of four hours start from €850 and are enough for Monaco and back with a swim; a full day adds Menton and the Italian border, or Cap Ferrat and Villefranche properly on the way home.

One way, or there and back

The boat can also simply take you there. A transfer from Nice to Monaco by sea, or the other way, for guests staying in one and dining or racing in the other, avoids the coast road on the days it is at its worst and arrives you at the quay in the way the place deserves. The crew price a transit as a point-to-point run rather than a charter.