Marinas in / near Nice

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I'm posting on the Liveaboard forum as I suspect there will be more direct knowledge here than on other forums - even though this is not, strictly speaking, a liveaboard question.

I am hoping to buy a small boat (6.5 meters) in the near future, and base it in the S of France. Due to poor flight options from here (Zurich), Nice seems to be the only realistic candidate.

So to the question. Can anyone provide me with names / recommendations for a marina for a small boat in the Nice area. Priorities would be - secure, easily accessable (by public transport / taxi) from the airport, and ideally the possibility to dry-sail the boat .

Any ideas?

Would also appreciate input on the cost of berthing such a boat (6.5 m x 3.0 m), or storage / launch / retrieval costs for dry-sailing.
 
No doubt more knowledgeable people than me will be along to answer this question, but in June last year we stopped at Antibes for a night and were impressed with the marina and the place.

We paid 28 euros for one night in June for a 37 footer, if that is any help. This was quite a bit less than we were paying along that coastline generally.

Alan
 
I have looked long and hard to find a berth near Nice without success. The usual way is to buy a lease but these can be more expensive than a boat of this length- have a look at marina berth agents on the web.
The nearest to Nice airport is St Laurent du Var virtually at the end of the runway -going west you have Baie des Anges Antibes Juan le Pin Cannes; there is a dry berthing operation at Mandelieu in Cannes bay but you would really need a car to get there or a fairly expensive taxi ride; look at Inland Port on the net

Going east you have Nice (supposed 10 year waiting list) and Villfranche (both local authority owned) Cap Ferrat , Bealieu sur Mer, Cap D'Ail, Monaco and Menton

best of luck!
 
[ QUOTE ]
Note port inland does not take yachts according to their blurb!

[/ QUOTE ]I visited port inland in the summer, by taxi, to pick up some spares from the chandlery there. I think it has a low bridge...certainly I made a mental note that it was not possible for us.
 
Have a look at Cannes. There is an airport bus between Cannes (waterfront) and Nice Airport -- we had some visitors in the Summer who took the bus and said it wasn't too expensive, and very easy. Day sailing from Cannes is good as you have the islands to anchor off. Cannes marina is well-run, easy walk from all the shops. Very expensive, though, as you'd expect on the Cote d'Azure. Then again, if you are used to Zurich prices, you won't be troubled.
 
If you want somewhere with access by Taxi in less than 30 minutes, then you're limited to a port between Beaulieu and Antibes. It will still cost 70 euro in a taxi.

The nicest ports are Bealieu, Villefranche, St Jean, and Antibes, as they have a village/town next to them with restaurants etc. You may find space in Beaulieu or Antibes for a boat that size because of the recession, you probably wont in Villefranche or St Jean, and you definitely wont in Nice until hell freezes over.

It may be easier to find space in St Laurent and maybe Baie des Anges (i'm not sure about this), and these will be cheaper taxi fares, but in both you are really limited to the on-site facilities.

In any case, you can't just phone, you have to go to the Capitainerie office and ask them, and ask around with owners and agents to try and find a berth owner who wants to rent it. I suggest you hire a car for a day or two and travel to each port, then you can see which ones you like, and ask about mooring possibilities.

The alternative is to buy a long lease on a berth, then you can go in any port depending on how much you're prepared to pay
 
We spent last summer along that coast and are wintering in Toulon (with earning time in the UK, sadly). It is extremely difficult to find a long term berth on this coast because the demand is so great, though if your pockets are very full you might have joy in some places.

Nice itself has a fab marina which is relatively good value (30 per night in August for 12m last year) but the possibility of more than a week is remote. We have found Toulon acceptable, being in the Darse Veille, which is fairly grotty but cheaper than many alternatives. There is supposed to be an airport connected to the UK but in fact it's internal flights only (plus Belgium). Day sailing lovely to the Porquerolles, and about five marinas around the Rade.

All along the coast the TGV runs from Marseilles to the border, so you can fly to marseilles or Nice and get the train which includes Cannes and Toulon. Others, eg St Raphael, St Tropez etc need branch lines or buses, but they are all very accessible except Theoule and Mandlieu.

Marseille itself is as difficult or worse than Nice, but there are other marinas in that area you could try, but we have no personal knowledge.

A good try might be Menton - not cheap but they had spaces this winter, sweet town, pretty easy from Nice airport (but or train plus walk/taxi), v close to Italian border.

Good luck and keep us posted.
 
st laurent du var is by far the closest to the airport, bit of a boat park but lots of them are thereabouts, and it's sound enough. The port inland at cannes won't take boats with a mast. Zilions of people call the marinas but they are dreamers, so best will be to actually turn up wth the thing - at 6-7 metre there is no problem - the med squeeze is at larger sizes.
 
Does anyone know more about the moorings in Villefranche-Sur-Mer?

They seem to have a marina, but also boats are allowed to moor in the bay and have a small boat by the dock.
I can't imagine anyone can just drop anchor and stay there as long as they want or the bay would be filled with boats.

What type of restrictions are there?
 
A friend used to have a flat at Golfe Juan and there is marina there and some smaller boats. There is a station within a few minutes walk that is on the line that runs along the coast between Nice and Cannes. Plenty of restaurants and local shops.

There are two marinas there next to each other. Port Camille Rayon and Port Golfe-Juan. A few miles East of Antibes.
 
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From Zurich you could also look at Venice, Palma and Barcelona among others and you could probably drive to Genoa faster than train/flight/taxi to somewhere near Nice!
 
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many flights from Zurich to med coast places - don't limit yourself to the Nice area which is probably the area of highest demand! As for Villefranche - we anchored in the bay for some weeks a year or so ago - no restrictions as far as I know in anchoring in the bay - didn't notice any moorings! Of course when the weather kicks up here (and it does) you wouldn't want to leave her at anchor..
 
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