Friday morning, Nice-Ville station, quarter to nine. One suitcase, two kids already grumbling, and the same dilemma that comes back every season. Rent a car and crawl down the A8 towards Sainte-Maxime, or take the other option.
I have been taking the other option for three summers.
The round-trip boat transfer, Nice to the quai Jean-Jaurès. Two and a quarter hours on the water instead of the endless line of holidaymakers piling up at Fréjus. Put like that, it sounds like a splurge. Measured against tolls, petrol and Tropezien parking in August, the maths works out faster than you would think.
You board at the bassin Lympia, quai Lunel side, around 9am. A steady catamaran, air conditioning, and an upper deck for anyone who wants the wind in the face and salt on the glasses. The boat runs past cap Ferrat, a sleeping Villefranche, the red Eze calanques, then Théoule. Between Saint-Raphaël and les Issambres, sometimes a pod of dolphins, though I promise nothing, it depends on the swell and on the mood of the ponant that morning. At noon sharp the boat slides into the gulf and drops everyone on the quai, and you are at the foot of la Ponche before you even open your suitcase.
The round trip is booked through GetYourGuide. Here is the direct booking link, same crossing I have been taking since 2023. Around 95 euros per adult depending on the date, clearly cheaper a month ahead.
Two insider tips. A windbreaker even in July (the mistral can pick up halfway across), and a short novel. Time moves fast when the coastline unrolls beside you.
