Quick Answer
The right yacht for your South of France charter comes down to three things: how many people sleep aboard, how the cabins are laid out, and which port she is berthed in. At DMA Yachting we check all three against your group before sending a single option, because a yacht that is ideal for four couples can be the wrong boat entirely for a family with three children.
- Guest count tells you very little on its own. Two yachts can both sleep 10 across 5 cabins and suit completely different groups.
- For families, the cabin mix decides it: twin cabins and pullman berths, not five double beds.
- For celebrations, deck and swim platform space matter more than cabin count.
- For corporate hospitality, the format comes first. Cruising charters cap at 12 guests. Static dockside events do not.
Aboard ARTISAN. Cabin layouts vary far more than guest counts suggest.
Guest Count Is the Wrong Place to Start
Almost every inquiry opens with a number. Ten of us, twelve of us, eight adults and four kids. It is the natural way to think about it, and it is the least useful number we get.
There is one hard limit worth knowing. A crewed yacht on a standard commercial charter license can take a maximum of 12 guests while cruising. That limit applies to a 50 metre yacht just as it does to a 24 metre one. If your group is bigger than 12 and you want to be on the water together, the answer is usually two yachts running in tandem or a static dockside charter, which we cover in our guide to corporate yacht charter at Cannes Lions and MIPIM.
Below that cap, the number stops being the deciding factor. The layout takes over.
For Families, the Cabin Mix Is the Whole Decision
This is where we see the most disappointment, and it is entirely avoidable.
Two yachts can advertise the same 10 guests in 5 cabins and offer completely different weeks. The question is what is in those cabins.
ICONA is a 30 metre Riva chartering from 135,000 euros a week. She sleeps 10 across 5 cabins, and every one of those cabins has a double bed. She is a beautiful yacht and she is built for five couples. Put a family with three children aboard and you are splitting people up in ways nobody enjoys.
RARE GEM is a 28 metre Custom Line from 95,000 euros. Same headline: 10 guests, 5 cabins. But her layout runs a master, two queen VIP cabins, and two twin cabins. One of the twins carries a pullman berth, so two children share one cabin instead of needing a fifth double, and the other twin converts to a double. Children get their own cabins with their own beds. Nothing has to be negotiated.
Broker insight
When we walk yachts at the shows we take notes on the cabins, not just the deck. For families we are looking for the boats built with children in mind: bunk berths, a cabin next door to the parents rather than a deck away, somewhere to keep the toys. For couples or friends sharing it is the opposite question, whether the cabins are equal enough that nobody feels they drew the short straw. Tell us who is sharing with whom and we will find the layout that works.
Carina Isenberg
Charter Broker
Same guest count, same cabin count, 30,000 to 40,000 euros apart depending on the season, and only one of them works for a family. That is why we ask who is traveling before we ask how many.
Twin cabins and pullman berths are also scarcer than most people expect on the Riviera, which is the practical reason to start early rather than late. There are only so many family-shaped yachts in any given week, and in July and August they go first.
The cabin plan gets everyone aboard comfortably. The crew decides how the week feels.
On a family charter that usually means a chef who will run an early dinner for the children and a proper one for the adults later, and a deckhand whose afternoon goes on the tender and the water toys rather than the paperwork. Crews differ more than the yachts do here. Some genuinely enjoy having children aboard and some simply tolerate it, and that is the part we know from being on the boats and from placing guests with those crews season after season.
That is not theory. When we walked EVEREAST at the Sanremo charter show, the note we took was that her crew are used to stepping in as nannies and that a cot can be added for the littlest guests, which is a different proposition from a yacht where children are merely allowed. SUI GENERIS goes further again: her VIP cabin has a separate children’s room off it, plus an extra berth for a nanny.
For Celebrations and Friend Groups, Deck Space Beats Cabin Count
When the group is all adults, the cabins matter far less. Everyone gets a double, and the week is lived on deck.
What we look at instead is the shape of the outdoor space: how big the aft deck is, whether the swim platform is usable for a whole afternoon, whether the flybridge seats everyone at once or splits the group in two. A yacht with a slightly smaller interior and a generous beach club is usually the better call for this group than the reverse.
Berth location does more work than people expect here. If the evenings are the point of the trip, being alongside in Cannes or Antibes rather than at anchor changes the whole rhythm of the week. Our guide to starting in Antibes or Cannes goes through that trade-off properly.
The same show notes are where the celebration boats separate themselves. On HATT MILL the back deck carries a full dining table built for special-occasion dinners, and the top deck opens out in every direction with a lounge and a jacuzzi. ANJELIF puts a bar, sunbeds and a jacuzzi on the sundeck, and her bow doubles as a dance floor or an outdoor cinema. Neither of those shows up anywhere in a cabin count.
Aboard ARTISAN. Deck and beach club space is what an adult group uses.
For Corporate Groups, Decide the Format First
Corporate is the one case where the yacht is almost the last decision.
Static or cruising is the first question, because it sets the guest limit, the berth, the permit and the budget. Nearly every corporate charter we arrange around the Riviera event calendar is static, because the format matches how those events are used: client hosting and meetings at a fixed berth, not a day at sea.
We have written that up in full, including the Vieux Port and Port Canto trade-off and what it costs, in the Cannes Lions and MIPIM guide.
What About Catamarans?
They are the obvious answer for families, and they are hard to find on the South of France coast. The Riviera fleet is overwhelmingly motor yachts, and the handful of high end catamarans that do charter these waters book a long way ahead. We go through the reasons and the realistic alternatives in why catamarans are hard to find on the French Riviera.
How We Shortlist Yachts for Your Group
In practice we ask four things before shortlisting anything:
- Who is traveling, and their ages
- Whether the week is built around being on the water or ashore in the evenings
- Which airport you fly into
- What you want the days to feel like
Those four answers usually cut the realistic list to a handful of yachts. Sending you fifty listings would be easier for us and far less useful for you.
Tell us those four things and we will come back with a short list of yachts whose layouts fit your group, with cabin plans and real availability checked before you see them. You can also start from our French Riviera yacht charter page or talk to our South of France team directly.
People also ask
Which yachts are most suitable for family trips on the French Riviera?
At DMA Yachting we look for twin cabins and pullman berths rather than an all-double layout. Guest count is a poor guide: a 10 guest yacht with five double cabins suits five couples, while a 10 guest yacht with two twin cabins suits a family with children. Tell us the ages and who is sharing with whom, and we will come back with the layouts that work rather than the ones that only look right on paper.
Can we charter a yacht for a corporate event in Cannes?
Yes, and DMA Yachting arranges these routinely during Cannes Lions and MIPIM. The important decision is static versus cruising: a cruising charter caps at 12 guests, while a static dockside charter can host anywhere from 15 to several hundred depending on the yacht and the port permit. We cover the permits, berths and costs in our Cannes Lions and MIPIM guide.
Are there luxury catamaran charters available in France?
Yes, but far fewer than in the Caribbean or Croatia. The French Riviera fleet is mostly motor yachts, so the high-end catamarans that do charter here are booked early, particularly for July and August. We go through why in our piece on catamaran availability on the French Riviera.
What should I know before booking a superyacht in the French Riviera?
The advertised weekly rate is only part of the budget. On top of the charter fee you should expect APA, typically 30 to 40 percent on Riviera motor yachts, plus VAT and crew gratuity. Our French Riviera charter cost guide breaks down what a realistic total looks like.
