Boat Tour Cannes: The Estérel Red Rocks by Sea

The boat tour Cannes sells as the Estérel Calanques Nature Reserve excursion costs $84 per person and lasts 2.5 hours. Note the start: it leaves from Port du Béal in Mandelieu-la-Napoule, not from a port in Cannes itself.

The boat is a semi-rigid RIB that takes 12 passengers at most, and the small size is the point. The listing says it slips into remote inlets and wild calanques that larger boats cannot reach. A local captain steers along red volcanic cliffs and hidden coves and talks you through the rock, the sea life and the history of the coast. The route runs all the way to Cap Roux, where the cliffs drop straight into clear water.

On the way you pass the Château de La Napoule, the Château des Mineurs and the futuristic Bubble Palace. There are two swimming stops in the coves, so wear swimwear under your clothes. The captain speaks English and French.

Rated 4.8 from 864 reviews, it is the best rated of the three trips here and has the most reviews. Of the three, it is the one boat tour French Riviera visitors can take right into the calanques.

The full-day catamaran is the boat tour Cannes offers that puts the Lérins Islands and the Estérel into one day, and it is our top pick across the site. It costs $179 per person for 7 hours, rated 4.5 from 137 reviews.

You board at the Old Port of Cannes with a welcome drink and a briefing from the crew. The catamaran rounds Pointe Croisette to the Lérins Islands for the first swim and snorkel; masks and snorkels are on board. Around 13:00 a cold buffet lunch is served with a glass of wine. In the afternoon the boat crosses to the Estérel below the Corniche d'Or, stops in a bay for a second swim, and is back in port at 17:15.

Courtney from the United States summed it up: «Highly recommend the full day trip and seeing the second location!» That second location is the Estérel.

The lowest price of the three belongs to a trip that does not leave Cannes. The maxi-catamaran costs $66 per person and sails from the Old Port of Saint-Raphaël, so it is not a boat tour Cannes departs on: plan your own way there.

You choose a morning or an afternoon departure, and the trip takes 3 to 4 hours. The route passes Île d'Or, the red rocks and the Anthéor viaduct, then stops in a bay. There you can take out a paddle board or use the masks and snorkels. Planter's punch and soft drinks are included, so there is nothing to buy on board. Shoes come off: the deck is barefoot.

It is rated 4.7 from 446 reviews. Leticia from the United States called it «the highlight of our trip» and praised the music and the clean bathrooms.

Book the Estérel excursion. If you take one boat tour Cannes has for the red rocks, make it the $84 per person small-boat trip: the best rating, the most reviews and the most time among the coves.

Want lunch and the islands too? The full-day catamaran at $179 per person covers both. Staying near Saint-Raphaël? The maxi-catamaran is the lowest price here.

The Estérel is one stop among several. Our top pick, the full-day catamaran, costs $179 per person and adds the Lérins Islands and lunch. Compare it with the half-day and private options in our list of seven catamarans.