Watersports Guide for Saint-Tropez
Discover the top Saint-Tropez watersports
The glittering coast of the French Riviera comes alive in the summer months with the sounds of splashing and buzzing, squeals and laughter as holidaymakers head to the sparkling Mediterranean in their thousands to enjoy a huge range of watersports.
The glamorous village resort of Saint Tropez offers all the watersports you could imagine along its famed 5km Pampelonne Beach, from jetskiing, wakeboarding and parasailing to paddleboarding, snorkelling and diving. There are pontoons set up with slides and pedalos, as well as banana boats and tubing…and the new kid on the block: flyboarding.
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Canoeing / Kayaking
Canoeing / Kayaking Watersports in Saint-Tropez
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Adventure Sports Watersports
Adventure Sports provides a wide range of watersport activities on the warm sunny Mediterranean Sea. Friendly English staff will welcome you in a personal, one to one tuition.
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Tiki Pep's Watersports, Ramatuelle
Open from April to November, Tiki Pep's is located on the small Escalet port within the Kon Tiki beach club.
Diving & Snorkelling
The Gulf of Saint Tropez offers what is probably the best diving and snorkelling opportunities along the Riviera, with over 60 listed dive sites in the area.
There are some excellent wreck dives around Saint Tropez, including the very well known mine-laying submarine, The Rubis. This 66m vessel sits in great visibility on the sandy seabed in 40m of water, and while it’s now unsafe to enter the hull there’s lots to see, including intact torpedo launches and some great flora and fauna. Other good wreck dives include a Maltese yacht, the Relax (35m deep); a torpedo boat Le Poursuivante (58m deep); the Togo, the Donator, the Grec, the Espingole, and the Tell.
For those more interested in marine life than sunken ships, there are several sites to choose between. Just off Pampelonne Beach itself you’ll find La Roche Rousso, a fantastic rock that goes down to 45m and is home to a wide array of fish. Across the bay at Saint Maxime you’ll find the underwater rock plateau Les Sardinaux, offering some spectacular underwater topography and rock formations. This site sits just off the lighthouse so it's great for beginners, although even advanced divers will enjoy the diverse fish species, pinnacles and deep drop offs. For those wanting something trickier, head to the rarely-dived Rock of Lobsters, which has a great red and black coral coverage as well as lobsters, John Dory and Conger Eels.
Flyboarding
Jet-skiing
Paddleboarding
Parasailing
Sailing & yachting in Saint-Tropez
Saint Tropez is famous for yachts, from dazzling superyachts to the classic wooden yachts that converge on its harbour for the famous Voiles de Saint Tropez regatta each autumn.
If you fancy learning to sail in Saint Tropez, the Société Nautique de Saint Tropez is your best bet, offering sailing lessons for groups and private classes in Canoubiers Bay. The "Société Nautique" is affiliated to the French Sailing Federation.
For those wanting to enjoy a day on the water on a motor yacht or speedboat, there are several yacht brokerages to help you, whether you’re looking for a superyacht for a week or a dinghy for a day.
For information on chartering yachts and planning boat trips along the Riviera, see our guides.
Yacht Charter in Saint-Tropez
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Never Enough Superyacht
Yacht charter Antibes with the 2014 built Princess Never Enough. Located in the yachting hotspot Antibes, Never Enough is ideally located for day charters, weekend trips or a week long yacht charter on the French Riviera or Corsica and Sardinia.
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Solal 23.6m Yacht Charter
Spacious yacht built by highly regarded builders San Lorenzo.
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Good Times 21.45m Motor Yacht
Discover the luxury of a ‘Good Times’ yacht charter, a stunning yacht designed to offer an impressive charter experience. At 21.45 meters (70′ 4″) in length, Good Times provides ample space and comfort for your journey along the French Riviera and beyond. Built-in 2016 by Jeanneau, this charter yacht promises both elegance and performance.
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Kissmi Superyacht
M/Y Kissmi showcases the quality and class of the Mangusta range, built with meticulous attention to detail by world renowned Italian shipyard Overmarine. Based in Golfe Juan, she is perfectly located for exploring the enchanting wonders of the Lérin Islands, or for venturing further along the stunning coastline towards either Monaco or Saint Tropez. In just four hours, Kissmi can bring you to the marvellous mountainous Mediterranean island of Corsica. Kissmi is simply perfect for day tips or weekends cruising on the glistening Med.
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Barracuda Red Sea Superyacht
Barracuda Red Sea is a stunning 37m superyacht completed in 2010 by the British experts in yacht design Sunseeker. This tri-deck beauty showcases the design mastery of Don Shead, and her immaculate exterior design is sure to turn heads. Seize the opportunity of a breathtaking Sunseeker superyacht charter and explore the inviting waters Mediterranean.
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Shane Superyacht
Experience the joys of Mangusta yacht charter with the impressive Shane. Refit in 2015, the interior of this Mangusta yacht is stunning, incorporating chic colours and bright spaces. Perfect for Cannes Lions yacht charter, Cannes Film Festival yacht charter or for a yacht vacation on the French Riviera.
Waterparks
Across the bay in Sainte Maxime you’ll find the newest of the Aqualand waterpark franchises. The park has rapids, flying boats, a children’s paradise for younger kids, kamikaze, dark twist and other rides and facilities, including a restaurant and snack bar.
This is reportedly a park better suited to younger children; if you have teenagers they will likely be happier at the larger Aqualand Park at nearby Frejus, where the rides are more catered to older children.
Waterparks & Aquariums in Saint-Tropez
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Aqualand Waterpark, Sainte Maxime
This is probably the most family orientated waterpark on the Cote d'Azur. With several friendly slides, a fun pool, food and drinks, ice creams, and shopping all at hand.
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Aqualand Waterpark, St Cyr Sur Mer
Aqualand in St Cyr Sur Mer offer you 11 wicked slides in a great park environment with drinks, food, and shops for you to enjoy.
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Aqualand Waterpark, Frejus
With numerous slides, including the King Cobra - unique is western Europe - this is the largest waterpark on the Cote d'Azur! Inludes a rest area, show area, clockroom, fast food, grill and pizzeria, ice creams, drinks, and shop.
Waterskiing & Wakeboarding
There are several motorised watersport rental companies to choose from along Pampelonne Beach - see our listings for details.
Jetski and wakeboarding: The best time for these sports is early in the morning before the sea breezes pick up and ruffle the water. Further afield, there’s a watersports park at Le Muy with cable skiing and ramps.
Jetskis: Those wanting to ride a jetski need to know that you need a license to operate a jetski in French waters, or you can ride with someone already qualified. You can gain your jetski license in Saint Tropez through the RYA, but it takes a day. If you have your license, you will need to wear a life-jacket and follow all local speed limits and regulations- the water police really are cracking down after some nasty accidents so be aware.
Flyboard: The new craze in motorised watersports is the flyboard, or jetpack, where you strap on a jetpack connected to a jetski, which provides propulsion for you to fly 15m up in the air or 2.5m below the water’s surface.
Seabobs: You can also rent seabobs – a kind of handheld underwater jetski- to cruise underwater. You could also use a seabob with scuba gear if you don’t want to keep coming back up to the surface.
Safety: The waters around here get incredibly busy, so whatever you’re doing keep an eye out for swimmers, divers and snorkelers-as well as yacht tenders which are zipping around like crazy between the yachts and shore in the high summer.
Windsurfing & Kiteboarding
Pampelonne Beach is well-known for kitesurfing and windsurfing due to the prevalent south-westerly wind. The Mistral and Tramontane winds create a consistent air stream, warm water and good waves ideal for wind sports, particularly out of season.
However, like so many beaches along the Riviera, kitesurfing is banned in summer due to safety concerns on crowded beaches. Luckily, the nearby beaches of St Aygulf (in direction of Cannes) and Almanarre (in Toulon direction) both have a kitesurfing reserve so you can go there year round. Mind you, the winds are a lot lighter in summer anyway so best to wait until October if you’re planning your trip around kitesurfing.
