THE BUYER’S LOGBOOK · BUYING ·
How to buy a yacht
on the French Riviera.
From a personal brief to your first season afloat.
Start with the life,
not the listing.
Between Port Vauban and Port Hercule, hundreds of yachts change hands every year. The buyers who fare best are not the fastest — they are the best prepared. Here is the path we walk with every client.
1. Write the brief before you browse.
How will you actually use the yacht? Our Riviera lifestyle guide can help you picture your season. Long lunches in the Lérins, crossings to Corsica, weekends with grandchildren, or a season of charter between private weeks? The honest answer decides the length, the layout and the budget far better than any listing page.
2. Let someone search for you.
Our buyer-side acquisition journey looks across the whole market — not just what one brokerage happens to list. Off-market opportunities matter on the Riviera, where many of the best yachts sell quietly, berth by berth.
3. View with a surveyor’s eye.
Fall in love on the first viewing if you must — but commission an independent survey and sea trial before you commit. Engine hours, service history and moisture readings tell the true story of any yacht.
4. Negotiate on evidence.
Comparable sales, survey findings and the seller’s timeline all shape the right offer. On the Côte d’Azur, a well-evidenced offer is respected — an aggressive one is often simply ignored.
5. Plan the berth before you sign.
Moorings in Antibes, Cannes and Monaco are scarce and have their own timelines and costs. Read Mooring on the Riviera: the waiting lists and use our Mooring & Marinas directory before completion, not after.
6. Budget for the seasons, not the sale.
Annual running costs — berth, insurance, maintenance, crew and fuel — typically dwarf the transaction itself. Our Finance & Ownership guide helps you plan the whole journey, so year three feels as good as day one.
The right yacht is not the one you find first. It is the one that fits the life you actually live on the water.
Your brief.
Our starting point.
Tell us how you want to live on the water. We will shape the search around it.
Start your brief