Baie des Anges and Nice: ports, airport and coastal strip

An open and heavily used bay

The Baie des Anges links harbour areas, beaches and seafront promenades. Distances can look simple on the chart, but the number of small boats, departures from the ports, swimmers and the thermal breeze call for a speed chosen so that you can see, understand and manoeuvre. Keeping a constant lookout is more useful than a route too close to the shore.

Ports and manoeuvres: leaving the space needed

The ports of Villeneuve‑Loubet, Cagnes, Saint‑Laurent‑du‑Var and Nice create traffic routes and manoeuvres that cannot be guessed from offshore. Stay out of harbour passages and work zones, do not take an open stretch of water for a waiting area, and contact the harbour office before a stopover, refuelling or a late arrival.

The approaches to Nice airport

The PING regulations shown around Nice Côte d’Azur airport set out constraints on navigation, anchoring, diving and swimming. Read them in detail before any passage. Do not approach the limits to have a look: the buoyage, official instructions and ongoing operations take precedence, and temporary notices can change the situation.

Beaches, swimming and the coastal strip

The rules for Villeneuve‑Loubet, Cagnes‑sur‑Mer, Saint‑Laurent‑du‑Var and Nice are shown on the map through their selected PING objects. Depending on the location, they cover navigation, speed, stopping, anchoring, diving or swimming. A limit is checked on the water and in the related text, never only by how the coast looks.

Snorkelling, paddleboarding and towed activities

An activity in the water is only possible where it is authorised and where it does not expose the crew to traffic. Appoint a lookout on board, plan for immediate recovery and bring everyone back aboard before the boat moves. Towed inflatables need a space clearly separated from swimmers, harbour entrances and regulated zones.

Approaching Nice and continuing to Villefranche

Nice marks a transition to different harbour and regulatory environments. Marine protection, traffic and the airport mean you should reframe the map before heading for Villefranche. The Villefranche & Cap‑Ferrat guide takes over for organised moorings, the cape and underwater activities.

Refuelling nearby

Marina Baie des Anges in Villeneuve-Loubet and the port of Nice are the two most useful reference points across the bay. Plan your access before reaching the harbour passages: traffic, buoyed beaches and the constraints around the airport leave no margin for a last-minute search.

The refuelling page gives the stations’ contacts and their published opening hours where available. Check the time slot, the fuel and the port instructions directly with the operator before setting off.

The Promenade des Anglais seen from the sea

Off the Promenade, almost the whole 300 m coastal strip is closed to motorboats, from the Carras breakwater to the Paillon and then from the Paillon to the Pointe des Ponchettes. Only two speed channels cross it, east of Rue Sulzer and Rue Rivoli, and their anchoring areas are reserved for water-sports centres (prefectoral order). Since 1^st June 2026, a 21 ha protected zone, from the CUM groyne to the Negresco, also prohibits motorised navigation, tenders included, as well as anchoring, stopping, diving and fishing (order). So the Promenade is admired from offshore.

The airport: zones according to air draught

Off the airport, order 146/2019 divides the sea into zones according to the boat’s height above the water:

Kitesurfing and parasailing are prohibited in zones 2 and 3. A rental motorboat generally stays under 3 m, but a sailing boat or a boat with an arch must check its height. In 2026, a survey vessel is working near the airport until 30 September (order) and anti-pollution nets are in place until 31 December (order).

At the mouth of the Var, a biotope protection zone prohibits any human presence: no kayaking, paddleboarding, sailing, anchoring or swimming (Légifrance).

Entering and leaving the port of Nice

• An area of one nautical mile around the light east of the harbour passage: 5 knots within 300 m, 15 knots beyond; you only use it to enter or leave, and you must not impede vessels of 50 m and over; anchoring, swimming and towed activities are prohibited there (order).
• Fast ferries arrive south of Cap Ferrat and enter the access zone at 15 knots (order).
• Inside the port: 3 knots, entry cleared on VHF 9 for boats under 25 m, constant watch on channel 9, no leisure-boat movement while a commercial vessel is manoeuvring. Three occulting red lights: port reserved for the authorised vessel; flashing: port closed (port regulations).
• When leaving, you cannot see a boat coming in before the turn to the west. After a collision in 2019, the Maritime Prefect recommends keeping close to starboard and staying west of the meridian of the green light on the Poudrière groyne until the southernmost starboard buoy (navigation rules).

The Cap de Nice: La Réserve, Coco Beach and the Sans-Culottes

East of the port, the coastal path starts at the Jardin Félix-Rainaud, past La Réserve, and overlooks Coco Beach (Tourist Office). Further on, around the Pointe des Sans-Culottes, a 27.7 ha protected zone prohibits anchoring and recreational fishing up to 300 m; dive boats may only stop there on buoys (order). None of the cape’s restaurants consulted advertises access from the sea.

Saint-Laurent-du-Var, Cagnes and Villeneuve-Loubet

• Saint-Laurent-du-Var, from 1^st June to 15 September: a speed channel at the first groyne east of the port, a channel to the shore at the sailing club limited to 5 knots; motorboats are prohibited behind the breakwaters (order).
• Cagnes-sur-Mer: a 90 m by 300 m access channel to the port of Cros-de-Cagnes; from groyne no. 6 to the mouth of the Cagne, a no-motor zone all year round (order). Offshore, a fishing reserve with artificial reefs, marked by two beacons, prohibits anchoring and diving (order).
• Villeneuve-Loubet: three speed channels, a fourth at Les Maurettes in July and August, and no-motor zones off the Marina, Batterie and Loup beaches (order).

The ports: VHF, fuel and visitor facilities

Three trip ideas

• From Villeneuve-Loubet to Nice: fill up at Marina Baie des Anges, pass off the airport while respecting your air draught, enter Nice at 3 knots after clearance on VHF 9.
• The Cap de Nice: leave by the recommended route, see La Réserve and Coco Beach from beyond 300 m, no anchoring around the Sans-Culottes.
• The Promenade from offshore: follow the seafront beyond 300 m, since the strip is almost entirely closed to motorboats.

Mistakes to avoid

• Running along the Promenade within the 300 m.
• Entering the port of Nice without a VHF call, or while a ferry is manoeuvring.
• Cutting across in front of the airport without knowing your air draught.
• Approaching the mouth of the Var.
• Anchoring at the foot of the Cap de Nice.

Sources consulted on 26 September 2026. The number of visitor berths is published neither in Nice nor in Saint-Laurent-du-Var, whose port website was not responding.

Priorities before departure

• Check PING, navigation notices and port rules on the day itself.
• Decide when to turn back, where to refuel and a fallback option before you approach the coast.
• Stay clear of buoyage, channels and marked zones until their use is confirmed.
• Count the crew before and after any swimming, paddleboarding or getting in the water.