PORT APPROACH
Where will I enter?
Prepare a single port entrance and keep its channel clear. La Rague, La Napoule and the Siagne are not places to wait, take a tender aboard or turn round at the last moment.
CÔTE D’AZUR · MANDELIEU–LA NAPOULE
Golfe de Mandelieu: ports, beaches and navigation to decide before your approach
This stretch of water concentrates the entrances to La Rague and La Napoule, buoyed beaches, water-sports channels and the mouth of the Siagne. The right programme is chosen first on the chart, then adjusted to the buoyage and traffic actually encountered.
Port de la RaguePort La NapouleMouth of the SiagneBeaches from La Raguette to Robinson
NAUTICAL CHART · ZONES TO READ FIRST
Identify the areas before choosing a manoeuvre
The map shows the ports, the buoyage and the applicable PING zones around Mandelieu and Théoule. The outlines are there to help you prepare your decision; the enforceable limits are those of the buoyage in place and the orders in force.
PING regulatory data integrated on 18 September 2026. Zoom in, move the map and switch to aerial view if it helps you identify the coast; keep the map view to read the buoyage.
BEFORE LEAVING PORT
Three questions that prevent bad choices
Here, the route is not decided just by looking at a beautiful beach or at other boats that have stopped. First choose a navigation situation.
STOPPING OR SWIMMING
Am I allowed to stop?
A beach zone, a channel or a no-motor zone does not become a stopover because other boats can be seen there. Read the zone on the chart before stopping the boat.
WATER ACTIVITY
From which access point?
Paddleboarding, swimming, towed inflatables or PWCs are not launched from a traffic lane. The chosen activity determines its authorised access point, its channel and a dedicated lookout.
AREA 1
Between La Rague and La Napoule: the coastal fringe is not a through route
The area brings together the water-sports channel off La Rague beach, zones reserved for swimmers and no-motor zones (ZIEM). Maritime order 085/2026 also creates a no-anchoring zone (ZIM) outside the administrative limits of the port of La Napoule.
What this means in practice
- The La Rague water-sports channel is 35 m wide and 300 m long. It is crossed along its axis, when it is clear, without stopping or mooring in it.
- Between La Raguette and the port of La Napoule, a permanent no-motor zone (ZIEM) excludes motorised or engine-powered craft, except for the passages explicitly provided. From 1st July to 31 August, part of it is reserved for swimming.
- The ZIM outside the port prohibits anchoring, whatever the anchoring system. From 16 October to 14 May, the anchoring ban also extends to the coastal strip specified in the order.
In practice: choose the port, the channel or the stopping point before running along the coast. Do not cut towards the beach to “have a look” if the chart shows a ZIEM, a ZIM or a swimming zone.
AREA 2
The mouth of the Siagne: an access route, not a manoeuvring area
The maritime access channel to the mouth of the Siagne is 45 m wide and 300 m long. It is reserved for direct and continuous transit: stopping, anchoring and diving are prohibited, and speed is limited to 5 knots.
Nearby, the no-motor zones (ZIEM) of Font Marina and of the coastline east of the river mouth exclude motorised craft from the areas reserved for swimming, except for the channels provided. The map lets you tell this access corridor apart from the beaches and coastal defences.
OPERATIONAL RULES
Reading the rule that really changes your manoeuvre
Access channel
Direct and continuous transit: no waiting, no anchoring, no diving. In the Siagne channel, the limit is 5 knots.
Water-sports channel
Usable only when it is clear. The exemption from the 5 knots applies only to the towing boat as part of the towed activity; it does not create a zone free of speed limits.
ZIEM
Navigation and anchoring by motorised or engine-powered vessels, boats and craft are prohibited there. Motorised tenders are covered too.
ZIM
Anchoring is prohibited whatever the method. Diving is prohibited in the channels, ZIEM, ZIM and anchoring zones defined by the order.
Navigation buoys
Never moor to them. The provisions are enforceable when the corresponding buoyage is in place: so look at the water as much as at the chart.
The gulf also has a PING no-anchoring zone offshore. Being beyond the beaches is never enough to authorise anchoring: open the zone’s details from the map before dropping anchor.
WATER ACTIVITIES
Enjoying the water without turning the traffic into a playground
The gulf suits many activities. They must start from an authorised place and stay separate from port entrances, channels, buoyed zones and other boats.
SWIMMING · SNORKELLING
Choosing a stop that allows it
Before anyone gets into the water from the boat, check that you are outside any channel, outside any buoyed swimming zone and outside any zone where stopping or anchoring is prohibited. One person keeps watch and the engine must not become a risk to swimmers.
PADDLEBOARD · KAYAK
Setting off from a suitable access point
Prefer setting off from the shore or an authorised base rather than an improvised launch in traffic. A paddleboard or kayak must never be dropped in the Siagne channel, in front of a port entrance or across a ZIEM.
TOWED · PWC
Following the reserved channel
For a towed activity or a PWC, use only the channel or zone indicated, when the way is clear. The 300 m closest to the shore remain a regulated area, even when the water looks clear.
PORTS · REFUELLING
Two useful contacts before setting off
Port entry and access to fuel are confirmed before the approach. Opening hours, berth availability and manoeuvring conditions may change.
PORT LA NAPOULE
YSBLUE station
The port announces a station open all year round, with seasonal hours and an automatic pump available during the harbour office’s opening hours. The station’s direct number is 04 93 49 83 50.
PORT DE LA RAGUE
Fuel quay
The municipal port indicates a fuel quay. The fuels available, opening hours and access on the day must be confirmed before choosing this option.
OPEN BEFORE DEPARTURE
The sources that take precedence over this guide
- Maritime order 085/2026 and its annexes — rules on navigation, anchoring, diving and speed sports in the 300 m coastal strip of Mandelieu.
- PING — notices, nautical information and mapped zones to check on the day.
- Marinas of Mandelieu-La Napoule — municipal information on the ports in the area.
- Cannes–Lérins water-sports directory — municipal document published in 2022; check directly with the operators before any booking.