Nice in Monaco: the coast, Mala Cave & speedboat swimming
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Nice, France
- 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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OverviewAuto-translated
Beat the heat and the crowds of Nice and get out onto the water. Embark on a semi-rigid boat tour to discover the coastline to Monaco. Admire the scenery, which includes coves, limestone cliffs, volcanic rock, and rare mediterranean flora, along the way and jump off to spend some time swimming and snorkeling.
- Explore Nice and Monaco from the water
- Skip the hectic crowds of tourists on a small-group tour
- Learn about the history of the area from your Guide
- Stay hydrated with bottled water on board the boat
What's Included
- Bottled water
- Life jackets and buoyancy aids provided
- diving equipment (mask, snorkel)
- SnacksFood and beverages not provided on board
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- 51 Quai Entrecasteaux, 06300 Nice, France
The boat is located next to the shower/toilet area opposite the Pass'Port restaurant, dock G04
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Port Lympia (Pass By)
Villefranche-sur-Mer (Pass By)
St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat (Pass By)
Beaulieu-sur-Mer (Pass By)
Eze (Pass By)
Monaco (Pass By)
Port Lympia (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Most travelers can participate
- No children under 4 years old allowed
- No pets allowed
- Minors only in the presence of their legal guardian
- Not recommended for people with reduced mobility
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.3
based on 58 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
You can swim as well. Captain Pierre was super and fun describing what we were seeing and pretty entertaining
It was awesome experience, our guide Peter (alias Pierre) was excellent, He kept us engaged all the time with information and his humor, he shared all the information about nice and sight seeing. Water, cake and wine was provided too on the boat.
It was super fun. The captain pointed out celebrity homes and shared a bit about the history of all the towns between Nice and Monaco. It was 2.5 hours well spent and a fun boat ride for the kids. Kids only request was hitting more wakes :-)
pierre is a wonderful guide and the boat ride is exciting. beautiful stop to swim and snorkel. must do adventure when in nice.
Excellent way to see Nice to Monaco by water. Super fun. Great guide. Fan trip. Loved the swim off the boat
The experience was amazing, the almost 3 hours of travelling by boat, with our captain who showed and explained to us everything that we needed to know about the places that we visited.
Although it's an awesome experience, you should know that sitting in the boat is not quite comfortable, and you should bring with you water. Other than that, fantastic, highly recommend 👌
Fantastic fun for the slightly adventurous. The waves can get a little choppy, but the seating is designed for stability and our guide navigated the waves well. We swam in a lovely cove and visited interesting places along the coast, including Monaco.
He pointed out interesting facts along the way and took us into Monaco harbour to view some magnificent vessels.
Great afternoon & well worth doing this tour.
this was great! the guide was awesome, the swimming stop was so fun and the views were amazing! loved the fast ride back as well, highly recommend
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Thank you very much for your nice review. We are glad you enjoyed your excursion with us :)
Thank you for the captain, we will tell him you enjoyed this time with him!
We hope to see you soon
The boat ride was great to see the land, Monte Carlo and the yachts from a different perspective. However, the only drink available was orange juice and only enough for 5 of us. So bring your own water and other drinks.
Response from Host, Aug 2024
Thank you for your positive comment, we are glad to read that you enjoyed it. The captain is also supposed to have water for everyone on board.... We will check closely now!
It wasn’t the scenic cruise I was expecting. First off, the address they give you DOESN’T EXIST. it’s hard enough as tourist in a foreign country to find something but having to frantically run back and forth between storefronts along that street without a number 20 even existing just adds to the chaos. It’s not a cruising boat, it’s an inflatable motorized rubber dingy and you are sitting packed together on a vault like horse on a small water craft. We spent most of the trip needlessly far from shore for no reason instead of hugging closer to shore to see the houses. The entrance to Monaco was cool and the swimming excursion was nice. Very little commentary. But in the description it says you stop for snorkelling but after the booking I discovered the snorkelling equipment isn’t necessarily provided. A better check in experience, a better description of the tour and a better picture of the boat is advised. Then it would a better overall experience.
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Hello,
Thank you for your comment. Your feedback helps us to improve. However, I would like to point out that the photos of the boats appearing in most of the photos in the advert.
You can also read that this is a semi-rigid boat with jockey seats in this category of the ad “An original nautical discovery on board of one of our semi-rigid motor-boats. Comfortably seated on jockey-seats, you're ready to discover the natural and cultural riches of the French Riviera. From Nice, you'll pass by Villefranche sur Mer, Saint Jean Cap Ferrat, Beaulieu sur Mer and Eze for a 360° discovery up to Monaco.”
We're sorry you had trouble finding the address. We'll add more details when we write the new ad.
As for sailing closer or farther from the coast, that also depends a lot on the weather. Obviously, the captain's aim is to get you as close as possible, but depending on the wind direction and the weather in general, this can be more complicated. The captain's primary aim is to keep you safe.
I'm glad to read that you enjoyed some parts of the tour and still got the most out of the experience.
Thank you for your feedback. Have a nice day.
Our Nice Nautical experience was amazing but I must admit I was not prepared for what we experienced. It was difficult to find the departure location and I was not expecting to be in an open dingy like boat and sitting like I was on a horse. No bathroom and no cover. So just be prepared. But the views were great and it was very fun!
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Thank you very much for your review of our excursions. We are happy to read that you enjoyed it in spite of everything. We're sorry to read that you didn't expect this, we do our best to make our announcements clear and complete every year. Thank you for your feedback, even though it's in writing, it will help us to improve by emphasizing these details even more in our ads.
Have a nice day!
What we signed up for - a guided tour experience in English, with a bit of a swim and an overall chill couple of hours
What we received - a horrible experience with a tour guide who didn’t speak English nor did he offer any points of explanation in French either. The whole experience was so far away from what we expected, we left the trip halfway through (had to pretend to be sick to have a reason to leave abruptly, sorry) and made our way back to Nice at our own expense.
Furthermore, be very certain that you are happy with straddling super uncomfortable (poorly) padded seating on a black inflatable tender, cowboy style (the boat doesn’t go fast enough to justify this, saving fuel maybe?) If you didn’t have back pain before the trip, that’s probably the one thing you will take away from this experience.
Warning: they will require you to sign a waiver (not advertised prior) absolving them of pretty much all responsibility and the swimming in our case was with visible jellyfish (again not advertised). Of course they have a “no refund” policy implying refusal to sign waiver means you lose your money regardless.
Upon contacting them, both the company and Viator refused any sort of refund despite not delivering even close to what was advertised.
Oh and we were issued with 1 lukewarm bottle of water each and told “1 per person”. No tea/coffee included and no soft drinks offered either. Most of the other guests appeared to also be similarly disappointed but many of them didn’t appear to speak English either.
In contrast to a similarly priced and worded cruise in Sorrento 2 days prior (which we absolutely loved btw, we aren’t usually ones to complain), this not only failed to deliver what it promised, but it delivered such a failure of an experience that I was happy to pay extra to leave it at a random riviera port and figure out my own way home.
Note: when I brought these matters up with the tour operator I was told that “our captains are professionals of the sea whos job it is to ensure safe passage of passengers” (well duh, that’s the bare minimum mate) and that “local anecdotes remain optional perks” regarding the lack of guided tour part. It was also implied that we should have been grateful that the captain “found a compromise” to let us off at a port at all (I was literally ready to swim to shore and would’ve done so if not for having my phone in my backpack). Whatever rebuttal they may offer to this post, take with a grain of salt because at the end of the day, both them and Viator were well aware of the reality of this experience and see nothing wrong with insisting I pay full price for it.
Do No Recommend (-100 Stars)
This is without a doubt, the worst tour I’ve ever gone on. The boat is not at all what I was expecting, it was like a lifeboat with 2 rows of saddle seats. Which was appropriate because the entire time I felt like I was riding a bull. The person driving the boat was 10 minutes late with no notice. He didn’t speak English, even though it was supposed to be an English-speaking tour. I think he said 7 words the entire 2 ½ hours. (No English, sign, back less bumpy, get out) There was no safety demonstration, and I did not see any life jackets anywhere. He pulled into areas that were towns but never told us what we were looking at. He just pulled in and tore out. The boat ride out to the sights was terrifying as we were bumping all over the water in this little raft with seats like saddles. But that was nothing compared to the ride home. In 30 minutes, he drove us what took close to 2 hours to get out to. He was flying, with no regard for the safety or comforts of the guest. If you didn’t have a bad back before you went out, I bet you did when you got back. My back and neck still hurt, and it’s been a week since we went on the tour. I even went to the ER to make sure nothing was broken because everything hurt so badly. The driver flew so fast that several times we flew out of our seats and slammed back down onto the saddles with a very jarring motion. People were yelling in fear, and he didn’t even slow the boat down. It was pure hell, and I hated every minute of the tour. It honestly ruined my vacation and I hope not my back and neck too. If I can help one person on go on this torturous tour, I’m happy because it should not be a tour it was horrible. The boat is way too small to go into to such a large ocean…Stay away – Viator should remove this tour for the benefit of its customers.
Wonderful! The views were amazing and the swim in the cove was unforgettable! I fully recommend this boat tour for anyone who is visiting the area.
Response from Host, Nov 2022
Erin,
What a nice comment, thank you so much for taking time.
We hope to see you again on another excursion maybe "Les Calanques de l'Esterel" for the next vacation.
Take care,
Black Tenders Team.
A nice way to spend the morning. Unfortunately t guide did not speak English so he was unable to give any information about the sites.
Response from Host, Nov 2022
Elizabet,
Thank you for your comment, about the english information on the area, we are really sorry about that. We will do everything to make sure this doesn't happen again.
Regards
Black Tenders Team
This boat trip was great to see the coast from the water. Beautiful views, great captain and amazing memories. Make sure to bring your goggles or snorkels. Definitely recommend this tour!
Response from Host, Sep 2021
Dear Daniel,
Thank you very much for your rating. Good to read that you had fun with us this summer. Take care and maybe see you next time for another boat tour!
This is not a tour, just a nice trip in a speedboat through the French Riviera. If you have time, I suggest taking a train or bus to the same beaches to look at it from land and enjoy the city.
Response from Host, Sep 2021
Dear Rudy, thanks for the feedback, we were pleased to share all the good tips with you towards the nicest places of the Riviera. Take care and see you next time!
Great experience! My favourite excursion from Nice. You get the prospective of places as Monaco and nice from the sea. You stop in the best spots for swimming and snorkelling. Strongly recommended!
Response from Host, Sep 2021
Dear Sofia, thank you very much for your comment and good rating. We were pleased to have you on board this summer. Maybe see you next time on our other trips from Cannes to discover other French Rivera jewels. Take care!
The snorkeling is only for about 30 miinutes - but the guide takes you into many bays including the Monaco harbour, which is a real treat to see this principality from the water.
Our guide gave our points of interest and took us on a wonderful tour. He offered water and wine, which I couldn’t dare argue with! It was a unique boat ride, and I like how you could swim/snorkel by the caves. You.get to see the different cities via boat, which is certainly a different perspective. I’d certainly do it again. I brought a dry-pack for my camera and essentials, but didn’t need it after all.
Inmejorable forma de conocer la Riviera Francesa desde el mar. La embarcación, segura y provista con motores de gran potencia. Nuestro tripulante y guia, Marc, excelente!
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Nice in Monaco: the coast, Mala Cave & speedboat swimming
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