Uber Boat Côte d'Azur
In June 2026, Uber is relaunching Uber Boat in Nice, Cannes and Saint-Tropez via a partnership with Click&Boat. Ten years after the first UberBOAT launched in Saint-Tropez in 2016, the service returns in a different form: boat rental, not a point-to-point sea transfer. We decipher the offer, and what distinguishes a true private transfer service in the style of Black Tenders and Taxiboat.fr.
Uber Boat on the Côte d'Azur: what Uber is really launching in 2026
At its annual GO-GET event in New York at the end of April 2026, Uber announced the launch of’Uber Boat in June 2026 in five European countries, including France. On the Côte d'Azur, three cities are primarily concerned: Nice, Cannes and Saint-Tropez, alongside Marseille, Toulon, Annecy and Paris.
A partnership with Click&Boat
Uber is not becoming a shipowner. The service is based on a partnership with Click&Boat, a French boat rental platform founded in 2013, which boasts some 50,000 boats in Europe. In concrete terms, opening the Uber app will give access to a catalog of boats for hire, with or without skipper, by the day or half-day.
Rental, not transfer
This is the decisive nuance. Uber Boat 2026 is not a ride-hailing service. private sea transfer to get from point A to point B on demand. It's a nautical leisure offer: you book a boat to enjoy the sea at your own pace, like a relaxing day out, not to get from Nice to Monaco in 25 minutes because you have a dinner date. Uber One members also benefit from 10 % credited to their reservations.
UberBOAT, already being tested in Saint-Tropez and Cannes in 2016
The idea is not new. Back in the summer of 2016, Uber launched its first UberBOAT in Saint-Tropez, and this is where the story gets interesting for those who know the terrain.
A service operated by a local cab boat
The 2016 UberBOAT, available 24/7 until September 30, was not operated by Uber but by Taxi-Boat Saint-Tropez, a local nautical operator. Uber simply provided the ordering interface in its application, while the marine service relied on the expertise of a local professional. Rates ranged from €50 to join a yacht at anchor, to €650 for a trip from the Gulf of Saint-Tropez to Nice, with 7- to 9-seater boats and a day/night schedule.
The luxury interlude at the Cannes Film Festival
The same year, during the Cannes Film Festival, Uber also tested a high-end version: excursions from Cannes to Saint-Tropez, Monaco or the Lérins islands, operated exclusively with Wajer, starting at €300 for Lérins and €1,000 for Monaco or Saint-Tropez. A one-off, event-driven offer that confirmed one thing: on the Côte d'Azur, the demand for premium sea transfers does exist, and it's always supported by specialized operators.
Boat rental or private transfer: two different needs
Before booking, the real question is not «Uber or no Uber», but what you need. The two logics do not overlap.
Rental, for a day of fun
If you want to spend a day at sea, anchor in a calanque, swim or have lunch offshore, the boat rental is just what you need. You book a boat for a time slot, with or without a skipper, and put together your own program. This is the niche that Uber Boat is targeting via Click&Boat.
Private transfer from one point to another
If you're meeting a yacht at anchor, greeting guests at Nice airport and dropping them off in Monaco, or returning from an evening out in Cannes, this is a real challenge. private sea transfer that's right for you. A precise route, at a defined time, with a professional skipper who will pick you up and drop you off at your destination. That's exactly what Taxiboat.fr, Black Tenders' boat courier service.
Why it matters in high season
During the Monaco Grand Prix, Whether it's the Cannes Film Festival or the summer peaks of July and August, roads are saturated and parking becomes impossible. A private sea transfer bypasses all this: the journey depends only on sea conditions, not on traffic on land. For details of these logistics, see our article on the the best way to travel between Nice and Monaco.
Taxiboat.fr: the benchmark private water transfer service on the Côte d'Azur
Where Uber Boat opens a rental catalog, Taxiboat.fr does exactly what UberBOAT did in 2016 in Saint-Tropez, but as a permanent, structured service: a boat courier that takes you from one point to another, whenever you want.
What the service covers
- Port-to-port transfers Nice, Villefranche, Beaulieu, Cap-Ferrat, Monaco, Cannes, Antibes, Saint-Tropez
- Yacht shuttle pick-up from airport or port to anchored boat
- VIP support : guests, crews, event exits with overnight return
- Extended availability professional skipper, embarkation and disembarkation at agreed quays
No permits, no logistics
Unlike a charter, no documents or nautical skills are required of passengers: everything is piloted by a professional skipper. You specify your date, time and number of passengers, and the trip is fully supervised. That's the difference between renting a self-drive boat and ordering a turnkey transfer.
Black Tenders operates this service all year round, with a fleet of RIBs and a sailing catamaran based in Nice, Cannes and Mandelieu. To extend the crossing out to sea, the Boat rental with skipper and Experiments available upon request complete the transfer offer.
The arrival of Uber Boat on the Côte d'Azur in June 2026 is good news: it trivializes the idea that the sea is a mode of travel in its own right, and reminds us, ten years after the first UberBOAT in Saint-Tropez, that the Riviera is a natural breeding ground for water-based services.
However, rental and transfer meet two distinct needs. For a day's pleasure you can put together yourself, a Click&Boat rental makes sense. For a precise, scheduled trip, with pick-up and drop-off by a professional skipper, a private maritime transfer service is required, of the type operated by Black Tenders on a daily basis.
For a private door-to-door transfer on the Côte d'Azur, the easiest way is WhatsApp, or the dedicated platform Taxiboat.fr.
