COTE D’AZUR WITH KIDS
Is Keith Richards old enough to be your grandpa? Discover what makes the Riviera great for kids
MINI MONACO
The Principality is tailor-made for teens. At the end of the harbour a summer-only outdoor cinema belts out English-language blockbusters each evening. Last year they screened Y.CO favourites X-Men First Class and Bad Teacher. If motors are your thing then hit the Monaco Princes’ classic car museum. Your dad’s mate might have an Aston Martin, but the local royals have a Mercedes McLaren SLR and a Venturi electric supercar. By the Grand Prix tunnel is local hangout NiBox. It boasts a games arcade, a waterside bar and an under-18s disco that rocks until 2am.
RESTAURANTS COOL FOR KIDS
Guests at the African Queen are best saving their Boodles for cocktails on board ship: Beaulieu’s best restaurant is blissfully informal. Kids glued to their iPads shovel down pizza – albeit laced with truffles. Like many Riviera restaurants and beach clubs, menus are in English and Russian for those who don’t fancy a verbal joust with the sommelier. Stallone, Nicholson and DiCaprio drop in when they’re in town, and Bono often drives over from his beach house in Eze.
YACHT TOYS
The Mediterranean sea is the perfect place for hours of fun on the water with the kids. With waterskis, towables, wakeboards and ringos to name a few yacht toys, an unforgettable experience is sure to be had. The perfect time for wakeboarding is when the sun is rising and there are no other boats about creating waves, the sea is like a lake and allows the board to flow like silk.
With a superyacht crew fully trained on how to use any of the toys available onboard, the kids will be in safe hands. From a first day out on the water to a young sailor testing his skills, there is nothing that can't be arranged.
For more information on arranging activities for your children while on charter, contact the CHARTER TEAM to discuss the possibilites.
WET & WILD
If you’d like your children to learn the joys of sailing, there are few better places to do it than coastal waters off Cannes. At the port’s summer sailing school little ones learn the ropes on the aptly named Optimist, an unsinkable one-man sailboat. Painfully slow they may be, but 85% of medal winning skippers at the Beijing Olympics learnt on such a vessel. Note that kids are expected to pull their weight at this sailing school – and get wet at the same time. Such an activity provides a perfect oportunity to enjoy a little shopping in Cannes' luxury boutiques.
ONBOARD SAFETY FIRST
With hundreds of family friendly yachts available there is something for everyone. However, for a Summer charter in the Mediterranean, Honey Bear would make a great option for anyone. Fitted out for an owner with young children, she’s packed with safety features and her crew of 5 are brilliant at keeping small ones safe and entertained. The 28m Honey Bear sleeps up to 8 guests (of all sizes and ages), in 2 twin cabins and 2 doubles.
