Yotha review: Sailing across Cote d'Azur on a £170k per week app-booked yacht

Let’s get one thing straight: I am in no way a seasoned yacht traveller, so when I was given the chance to sail the Cote D’Azur on a 170k per week super yacht, it was an invitation I couldn't turn down.

My host on the two-night jaunt across the Med is Yotha, a brand new luxury yacht chartering company whose mission is to bring ease (and much needed transparency) to multi-million dollar cruisers straddling le Riviera.

The concept is simple: download an app, choose a yacht on the website, talk moolah with your chosen vessel’s captain, add a few home comforts (food, stop-offs included) and voila, arrive at the port and set sail to wherever your heart so desires. Seems pretty simple, right?

Well, that’s the point explains Yotha’s COO, Carlo Benveduti: “Yotha is a brand new platform designed to make yacht chartering simpler, easier and fairer for everyone involved.” Essentially, it’s yachting made simpler and sexier for the digi-finger tapping and scrolling millennial. I was the target audience then, except my pockets were full of coppers rather than $100 bills.

After an extremely early morning flight bound for Nice, I'm whisked via helicopter towards the former home of Princess Grace: Monaco. Yotha has a series of luxury travel partners (Monacair, Excellence Limousines and Hotel de Paris St Tropez to name a few) which makes everything that little bit easier before you even hit the sea.

My boat for the journey is Philmx, a huge turquoise 143ft motor yacht which is set to take me from the shores of Monaco through the bay of Nice, into St Tropez and finally to Cannes.

'How does something so big stay afloat?' were my first thoughts on seeing the vessel. The aluminium superstructure designed by Andrea Vallicelli and Sandrine Melot Richesse Intérieure, is owned by Yotha founder Philippe Bacou and features no less than five bedrooms (two come with en-suite bathrooms), a deck Jacuzzi, a beach club (with gym) and flybridge bar.

Guests also have the use of a huge dining space with interiors decorated in Swarovski crystals (because, obviously) and a crew of eight on hand to cater to your every need, no matter how unreasonable, big or small.

In addition to all the bling, this boat (along with many of the other offerings available on the platform), comes with all sorts of toys, including jet skis, water skis, kayaks, paddle boards and scuba diving equipment, so the likelihood of getting bored at sea is slim.

First up, we dock at a bay not far from Nice to savour local cuisine: octopus and Caprese-style salads finished off with a light and fluffy panna cotta- all made by the on-board chef.

At present, 152 yachts are up for grabs on Yotha’s website, including the award-winning 180ft Mustique and 164ft Vertige. Everything featured comes with a Google Earth-esque virtual tour pre-booking and allows for any prospective Yotha customer to discuss the basics (including needs and dietary requirements) with the boat’s owner before financials are discussed.

After a few hours of sea sickness (this novice forgot to take his anti-sickness meds before he go on the boat) we drop anchor at St Tropez.

It’s here I feel most at home: it’s hot, it’s buzzy, it’s coffee culture gone wild with celebs. For those not familiar with it, the port town was made famous by the rebellious French starlet Brigitte Bardot who in 1956 descended on the Riviera hotspot to shoot And God Created Woman.

To this day, St Tropez still lives up to all the A-List hype with Chanel boutiques, Hermes hole-in-the-wall shops and Dior chic ruling the Tropézienne lifestyle.

Tip: go in early to explore all the charming alleyways, candy-pop French homes and market squares before everyone else does. Oh and if you need a pick-me-up, dash into Sennequier for a café au lait – Karl Lagerfeld loved the place, so why shouldn’t you?

Summoned for departure, we reluctantly left Le Trop and headed 25 minutes west. Stopping into another little bay, the anchor dropped and a tender from Club 55 came to collect us via mini speedboat to take us to a secluded beach.

Here, we left a scattering of sun-scorched sunbathers to sit with the cool crew for a grand lunch feast. After a long gossip-filled fish lunch, which included a sighting of Yasmin le Bon, we headed back to the yacht to continue our journey.

Three or so hours later, we hit Cannes where our voyage ends. As we sail in, onlookers from the surrounding yachts and shore eye us up to see if they’ve struck the pap-spotting jackpot. Sadly, we disappoint them and disembark to explore the city before jetting off home the next day.

The only thing I’ll say is that stepping off a multi-million dollar yacht in the French Rivera is the closest I’ll ever be to feeling like a celebrity. Mic drop as I head for the naff tourist gift shop.