Can you visit both Lérins islands in one day?

Yes, but not in one go. No service links Sainte-Marguerite and Saint-Honorat directly: you must return to Quai Laubeuf in Cannes and change company, since the two islands are not served by the same operators. Over a full day it is feasible, at the cost of three crossings and a tight schedule. Over half a day, you have to choose.

Which island should you pick if you only do one?

Sainte-Marguerite if you want to walk, swim and visit the Fort Royal with the masked prisoner's cell: it is the larger and more varied of the two. Saint-Honorat if you are after an inhabited monastic place, the abbey vineyard and a short, intense visit. The first works as a half day, the second fits into three hours.

How long is the crossing from Cannes?

Roughly fifteen to twenty minutes depending on the island and the company, leaving from Quai Laubeuf in the Old Port. Frequencies vary a great deal with the season, and the time of the last boat back is the one figure you absolutely must check before boarding.

Are there restaurants and shops on the islands?

Very few, and seasonally. There is no convenience store, no village, and the food offer comes down to a handful of addresses whose opening depends on the time of year. The sensible reflex is to bring water and lunch, especially outside the summer season.

Can you swim off the Lérins islands?

Sainte-Marguerite has several coves reachable from the coastal paths, and swimming there is common practice. Saint-Honorat belongs to the abbey and applies its own, stricter rules, including on what can be done at the water's edge. Check with the abbey before setting off rather than improvising on arrival.

Sainte-Marguerite or Saint-Honorat: which Lérins island to pick

Opposite Cannes, a quarter of an hour by boat, there are two islands. They are called the Lérins islands, and they are almost always mentioned together, as if they were one destination in two pieces. That is the first mistake. Sainte-Marguerite and Saint-Honorat share neither size, nor owner, nor rules, nor purpose.

They are not visited on the same day either, and that is the practical point almost nobody announces in advance: no shuttle links the two islands to each other. The companies serving Sainte-Marguerite do not serve Saint-Honorat, which has its own. To see both you must return to Quai Laubeuf, change ticket and set off again. In half a day it is impossible; in a full day it is feasible but tight, and a good part of the time is spent on the water.

So this comparison exists to help you decide. What each island genuinely offers, what it forbids, and which one to pick given the time you have.

The comparison, point by point

N° 01

Sainte-Marguerite · the large one

A forest, a fort, coves, and room to breathe

It is the larger of the two, about three kilometres long, entirely covered by a state forest of pine and eucalyptus. This is an island for walking: paths circle the shoreline, cross the interior and run alongside the Batéguier lagoon. On the north-eastern tip the Fort Royal commands the channel facing Cannes; it houses the Musée de la Mer and the cell attributed to the masked prisoner, by far the first reason visitors give for coming. What you come here for: space, shade, coves to lay a towel in, and a historic visit. There are no cars and very few shops.

N° 02

Saint-Honorat · the small one

A working monastery, a vineyard, and rules

Saint-Honorat is markedly smaller and, above all, it belongs to the Abbey of Lérins, whose Cistercian community lives there all year. So it is not a tourist site in the ordinary sense: it is an inhabited monastic place that accepts visitors. The monks work the vines and produce the abbey's wine and liqueur. You see the fortified monastery standing at the water's edge, the chapels scattered across the island, and a landscape far more open than the pine forest next door. In exchange, the island sets its own rules: silence is expected near the monastery, and a number of practices are not permitted. Check what is allowed before you go, rather than discovering it on arrival.

N° 03

The crossing

Two companies, two tickets, one quay

Departures are from Quai Laubeuf, in the Old Port of Cannes. Sainte-Marguerite is served by several companies, among them Riviera Lines, Horizon and Trans Côte d'Azur. Saint-Honorat is served by Planaria, the abbey's own company, and by it alone. These are two separate ticket offices with separate timetables. Allow fifteen to twenty minutes at sea depending on the island. The point to remember: the last boat back is not a formality. You leave an island when the boat leaves, not when you have finished, and the time of the final rotation should be checked when you buy the outward ticket.

N° 04

How to decide

Three hours, half a day, a full day

With three hours, take Saint-Honorat: it is small, you can cover all of it, and the sense of having seen the island is immediate. With half a day, take Sainte-Marguerite: the fort, the cell and one loop of coastal path fill that format without rushing. With a full day and a wish to do both, be aware you will spend three crossings on the water and that the return to Quai Laubeuf in between is unavoidable. Our view, if you are only coming once: pick the one that matches what you are after, rather than half-catching both.

N° 05

What to bring

Water, proper shoes, and something to eat

Both islands are very lightly equipped, and that is precisely what makes them worth the trip. There is no convenience store, no cash machine on every corner, and the food offer is limited and seasonal. Bring water, plenty of it in summer, lunch if you have not booked anything, and shoes that hold: the paths are earth and stone, not a paved promenade. Plan for shade in the middle of the day, and remember that a picnic goes home with you, since there is no regular collection.

The three classic mistakes

What we avoid: believing a shuttle connects the two islands. It does not exist. Plenty of visitors arrive intending to do Sainte-Marguerite in the morning and Saint-Honorat in the afternoon without passing back through Cannes, and find out at the landing stage that it is not how it works.

What we also avoid: treating Saint-Honorat as scenery. A monastic community lives there all year round. Visiting is possible and welcomed, but the rules of the place are not tourist suggestions.

Finally, we do not cross without having checked the time of the last boat back. It is the most banal and most expensive mishap there is: missing the final rotation on an island with no hotel is not an amusing anecdote.

When to go

The season changes everything. In July and August rotations are frequent, the islands are busy and the coves of Sainte-Marguerite fill up early. In spring and autumn the crossings thin out but the silence returns, and that is probably the best moment to understand why these two islands have the reputation they do. In winter everything is quieter and part of the services close: check before you travel.

If the islands are one stage of a wider trip. This notebook is independent: we list, we sell nothing and we take no commission. But if Cannes and Lérins belong to a longer route, along the Riviera or beyond, this stops being an excursion to slot in and becomes a trip to build. In that case have a look at allovoyages, our partner travel magazine, whose advisers put together exactly that kind of tailored proposal. Our editorial line does not depend on it: nothing on this site is chosen because a partner asked for it.

Sainte-Marguerite or Saint-Honorat: which Lérins island to pick.

Two islands, not one destination