Monaco Yacht Show, what to know before you buy a pass

For four days every September, Port Hercule stops being the harbour you wander round for free and becomes a floating showroom of yachts averaging 50 metres. Plenty of half-truths float around it too. That it’s only for billionaires, that you can pop in for a look, that they’ll let you climb aboard. I’ve gone through what the organisers themselves publish, and I’ll tell you who I think should pay to go in and who shouldn’t.

A trade fair that happens on the water

The Monaco Yacht Show has been held in Port Hercule, the harbour in La Condamine, since 1991, under the patronage of Prince Albert II and run by the Informa group. The harbour’s private sailing club, the Yacht Club de Monaco, is a separate institution with a calendar of its own. 2026 was its 35th edition. What sets it apart from a typical boat show is that the yachts are afloat. Around 120 superyachts averaging 50 metres, some over 100, between 50 and 60 luxury tenders, and about 40 new launches each year. Around them are more than 560 exhibitors, from shipyards and brokers to designers and service firms.

There’s also a conference programme, the Monaco Yacht Summit, and a strand called Blue Wake on greener yachting. It’s all built for people buying, chartering or building a yacht, which is worth bearing in mind before you get the card out.

When is the Monaco Yacht Show?

The 2026 show ran from Wednesday 23 to Saturday 26 September. It opened 10:00 to 18:30 on the first three days and until 18:00 on the Saturday, with last entry half an hour before closing.

For 2027 the show’s website already gives the dates, 22 to 25 September, in Port Hercule. Prices and hours for that edition aren’t published yet. To fit a trip around the rest of the year’s calendar, see what’s on in Monaco.

Can anyone go?

Yes, with conditions. Wednesday, opening day, is for invited guests and VIP pass holders. From Thursday to Saturday it’s open to anyone who buys a pass online, whether private visitor or professional, and children up to eight go free.

The big condition is the boats. The organisers state that yachts are visited only by appointment, arranged with the exhibitor and at their discretion. So your pass lets you walk the quays, the marquees and the Dockside Area where the yachts are moored, but it doesn’t guarantee you’ll set foot on a single deck. If you have a genuine purchase or charter in mind, I’d email the shipyards weeks ahead. For a day on the water rather than a sale, I cover yacht charter in Monaco separately.

One thing puzzles me about the Wednesday pass. The official ticket page sells one at €400 without the Dockside Area, yet the same page says only invited guests and VIPs get in that day. If Wednesday matters to you, check with the show before paying.

Tickets, and where to buy them

In 2026 a one-day pass cost €700, two days €1,300 and three days €2,070, all including VAT and excluding Wednesday. There are no sales on site. You buy online, receive a digital voucher and scan it at one of four public gates, on Quai Antoine Ier, Parvis Piscine, Quai Chicane and Quai Albert Ier.

The show also sells a VIP programme with guided visits and introductions, and says it’s the only one officially approved. Treat anyone else offering the same with suspicion. The usual traps in Monaco are covered in scams and safety.

Getting there during show week

The train is easiest. Monaco-Monte-Carlo station has a Port Hercule exit that the show itself recommends, and the exits are explained on the Monaco train station page. By car, the organisers suggest the Les Salines park-and-ride at the entrance to Monaco, which they say is up to 50% cheaper than the central car parks, gives 10 free bus tickets per car and is about 15 minutes’ walk from the port.

If you’re flying in, the show’s partners sold Nice to Monaco helicopter seats at €150 per person each way in 2026, and how that hop works the rest of the year is in the Nice to Monaco helicopter. Two more things. The little shuttle boat across the harbour isn’t open to the public during the show, and the restaurants around the port sit outside the show grounds, so you can eat there without a pass.

House rules inside

There’s no official dress code, but the organisers can turn away anyone they feel doesn’t fit the show’s image. Photos and video are fine in the marquees and on the quays, though filming on board needs the exhibitor’s permission. Drones are banned all week, there’s no left-luggage, and the only dogs allowed are assistance dogs or small ones you can carry.

Is it worth the ticket?

It depends who you are. If you’re buying, chartering or working in the industry, this is where everyone is at once, and the pass pays for itself. If you’re just curious, €700 for a day strikes me as a lot to look at boats you probably won’t board. In that case I’d head up the Rock, where the whole fleet is at your feet, and come back another month to walk Port Hercule when the quays aren’t fenced off.