Les Bateaux Rouges

What Les Bateaux Rouges does

Les Bateaux Rouges, operated by the private limited company Compagnie Maritime Dinardaise SARL, is a maritime passenger transport and tourism operator founded in 2018 and headquartered in Dinard, Brittany, France. The company runs a four-vessel fleet (Lady Kadarn 84 passengers, Lady Margaux 12 passengers, Lady Valentine semi-rigid, Le Saint Honorat III 100 passengers) on the Emerald Coast, providing scheduled ferry crossings between Saint-Malo and Dinard every 20 minutes (10-minute crossing), island transfers to Île de Cézembre, Archipel des Ébihens, and Fort de la Conchée, and a portfolio of sea excursions including bay tours, Cap Fréhel/Fort La Latte cruises, Rance estuary trips, sunset cruises, fireworks trips, Christmas tours, sea fishing, and yoga excursions. Additional revenue lines include full-boat privatization for corporate events and private celebrations and a ceremonial ash scattering service.

The business operates on a direct-to-consumer model with transactions handled through the Resamare online booking platform, four physical ticket offices across Saint-Malo and Dinard, and telephone reservations. Pricing is unit-based, ranging from €6.60 for a single ferry crossing to €38 for island transfers, with excursions priced between €15 and €36 per adult and charter/privatization billed separately. The customer base is diversified across local commuters, domestic and international tourists, corporate groups, private event organizers, and families seeking ceremonial services. The company is privately held, founder-owned, with no disclosed external funding, and employs nine people. The founder's family heritage in regional maritime transport dates to 1904 through the original SA BCE company.

Name

Les Bateaux Rouges

Legal name

Compagnie Maritime Dinardaise - Les BATEAUX ROUGES

Website

https://bateauxrouges.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Les Bateaux Rouges is a privately held Breton maritime operator (founded 2018) running scheduled ferry crossings and sea excursions for tourists, commuters, and event clients on the Emerald Coast between Saint-Malo and Dinard.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maritime Passenger Transport

NAICS

Water Transportation (483), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (48721), Inland Water Passenger Transportation (483212)

SIC

Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

Passenger Ferry Operators (Interisland/Intercity) (TLAFALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sightseeing & Scenic Boat Tours (Harbor, Sunset, Dolphin/Whale Watching) (THAJAJAA), Island & Archipelago Ferry Services (THAEAGAB), Passenger Ferries & Water Taxis (Fast Ferries, RoPax, Catamarans) (IMAJADAC)

Keywords

• Passenger ferry services
• Maritime excursion tours
• Sea tourism transport
• Island shuttle crossings
• Boat charter events

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint-Malo

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Passenger Ferry Services: Regular ferry crossings between Saint-Malo and Dinard, with departures every 20 minutes. Single-trip and round-trip tickets available. Duration: 10 minutes per crossing.
2. Sea Excursions and Tours: Guided sea excursions around the Bay of Saint-Malo, including trips to Cap Fréhel, Fort La Latte, the Rance estuary, sunset cruises, Christmas tours, and fireworks viewing trips. Prices range from €15 to €36 per adult.
3. Island Transfers: Transfers to islands including Île de Cézembre and Archipel des Ébihens. Prices: €18.30 per adult for Cézembre round-trip, €38 per adult for Ébihens.
4. Sea Fishing: Sea fishing excursions with equipment provided. Maximum 12 anglers per trip. Duration: 3h15.
5. Vessel Privatization and Charter: Full boat privatization for corporate events (seminars, team building, after-work) and private events (weddings, birthdays, EVJF/EVG). Ships with capacity up to 100 passengers available.
6. Ash Scattering Services: Ceremonial ash scattering at sea in Saint-Malo Bay, providing customization of ceremony location and certification of service.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Les Bateaux Rouges operates regular passenger ferry crossings between Saint-Malo and Dinard (every 20 minutes, 10-minute crossing) and a diversified portfolio of sea excursions, island transfers, sea fishing, vessel privatization for events, and ceremonial ash scattering services on Brittany's Emerald Coast. The company runs a four-vessel fleet carrying between 12 and 100 passengers, with tickets sold per individual trip at unit prices ranging from €6.60 to €36 per adult.

Product overview

Les Bateaux Rouges operates a maritime passenger transport service centered on the Emerald Coast (Côte d'Émeraude) in Brittany, France, primarily serving routes between Saint-Malo and Dinard. The company offers a unified portfolio comprising regular ferry crossings (Saint-Malo-Dinard shuttles lasting 10 minutes), island excursions (Île de Cézembre, Archipel des Ebihens, Fort de la Conchée), themed sea promenades (bay tours, sunset cruises, Cap Fréhel & Fort La Latte, Rance estuary, fireworks, Christmas trips), activity-based services (sea fishing, yoga), ceremonial services (ash scattering), and full-boat privatization/charter services for corporate and private events. The fleet of four vessels (Lady Kadarn 84-passenger, Lady Margaux 12-passenger taxi boat, Lady Valentine semi-rigid inflatable, Le Saint Honorat III 100-passenger) operates from multiple boarding points in Saint-Malo and Dinard. The company was founded in 2018 as Compagnie Maritime Dinardaise and rebranded under Les Bateaux Rouges in 2021. Online booking is handled through third-party system Resamare.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Saint-Malo – Dinard Ferry Crossing (Round Trip)
• Saint-Malo – Dinard Ferry Crossing (One-way)
• Dinard – Saint-Malo Ferry Crossing (One-way)
• Île de Cézembre Crossing
• Archipel des Ébihens Crossing
• Fort de la Conchée Excursion
• Bay of Saint-Malo Sea Excursion
• Sunset Cruise
• Cap Fréhel & Fort La Latte Sea Excursion
• Rance Estuary Cruise
• Fireworks Excursion
• Christmas Bay Cruise
• Yoga Cézembre Excursion
• Sea Fishing Excursion
• Vessel Privatization and Charter Services
• Ash Scattering Ceremony at Sea
• Gift Cards

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• TripadvisorminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLes Bateaux Rouges maintains a business listing on Tripadvisor, enabling tourist reviews and visibility to international visitors researching attractions in the Saint-Malo and Dinard area. The partnership provides third-party credibility and marketing reach.
• Alunox ShipyardminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSaint-Malo-based shipyard that constructed the Lady Margaux vessel for Les Bateaux Rouges. The Lady Blue was also ordered from this shipyard in 2018.
• SA BCE (Historical)minorOthersIn 1904, the founder's great-grandfather M. Maillard participated in creating SA BCE (Bateaux de la Côte d'Émeraude). This company later became Vedettes Blanches and Vedettes Vertes, establishing the family legacy in maritime transport on the Emerald Coast.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Compagnie du Ponant: Compagnie du Ponant is a much larger French-flag cruise and small-ship passenger operator offering boutique maritime experiences; it is comparable in serving excursion-oriented leisure passengers but operates at a far larger, international scale.
• Brittany Ferries: Brittany Ferries is the dominant long-distance passenger and vehicle ferry operator in the region with far larger scale, offering a broader port-to-port and international service mix that includes nearby Saint-Malo as a hub.

Direct peers

• Bateaux Parisiens: Bateaux Parisiens operates sightseeing cruise and ferry services on the Seine in Paris, offering a directly comparable mix of scheduled sightseeing tours, private charters, and commuter-style river crossings.
• Compagnie Corsaire: Compagnie Corsaire operates passenger ferry and excursion services in the Saint-Malo / Dinard / Dinan area, directly competing with Les Bateaux Rouges on the same corridor and offering similar bay excursions and island transfers.
• Vedettes Blanches: Vedettes Blanches is a long-established Brittany ferry and excursion operator and the historical predecessor (as SA BCE) tied to the founder's family heritage. It runs comparable passenger crossings and tours on the same coast.
• Vedettes Vertes: Vedettes Vertes is a regional Brittany ferry and excursion operator descended from the same 1904 SA BCE lineage, offering highly comparable passenger and tourism services in overlapping coastal Brittany geographies.
• Batobus: Batobus runs a scheduled hop-on, hop-off river shuttle service in Paris, conceptually analogous to the Saint-Malo to Dinard ferry in providing frequent, short-distance passenger water transport between tourist destinations.

Regional players

• Vedettes de l'Odet: Vedettes de l'Odet is a regional passenger ferry and excursion operator in southern Brittany (Quimper / Bénodet), offering a comparable lineup of bay cruises, island transfers, and themed tours in a different but adjacent Brittany geography.
• Compagnie des Bateaux du Lac d'Annecy: Compagnie des Bateaux du Lac d'Annecy operates scheduled passenger ferries and sightseeing cruises on Lake Annecy, directly comparable in business model (short passenger crossings, scenic tours, charters) but in a lake rather than coastal setting.
• Semaine du Golfe (Vedettes du Golfe): Vedettes du Golfe is a regional passenger ferry and excursion operator in the Gulf of Morbihan, comparable in offering short passenger crossings, island shuttles, and bay tours within a different Brittany coastal geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bateauxrouges

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Les Bateaux Rouges