Water Taxi Cassis — private transfers below Cap Canaille
Board on the quays of the old port of Cassis and cross to Marseille, La Ciotat, Bandol or Toulon in a private enclosed-cabin boat, along the Calanques cliffs rather than the switchbacks of the Route des Crêtes.
Indicative pricing.
Prices from, for 1 to 12 guests — firm quote within hours (captain, fuel, insurance, fees included).
Transferts bateau privés au pied du Cap Canaille, entre Calanques et vignoble de Cassis.
Cassis est un port de pêche devenu station balnéaire, coincé entre le Parc national des Calanques à l'ouest et les falaises du Cap Canaille à l'est, avec le vignoble AOC Cassis qui grimpe sur les coteaux à l'arrière. Le vieux port est petit et ses quais — Saint-Pierre, des Baux, Jean-Jacques Barthélémy, des Moulins côté capitainerie, le Vieux Môle fermant le bassin — se saturent vite en saison : les points de prise en charge se conviennent à l'avance plutôt qu'au dernier moment. Nos skippers partenaires travaillent cette côte au quotidien. Ils savent que le vrai goulot d'étranglement, c'est l'accès routier par le col de la Gineste puis la descente par l'avenue de l'Arène ; que les pontons visiteurs de Port-Miou se trouvent juste à l'ouest de la ville, à l'embouchure d'une ancienne vallée noyée, et servent de plan B quand le front de port est bouché ; et que la réglementation de mouillage du Parc national à Port-Pin et En-Vau, révisée par arrêté au fil des saisons, détermine ce qu'un transfert vers Marseille peut ou ne peut pas faire en chemin. Ils la vérifient avec la capitainerie avant de s'engager auprès d'un client.
The road to Cassis is a funnel, the sea is not
Cassis sits at the bottom of a bowl: everything arrives by the Col de la Gineste or the narrow Avenue de l'Arène down into the centre, and in July and August the descent into town backs up while the port car parks fill by mid-morning. From the water you skip the whole approach — the boat comes alongside the quay and you step off in the middle of the village, luggage included.
Marseille and La Ciotat are neighbours by sea, detours by land
The Calanques massif and Cap Canaille force the road inland in a long arc. By boat the same coast is a straight line past Port-Miou, Port-Pin, En-Vau and the Bec de l'Aigle. La Ciotat is a short hop. For Marseille the crossing itself is comparable to the drive on a clear day, but door to door the boat usually wins: no Gineste queue, no ring road, no parking hunt, and you land in the city rather than on its edge.
You see the Calanques the way they were meant to be seen
The cliffs of Cap Canaille, among the highest sea cliffs in France, and the white limestone inlets of the National Park only reveal themselves from the water. A transfer here doubles as the coastal run visitors normally pay for separately, with a skipper who works to the park's mooring rules as they stand that season.
Where we pick you up.
- Les Roches Blanches, on the Avenue des Calanques above the bay — the concierge arranges tenders and private transfers; guests are met at the port quays, a few minutes away
- Hôtel de la Plage Mahogany, on the Plage du Bestouan, a short walk from the port quays
- Hôtel Le Golfe, on the port front itself, with the boarding quays directly outside
- Château de Cassis, on the headland overlooking the harbour, with drop-off arranged down at the port
- Quai Saint-Pierre — the main village-side quay of the old port, the usual pick-up point
- Quai Jean-Jacques Barthélémy — the café and restaurant frontage, easy for luggage
- Quai des Baux — quieter, useful when the port front is crowded in season
- Quai des Moulins — harbourmaster's office side, for administrative questions and berthing
- Calanque de Port-Miou — visitor pontoons just west of town, for pick-ups at the edge of the National Park
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