Calanques by boat: sailing Marseille, Cassis and Frioul
Seeing the Calanques by boat from Marseille means white limestone cliffs dropping into clear water, only minutes from a city harbour. A sailing week here is short hops: the Frioul islands on the first evening, then east along the Calanques National Park to Port-Miou, Cassis and La Ciotat, and back. The legs rarely exceed 13 nautical miles, which leaves time for swimming stops — and for waiting out the mistral, the wind that decides every plan on this coast.
Where to charter a yacht for the Calanques?
The natural base is Marseille: browse yacht charter in Marseille or all charter yachts in France. Toulon-area yachts from Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer can also reach La Ciotat and Cassis. Charter weeks usually run Saturday to Saturday. For bareboat you need a licence or sailing CV the charter company accepts — see our guides to the boat licence in France and the ICC — or you hire a skipper and need no licence at all.
A 7-day sailing itinerary from Marseille
Distances are approximate, estimated from harbour positions and rounding the headlands. Plan with a SHOM chart and a current pilot book: the national park says a SHOM chart is compulsory on board.
Day 1: Vieux-Port to the Frioul islands (approx. 2.3 nm)
Leave the Vieux-Port through the main pass and keep clear of commercial ships manoeuvring in the approaches. The Frioul archipelago — Ratonneau, Pomègues, If and Tiboulen — lies only 2.3 nm off. Overnight: Port du Frioul, between Ratonneau and Pomègues, which keeps 100 places for visiting boats and is sheltered from the mistral, though it gets a heavy swell in easterly wind. Tip: Château d'If sits just east of the harbour; we could not confirm any landing for private yachts there, so sail past it and visit on the public shuttle boats from the Vieux-Port.
Day 2: Frioul to Riou and Pointe-Rouge (approx. 8 + 5 nm)
Cross south to the uninhabited Riou archipelago. On Riou's north coast two authorised anchoring zones for boats under 24 m lie between Pointe de Fontagne and the Monastério calanque; outside them, anchoring is banned. Landing on the Riou archipelago is forbidden except by day on Riou's north-west coast between the Monastério and Boulegeade calanques. In the afternoon run north to Port de la Pointe-Rouge for the night: it takes boats up to 15 m and has a limited number of visitor places, so call the harbour office on VHF 9 first. Tip: in a mistral the entrance can be tricky.
Day 3: Pointe-Rouge along the Calanques to Port-Miou (approx. 11 nm)
This is the showpiece leg: Marseilleveyre, Sormiou, Morgiou, Sugiton, then En-Vau and Port-Pin. Look, but keep moving: in En-Vau and Port-Pin you may not anchor, pick up a buoy or even drift, and Sugiton and the heads of Sormiou and Morgiou have no-anchoring or no-motor zones. East of the Calanque de l'Oule towards Pointe de la Cacau, boats under 15 m may anchor. Overnight: Port-Miou, a long narrow calanque with a managed mooring area (ZMEL) and 99 places for visitors. The ecological buoys in the outer calanque cannot be booked (April to October); only five pontoon places of 7–11 m can. Tip: bring 20 m of line for the stern and 10 m for the bow, and have the dinghy ready.
Day 4: Port-Miou to Cassis (approx. 1 nm)
A rest day. Motor round the point into Cassis harbour, which takes boats of 4–25 m and lets you book a stop online. Walk the town, or anchor for lunch in the authorised zones off the Grande Mer beach or between Pointe des Lombards and the Arène (boats under 24 m). Tip: a 5-knot entrance channel runs in summer; stay in it and do not stop there.
Day 5: Cassis past Cap Canaille to La Ciotat (approx. 6 nm)
Sail under the cliffs of Cap Canaille and the Bec de l'Aigle and round to Île Verte, the only wooded island in the Bouches-du-Rhône, 420 m off La Ciotat. Overnight: La Ciotat Port Nouveau, open day and night in all weather with 13 visitor places; ring ahead. Tip: the Bérouard basin gets rough in south to south-east wind.
Day 6: La Ciotat back to Pointe-Rouge (approx. 13 nm)
The long leg west. With a north-west mistral this is upwind and can be wet, so check the forecast the evening before and use a calm day early in the week if one is forecast. Overnight: Pointe-Rouge again, or Port du Frioul if you want the islands once more. Tip: with more days, the coast continues east past Bandol, Sanary and the Embiez islands towards Saint-Mandrier near Toulon.
Day 7: Pointe-Rouge to the Vieux-Port (approx. 4 nm)
A short morning run to fuel (the Vieux-Port has a 24-hour fuel automat) and hand the yacht back.
| Leg | Distance | Overnight | Highlight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vieux-Port – Frioul | approx. 2.3 nm | Port du Frioul | Ratonneau, Pomègues, view of Château d'If |
| Frioul – Riou – Pointe-Rouge | approx. 13 nm | Port de la Pointe-Rouge | Riou anchoring zones |
| Pointe-Rouge – Port-Miou | approx. 11 nm | Port-Miou (buoys or pontoon) | Sormiou, Morgiou, Sugiton, En-Vau |
| Port-Miou – Cassis | approx. 1 nm | Cassis harbour | Town, Cassis bay anchorages |
| Cassis – La Ciotat | approx. 6 nm | La Ciotat Port Nouveau | Cap Canaille, Île Verte |
| La Ciotat – Pointe-Rouge | approx. 13 nm | Pointe-Rouge or Frioul | Coast from offshore |
| Pointe-Rouge – Vieux-Port | approx. 4 nm | Base | Return |
Rules and safety in the Calanques
Most of the coast from the Frioul to La Ciotat lies in the Calanques National Park, and the Préfecture maritime has zoned it in detail. Download the zone map from the park's rules at sea page before you go.
- Speed: 5 knots within 300 m of the shore, islets and rocks. The limit is permanent and applies even where no buoys mark it — and inside the park it is not buoyed.
- En-Vau and Port-Pin: no anchoring, no mooring to buoys and no drifting; the inner ends are closed to motorised craft, and boats over 20 m may not enter. These rules are set in the current Marseille coast order 229/2025.
- Other zones: no-anchoring zones at the heads of Sormiou and Morgiou, no-motor zones in Sugiton and several Frioul coves, and a newer no-anchoring zone from the Podestat calanque to Pointe du Vaisseau. Anchor only in the authorised zones (Riou north coast, Pointe-Rouge, the Port Pomègues calanque — minus its fish-farm exclusion zone — and Cassis bay) or where no ban applies.
- Posidonia: anchoring is forbidden for every vessel where it could damage protected seagrass. Drop on light sand, let out chain about three times the depth, and weigh vertically.
- Buoys: yellow buoys mark zones — never tie up to them. White buoys are ecological moorings; those at Port-Miou are for visiting boats, the others mainly for divers.
- No-take zones: about 10% of the park's sea is in seven zones where all fishing is banned. Jet-skis and towed sports are banned in the park core.
- Fire-risk days (1 June to 30 September): on a red day you may still visit by boat, but landing anywhere in the park is forbidden. The Frioul stays open.
- Emergencies: CROSS MED on VHF 16 or 196 from a mobile; harbour offices on VHF 9.
Licence: in France a sailing boat needs no licence at sea whatever its size, while a motorboat over 4.5 kW (6 hp) does. For bareboat charter the company still asks for proof of experience and may require a skipper; with a skipper you need none. Details are in our France boat licence guide.
Best time to sail the Calanques
The Mediterranean season runs roughly May to October; the Port-Miou buoys are in place from April to October. Météo-France describes the mistral as dry and gusty, averaging around 50 km/h with gusts of 80–100 km/h, often stronger in winter and spring, and able to blow for several days or over a week. Around Marseille it comes from the north-west. Summer brings the crowds: the park counts about a million visits a year by sea, and the access roads to Sormiou and Morgiou close to cars during the day in high summer. June and September are the quieter choices. Expect cooler water after a strong mistral: it pushes warm surface water offshore and cold water rises along the coast.
FAQ
Can I anchor in En-Vau with a charter yacht?
No. En-Vau and Port-Pin are closed to anchoring, buoy mooring and drifting for all boats. Pass through slowly at no more than 5 knots and anchor in an authorised zone instead.
Do I need to book the Port-Miou buoys?
No — the ecological buoys cannot be booked; arrive early in high season. Only five pontoon places can be reserved.
How long does a Frioul trip take by sailing yacht?
It is only about 2.3 nm from the Vieux-Port, so under an hour in normal conditions — an easy first evening.
How do day-trip boats differ from a yacht charter?
In the park core only authorised passenger boats, with an orange flag and sticker, may carry paying passengers, and motorboats may only be rented from authorised companies with the park's green sticker. On your own charter yacht you set the pace, but the same zones and speed limits apply.
What if the mistral blows all week?
Stay close: the Frioul harbour is sheltered from the mistral, and the Marseille–Cassis stretch is short. Keep the last day free to get back to base.
More sailing guides
Heading further east? Read our guides to the Hyères islands and Porquerolles and to Saint-Tropez and Cannes, and pack with our list of what to bring on a yacht charter.
