Booking choice: The paddleboard tour to En-Vau, from $67 per person. Check dates Tour details
From the port of Cassis, a boat reaches Port-Miou in a few minutes, and the shortest circuit runs to En-Vau and back in an hour. That is why the town is the classic base for the calanques by sea. The boats that do it are run by the local boatmen's cooperative, the GIE des bateliers cassidains, and you can only buy their tickets at the harbour.
We earn nothing when you buy one. It is still the cheapest way to see En-Vau from the water, and for a lot of visitors it is the right one. Below: the four circuits and their 2026 prices, what they don't do, the one guided trip that does put you on En-Vau's beach, and how to reach Cassis without a car.
The quick answer
Yes. The Cassis port boats run sightseeing circuits all year, weather permitting: 3 calanques in 1 hour for €19, 5 in 1h20 for €25, 8 in 1h50 for €29 and 9, out to Sormiou, in 2h20 for €33 (2026 adult prices). Tickets are sold on the day at the harbour kiosk, about 30 minutes before departure. These boats don't stop to swim or land anyone. To stand on En-Vau's beach, paddle there from Port-Miou with a guide.
Can I take a boat to the Calanques from Cassis?
Yes, every day of the year when the sea allows. The boatmen's cooperative runs fixed sightseeing circuits from the port, with shorter hours in winter.
The GIE des bateliers cassidains has a kiosk on the jeu de boules square by the harbour and a ticket office at 2 Quai Saint-Pierre. You buy in person, on the day, usually about half an hour before the boat leaves. Out of season the captains sometimes sell tickets themselves at the boat. There is no online booking, so nobody can sell you this trip in advance, us included.
The circuits are sightseeing only. The boat runs into each calanque, slows down, turns and comes back out. The Cassis tourist office says the trip needs no special fitness and suits families, and it takes small manual wheelchairs (no electric ones, no ramp). Dogs are welcome except category 1 and 2.
Go early or late. The tourist office recommends the first boats of the morning or the end of the day, and so do we: by 11 a.m. in August the quay is a queue.
Which Cassis boat circuit should you pick?
The 5-calanques circuit for most people: En-Vau plus the Devenson cliffs in 1h20 for €25. Pick the 8 if you want Sugiton and Morgiou too.
All four circuits leave from the port of Cassis and come back there. Prices are the 2026 adult fares published by the boatmen and the tourist office.
| Circuit | Time | 2026 price | What you see |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 calanques | 1h | €19 | Port-Miou, Port-Pin, En-Vau |
| 5 calanques | 1h20 | €25 | The three above, then L'Oule and Devenson |
| 8 calanques | 1h50 | €29 | As far as Sugiton and Morgiou |
| 9 calanques | 2h20 | €33 | The whole run west to Sormiou |
The 3-calanques hour is enough if En-Vau is the one thing you came for. The 5 adds the best scenery on the route: the Devenson cliffs, close to 250 m of rock dropping straight into the sea, and L'Oule, a cove you can only reach from the water. The 8 and 9 add Marseille's calanques, which you could also see from a Marseille boat. Children's fares exist; ask at the kiosk. For what each calanque is like, see the best calanques, one by one.
Port boat or a tour booked online?
The port boat if you want an hour of scenery for under €30. A tour from Marseille if you want to swim, and the paddleboard tour if you want En-Vau's beach.
The trips sold online that swim in the calanques mostly leave from Marseille, from the Vieux-Port, the Mucem quay and Pointe Rouge. From Cassis, the main one is the paddleboard tour. Side by side:
| Option | Leaves from | Swim | Booking | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cassis port boat | Cassis harbour | No | Kiosk, on the day | €19 to €33 |
| Paddleboard tour to En-Vau | Port-Miou, Cassis | Yes, from En-Vau beach | Online | From $67 |
| Iconic calanques boat tour | Marseille | Yes, one stop | Online | From $89 |
| Catamaran and paddleboard | Marseille | Yes, one to three stops | Online | From $89 |
| 13 calanques from Bandol | Bandol | No | Online | From $53 |
One thing the port boats can't give you is a guaranteed seat. On a summer weekend you may wait for the next departure. The online tours cancel for free up to 24 hours before, so you can lock in a date and still change your mind.
Staying in Marseille? The small-group boat leaves from the city and stops in a calanque for a swim, no train to Cassis needed.
Explore the iconic calanques boat tour Tour detailsCan you land on En-Vau beach from a Cassis boat?
No. Landing on En-Vau's beach from a boat has been banned since the 2000s, and since summer 2021 boats may not anchor or drift there either.
Until the 1990s a ferry from Cassis put visitors straight onto the pebbles. Then the crowds got too big: the park counts about 1,000 people at once on En-Vau at peak times. Landing stopped in the 2000s, and prefectoral orders of May 2021 banned anchoring and drifting in En-Vau and Port-Pin, with marker buoys laid that July. The port boats show you En-Vau from the water. You swim, if at all, somewhere else.
The one tour that ends on En-Vau's beach goes there by paddle. The paddleboard tour starts by the Tennis Club Presqu'île at Port-Miou. The listing breaks it down as 30 minutes at Port-Miou, an hour paddling through the park, an hour of free time at En-Vau and an hour back. Boards come pre-inflated, with a life jacket, a dry bag, drinks and food. You need to swim and to be reasonably fit; the listing excludes people over 100 kg.
The only trip here that puts you on En-Vau's beach: paddle from Port-Miou with a local guide, swim, paddle back.
Explore the paddleboard tour to En-Vau Tour detailsHow do I get to the Calanques from Cassis on foot?
Walk west from the harbour: about 30 minutes to Port-Miou, 15 more to Port-Pin and another 30 to En-Vau, the last part steep.
Those are the park's own times. Port-Miou winds almost 1 km inland and holds about 550 boats; it was a quarry until the early 1980s. Port-Pin is a small beach under Aleppo pines and easy with children. The path down to En-Vau is the hard bit: slippery rock and a steep climb back up in the heat.
From 1 June to 30 September the whole massif can close for fire risk the next day. Check the evening before. More on trails, times and closures in hike or boat.
How do I get to Cassis from Marseille?
By train: direct TER trains run about every 30 minutes and take about 18 minutes. Cassis station is 3 km above the town, so add a shuttle bus, a taxi or a 40-minute walk.
- Train: the tourist office notes the station ticket office is closed, so buy from the machine or the SNCF app. The park names the station shuttle bus as line M01.
- Bus: the tourist office lists line 78 from Castellane to the centre of Cassis, about every 45 minutes; the park calls the Marseille-Carnoux-Cassis line M08. Check the number on the day.
- Car: 24 km, about 30 minutes over the Gineste pass. Parking in town is hard in summer. The free park-and-ride at Les Gorguettes has a shuttle to Port-Miou and the park entrance.
- From Aix: the Cassis and Cap Canaille minibus tour gives you about two hours in Cassis. The boat ride is extra, paid at the kiosk.
Staying in Aix? A small minibus to Cap Canaille's clifftop, then free time in Cassis for the port boats.
Check dates for the Cassis and Cap Canaille tourHow much time do I need in Cassis?
Half a day covers the harbour and a boat circuit. Give it a full day to add the walk to Port-Miou or the clifftop road over Cap Canaille.
A sensible half day: train in the morning, the 5-calanques boat at 10, lunch on the quay. A full day adds one of two things. The coastal walk to Port-Miou and Port-Pin, or the Route des Crêtes to Cap Canaille, at 394 m France's highest sea cliff (not Europe's, whatever some leaflets say).
The road has a catch. The tourist office says it has been closed to cars every Sunday since 2024, with a shuttle from Cassis and Les Gorguettes, and it shuts in strong mistral and on red fire-risk days. The market fills the centre on Wednesday and Friday mornings.
Is it worth going to Cassis?
Yes. It is the shortest way to En-Vau by sea, the cheapest boat into the calanques, and a pretty harbour town on top.
Go to Cassis if En-Vau and Port-Pin are what you came for, if you want a cheap hour on the water, or if you want to paddle. Stay in Marseille if a swim from the boat is the point of the day: those trips leave from the city, and the Marseille guide has the departure ports.
Skip midday in July and August. The quay, the trail to Port-Miou and the boats are all at their fullest between about 11 and 4.
Paddle into En-Vau from Port-Miou with a certified instructor, then an hour on the beach.
Check dates for the paddleboard tour to En-VauFrequently asked questions
Do I need to book the Cassis port boats in advance?
You can't. Tickets are sold only at the harbour kiosk on the day, usually about 30 minutes before each departure.
Do the Cassis boats run in winter?
Yes, all year when the weather allows, with reduced hours in winter. Mistral days can stop them.
Can you swim on the Cassis port boat tours?
No. They are sightseeing circuits with no swim stop and no landing. For a swim, take the paddleboard tour from Port-Miou or a boat from Marseille.
Are dogs allowed on the Cassis calanques boats?
Yes, except category 1 and 2 dogs, according to the Cassis tourist office.
Ready to book
Choose your boat
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on every option. Prices are from-prices in USD and move with the season.
Paddleboard Tour from Port-Miou to En-Vau
Paddle into En-Vau yourself with a local guide
Iconic Calanques Boat Tour with Swimming
- Small-group boat trip with a skipper
- Swim stop in a calanque, weather permitting
- Departure from Marseille, no transfer needed
Tour of the 13 Calanques from Bandol
From La Ciotat bay to Sormiou in one sweep, no swim
