When you're in the South of France, visiting the Calanques National Park is an absolute must. 'Calanques' are narrow, steep inlets made of limestone that became eroded along the coast as the sea level declined during the ice age. Once the sea level rose again it filled the vertical, narrow valleys with water and thus forming the calanques we see today. Each calanque is so unique in their own way, and there is so many of them! Whether you want to hike to them, take a kayak, or simply see them from a boat on the sea, you have to go to the Calanques National Park. Hiking through the national park is highly recommended; starting from Calanque de Port-Miou in Cassis, you'll get to see Calanque de Port Pin and end with Calanque d'En Vau. There are a lot of kayaking tours you can take to see even more calanques or you can go off on your own with a kayak, but if it is your first time, seeing the calanques from the top of the cliffs and looking down into their stunning turquoise waters is definitely a must. I was staying in Marseille for five weeks, so of course I took a visit to hike the calanques national park.
How to Get There From Marseille
The easiest ways to get to the beginning of the trail from Marseille are either by train, bus or car. We chose to go by train, however if you take a car there is a parking lot called 'parking de la presqu'île', which is about a 15 minute walk from Port-Miou (Port-Miou is the start of the trail at the calanques national park). If you are going during high season, I would recommend taking a train or a bus since if that parking lot fills up, you will likely run into difficulty finding street parking or somewhere else to park.
We took a train from Marseille St. Charles to the Cassis train station. From the train station, you can hop on a bus at the stop called Gare SNCF - this is located at the train station. Take this bus to the casino bus stop and walk for about 20 minutes to get to Port-Miou. In our experience most busses only take cash payments, so always have some euros on you when planning on traveling by bus.
Cassis is an extremely beautiful coastal town. If you have the time, I would highly recommend exploring this area. Instead of taking the bus, we wandered through Cassis for about an hour to get to Port-Miou (we're crazy, I know, but we only had one day in Cassis and knew we would be too exhausted from hiking to do this after!). If you'll be in the area longer than just to hike at calanque national park, definitely explore!
To get back to Marseille, walk to the casino bus stop, take the bus back to Gare SNCF and hop on the train back to St. Charles!
What to Pack
Since the hike will be at least four hours round trip and there is no fresh water sources, bring a minimum of 2L of water to avoid dehydration. You should also pack lunch and snacks since there are no stands selling food in the park. Sun provisions such as sunscreen and wearing a hat are also very important since the calanques and trails are often in direct sunlight. Bring a bathing suit (you want to make sure you can change back into your dry clothes so you don't have to hike back wet and uncomfortable), snorkeling gear (a necessity - the marine life is incredible), and a towel! This may seem like a lot, but we were able to carry all of these things between a mini backpack and fanny pack!
Hiking Guide: Which Trail to Take
When you get to Port-Miou, to start the trail you will be following the red and white striped path until you get to Port Pin. It is very easy to follow the paths - every hundred feet or so there will be rocks or trees marked with the colors of the trail you are following. It's a nice reminder you're still going the right way! Along with the marked paths, at each calanque and about halfway or so between the calanques (or if there happens to be a fork in the trail) there will be signs letting you know which direction and how much longer it will take to get to the next destinations.
It takes around 30-40 min to get to Port Pin from Port-Miou. It depends on your pace and how many times you take stops (for pictures or a rest), but this trail is very straight forward and scenic.
Tip: When you are almost at Port Pin and are about to start going downhill, there is a sign that says you're 5 minutes away from Port Pin. Here, instead of following the arrow, keep heading straight and stick to the right side. You'll be able to find this beautiful spot on the rocks (pictured below) with views of Calanque Port Pin! It is the perfect spot - a hidden gem, if you will - to have a panoramic picnic away from the crowds.
From Port Pin, there are two options of trails to get to Calanque d'En Vau - you can continue on the red and white trail or take the blue trail. The most beautiful trail with panoramic scenic views of the calanques and the sea is the blue coastal trail, while the red and white trail goes to d'En Vau more directly and doesn't have many views besides some wooded areas, bushes and rocks. However, the red and white is bit quicker and easier. The blue trail takes about 1.5 hours, while the red and white trail takes about 1 hour and 10 minutes (again, these times will vary depending on your pace and the amount of stops you take). As it's name suggests, the blue trail follows along the coast so you consistently have gorgeous views
The difficulty level from Port Pin to d'En Vau is medium-high in my opinion. It is very rocky, a lot of it is uphill, and the rocks are pretty slippery. Once you get towards the end of the trail and you're about to descend down to calanque d'En Vau (video of the descent below), it turns into more of a climb than a hike. It can get a bit freaky and you have to use both your hands and feet to slowly lower yourself down this cliff. Again, the rocks are very slippery, so you have to be careful here. If you are careful and take it slow, you will be fine. The pictures and videos truly don't do it justice - it is even steeper than it looks! However don't let this discourage you, lots and lots of people do this every year, I just want you to be prepared. It is a once in a lifetime experience that you should not miss out on! Definitely wear proper hiking sneakers and have a small backpack so you aren't holding anything in your hands as you climb up and down the cliff. It was an incredible experience, I really enjoyed it and we thought it was pretty funny since we definitely weren't expecting it to be like that!
After you climb down you have to walk for another 6-ish minutes to get to Calanque d'En Vau. It is a spectacular sight, surrounded by extremely tall cliffs and has a lovely little pebble beach. Here you can cliff jump, swim, snorkel and lay out in the sun! After hiking for so long and being hot and sweaty, the first thing we did when we got there was change into our bathing suits and run into the water - it was so refreshing and a lot of fun.
So, to recap, get to Port-Miou to start the trail. Take the red and white trail from Port-Miou to Port Pin, then take the blue trail from Port Pin to Calanque d'En Vau.
To get back to Port-Miou, we took the red and white trail from Calanque d'En Vau since we already saw the beautiful coastal trail and were pretty tired and in need of an easier, more direct route! I enjoyed getting to have different scenery on the way back. Whichever trail you take from d'En Vau will pass back through Port Pin; if the sun has gone behind the mountains in d'En Vau, it will still be shining in Port Pin if you'd like to continue swimming!
Extra Information Before Going
In my opinion, I prefer to hang out at Port Pin rather than d'En Vau. Calanque d'En Vau is known as the prettiest calanque on the trail, but I definitely feel that Port Pin is underrated! At Port Pin there are more comfortable spots on the rocks/cliffs (it's more spread out), and it stays in the sun for significantly longer. Calanque d'En Vau is unique because of the extremely high cliffs, but that also is the reason it gets covered in shade so fast.
The whole hike to d'En Vau is a must and it is definitely the best looking view from the top of the mountains (as i mentioned before, it is a once in a lifetime hike!). I would hang out there until the sun goes behind the mountains and then go back to Port Pin to swim and snorkel! The high cliffs of d'En Vau remind me of Fiordo di Furore of the Amalfi Coast in Italy and is definitely unique and breathtaking, but I just love Port Pin!
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