Frequently Asked Questions

Summary

Questions / Answers

  • Can we do a one-way trip or round trip Marseille-Cassis by boat with a stopover?
    Is it possible to combine a hike with a return trip by boat?
    Getting dropped off in the calanques by boat?

    No, the shuttles for visiting the calanques by boat do not make a stopover and after the ride bring their passengers directly back to the port of embarkation. Indeed, the regulations prohibit the disembarkation of passengers in a commercial context within the Calanques National Park. It is therefore impossible to combine hiking and boating or simply being dropped off in the calanques.
    There is also no maritime line allowing you to go to Cassis from Marseille or vice versa as is the case for accessing the Frioul archipelago from Marseille.

  • Are there outings to swim with dolphins in or around Marseille?

    No observation excursion or swimming with cetaceans is offered from Marseille. Although dolphins and whales are regularly seen along the Marseille coast, the sector with the most marine mammals in the Mediterranean remains the Pelagos sanctuary located further east between the Giens peninsula (Islands of Hyères), the Sardinia and Italy. You will therefore find companies offering this type of service on the Côte d'Azur, in particular towards Antibes (Enter "swimming with dolphins" in your search engine).

  • I would like to go for a hike and swim in the calanques on xx/xx/xxxx without having "too much" trouble finding parking?

    Access to the calanques is regulated according to the risk of fires linked to the weather. It is therefore not possible to predict too much in advance whether the hikes will be possible. To find out if access to the Calanques massif will be authorized on xx/xx/xxxx, you must first go to the following page the day before from 6 p.m. to find out the status of the situation:
    - Conditions of access to the forests of the calanques
    To easily park your vehicle (free parking lots) at the start of the hikes, the following routes are recommended:
    - Access path to the Calanque de Sugiton via Luminy (large parking)
    - Access path to the Calanque de Sormiou via Les Baumettes (small car park but plenty of spaces in nearby streets)
    - Access path to the calanque of Morgiou via Luminy (large parking)
    If you decide to go to Sugiton from Luminy, once at the Col de Sugiton, go for a walk by the belvedere where the view is exceptional:
    - Walk to Sugiton viewpoint

  • Do we have the right to spend a night in the Azemas shelter? Bivouac / camping is prohibited in the national park, but does this rule apply to this shelter?

    The shelters present in the calanques were built well before the creation of the national park. It is now strictly forbidden to be inside the national park at night, as well as on days when there is a high risk of fire, including in the shelters.