Med option - Toulon?

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PEJ

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Gary's thread has got me back to my Med dreaming and Nice airport as an arrival point was my focus because you can fly there from Southampton. However you can fly to Toulon-Hyeres from Bournmouth quite cheaply.

Can anyone tell me what the marinas and cruising are like around Toulon? Looking at Google there seems to some close to the airport. Is it worth considering this area?
 
BartW kept his boat in Toulon for a couple of seasons. Suggest a pm to him would be a good idea. We flew to Hyeres from London City when we went to Toulon, but I don't think that service still runs. If Southampton is convenient for you then it could be a good idea.
 
It's a beautiful area full of marinas nearby with the Porqueroles islands too.
Marina wise port Rolland in the Toulon bay ,St Mandrier Bandol, Sanary sur Mer , Bornes , Lavandou , Cavailaire .
Cassis and Calanques 1 hr to the west St Trop 2 hours to the east .
The only "downer " is the odd Mistral blowing through -lasts 3 days and another day or so for sea to calm down .
 
PEJ said:
Gary's thread has got me back to my Med dreaming and Nice airport as an arrival point was my focus because you can fly there from Southampton. However you can fly to Toulon-Hyeres from Bournmouth quite cheaply.

Can anyone tell me what the marinas and cruising are like around Toulon? Looking at Google there seems to some close to the airport. Is it worth considering this area?
Click to expand...

There are no direct flights from Southampton to Nice, unless you know something I don't.

The cruising around Toulon is good, but as jrudge points out it is more exposed to the mistral that the Cote d'Azur.

Bart is the expert on the area as he kept his boat there for a couple of years

Here's a report of a trip I did in 2012 - http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?329088-Les-Calanques-pics-and-report&highlight=miou
 
jrudge said:
Likely to be hit by mistrals. Given I have experienced this during the summer I would head somewhere more sheltered.
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Yup we've left Porqueroles in a F7 ( fight home lumming -Nice ) turned east and been blown downwind literally sat on rhe same wave all the way to bay of Fejus ,then it's calms down .
Once past Esterel Mountians into bay of Cannes -duck pond calm .
Yet 3 hours earlier waves breaking over the marina wall .
 
That town's a little bit too rugged for me. The only time I went there I took one look, locked the car doors and didn't take my foot off the gas until I was back on the A57. :D
 
We kept our boat in Port Napoleon marina near Port St Louis for a few months some years ago. Yes there is some nice cruising in the area but as others have said it always seemed to be windy. The mistral is definitely a factor to consider in that area and it could keep you in port when a berth a few more miles further east could allow you to go out
 
We were 2 seasons in Toulon Vieille Darse (old port)

Its not a particularly nice port, but we had good and friendly service.
Its right in the big old town of Toulon,
The town itself is nice and interesting, authentic SOF athmosphere, but yes, many north Africans
So all the provisions, and possible side seeing is nearby (and very cheap !)
The Toulon rugby stadium is opposite the port, and when there is a match, its premier leaugue, Toulon feels like the capital of France, ..
We didn’t experience nor heard about criminality, there is a zero tollarance from Police !
not like in Marseille

The airport of Toulon Hyeres is at approx. 35 minutes from the port, but be carefull it’s a small airport with limited flights and destinations
You can also fly to Marseille, 1,5hr by car, but you can better take shuttle bus Marseille airport to central station, and from there railroad (Thalys) to Toulon,
Toulon station is at walking distance from the port
We went to Toulon regularly by car, from Belgium 1080km, approx. 8hrs drive

The wind condition in Toulon is not as dramatic as explained in previous posts
Toulon’s geografical position is on the edge of the separation between cote d’azur (protected by the alps) and cote varoise (rhone valley)
In practice, when there is wind, its usually totally different on the east and west side of Toulon,
When mistral on the west side, usually the east side is good,
There were very few occasions that we couldn’t go out because of weather / wind conditions,
I remember we did some nice trips on newyears day, and at easter with overnight near proquerolles

Before the boat was in Toulon, we were 6 months in Cassis, this is 50nm more west,
The wind condition on average is more worse when you're around the cap de St Mandriez

But Toulon geografical positions is very interesting regarding cruising ground,
Many nice sheltered bay’s from any wind direction in the bay of Toulon, and around the Porquerolles,
Or you can go east, to C’ote dazur, from St Tropez, cannes, Antibes, Nice … Monaco
Or you can go to west, Cassis and les callenques, Marseille, Sanary sur mere, … all very nice places, with authentic Provence athmosphere and flavour

Appart from Toulon,
Other ports in the close neighborhood,
are either
more difficult to go there from any airport (st Mandriez, les embiers, Sanary sur mere)
no place available, (Hyeres, Bandol, La Ciotat) that was a few years ago for a 21m boat
or very expensive (Cassis)
Hyères is probably the best in the region, but no place at the time, unless extra $$$$
All imho
 
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Port d'Hyeres is spitting distance from the airport and even better located for the Porquerolles, plus it's on the right side of the cap to use the boat during summer mistrals. I guess this probably means it is very popular and maybe more expensive. It may also be v quiet in the winter. Worth finding out more though.

May also be worth considering Le Lavandou or Bormes les Mimosa. We spent a few days in the latter this summer due to engine problems, and the port town, old town and beach were all very pleasant. It also has a pool, though it's not a particularly nice one. Both Le lavandou and Bormes will be dead in the winter.
 
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BartW said:
The airport of Toulon Hyeres is at approx. 35 minutes from the port, but be carefull it’s a small airport with limited flights and destinations
Click to expand...

Thanks for your input Bart.

Yes it seems that Flybe flew there this summer but there is no guarantee that they will be doing so next year. I guess basing your Med location on where you can fly to from your local regional airport can be problematic!
 
PEJ said:
Thanks for your input Bart.

Yes it seems that Flybe flew there this summer but there is no guarantee that they will be doing so next year. I guess basing your Med location on where you can fly to from your local regional airport can be problematic!
Click to expand...

No problem if you're only renting I suppose. The airlines don't usually stop a route mid season, so if the Bournemouth-Hyeres route will run next summer, then you could spend a year in the Toulon area, then play it by ear.
 
I forgot to mention,
mooring in Toulon is cheap,
in theory you can not rent for a year; maximum is 3 months. But Ones they know you there is no issue about staying longer, ....
But this was quite convenient, as in high season we didn't take the 3 month booking,
in high season, we only took the berth at dayrate for the occasional visit for changing guests, and that was good for their papers also (they sugested themeselves...)
you could also book for a month iirc.
we were away from the berth for longer periods, up to 6 weeks, and could get back the same berth when returning.
in winter we had a cheap and safe and conveniant place for the boat !
 
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