Mooring places in South of France

BartW

BartW

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We had a week holliday in Cassis (SOF),
it was so beautifull that we will certainly go back there,
we were lucky to get a good mooring place (29ft) in the Cassis Harbour, just for the week.
I was just wondering, in the high season, july august, it must be very difficult to get a mooring place for a couple of weeks all over SOF ?
even staying on anker, there are not that many islands / bay's where you can hide for bad weather ? or where it is quite enough to have a good sleep ?
Especially for +50ft cruisers, if you do day trips and stay overnight in places you visit, I gues you're on anker most of the time ?
 
Yep, that's the big problem with SoF. On the flip side, it's rarely windy during the summer months (on cote d'azur at least), and it's dead calm most nights, so you can anchor out a lot, which makes it not so bad, plus of course it's sunny and warm /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
I am afraid that in the provence and cote d'azur region you won't find any unknown harbour, but I agree there are places a little further away that are worth a visit.
Where you are, you're closer to Spain, Rosas, and Estartit region, also very nice, and a very nice cruising area,
but sinds my visit I apreciate that region between Marseille and cote d'azur so much, cause:
- its very close from my home (only 1000km)
- its very beautifull
- not as expensive as I thought
- no problem with the language we Belgians speak fluently french(compared to my usual holliday destination Kroatia )
- nice diving sites
- yes, friendly people
- still a little from that typically french village athmosphere left, at least in Cassis, not purely commercially tourists athmosphere
there must be some disadvantages that I don't know yet !?
 
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there must be some disadvantages that I don't know yet !?

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Yes, the Mistral. you're better basing yourself east of St Trop to get good boating weather consistently thru the season
 
yes it IS windy in that part of S of F and yes the mooring thing in high season is a major issue. for these reasons we left that area for quieter pastures in Greece. But... Cassis, Port Miou area is beautiful. Sanary was my favourite stopping place and also really like La Ciotat - looks a mess on the way in but once in the old harbour... VERY french, friendly, cheap and superbly cheerful.
 
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- not as expensive as I thought

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Crikes, I was there last week and I though it was staggeringly expensive. €5 for a coffee overlooking the superyachts in St Tropez is fair enough but €12 for a bowl of pasta (and wine with slugs in) in a seaside town seems steep to me.

Pete
 
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Where you are, you're closer to Spain, Rosas, and Estartit region, also very nice, and a very nice cruising area,


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.........also the only place you will stand a chance of getting a marina place. Try Empuriabrava, (in the bay of Rosas) there are half a dozen forumites there and apart from the occasional Tramontana winds, we love it.
 
You're right, but St Tropez isn't typically a place that I would take as a reference for prices.
Its one of the places that has lost that typical "french" athmosphere, so many "posh" people around,... IMHO
 
We are at Port Leucate near Perpignan. Its about an hours drive from Spain and 1.5 hours from the Pyrenees. Also, in the other direction, about 30 mins from Narbonne.

Its an area we've been coming to since 1983 - and with my parents since 1966.

I reckon its better for the sailing fraternity coz you frequently get a strong offshore wind F4/5 which gives plenty of blow but with none of the waves.
 
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there must be some disadvantages that I don't know yet !?

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Yes, the Mistral. you're better basing yourself east of St Trop to get good boating weather consistently thru the season

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yes I was wondering about that, is this the main reason why the cote d'azur is so much more popular then the "Varois " region ?
 
Thats the problem - cost that is.

La Mediterenee restaurant right on the marine in PL €16 for 3 course lunch - and its good!

SWMBO and me were there for a week two weeks ago and we took €350 with us and cashed another €100. We took the €100 home with us - we ate out every lunch. Not bad!
 
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there must be some disadvantages that I don't know yet !?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, the Mistral. you're better basing yourself east of St Trop to get good boating weather consistently thru the season

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yes I was wondering about that, is this the main reason why the cote d'azur is so much more popular then the "Varois " region ?

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Yes, very much, esp with boaters. you get mistrals on the CDA but they're less strong and the weaker ones dont even reach the CDA with any force. Prevailing wind in CDA is 180deg to mistral, its a light easterly.
 
Agree blueglass. I love La Ciotat too, when you get into the old port/marina its a really nice french old town. And if its full you can tie up to that cronky wall on the right before the start of the marina

But I dont often go East of the porquerolles becuase to do so is a 4 day cruise (say) from antibes and I reckon the chances are high of getting mistralled. That's ok at the end of your cruise cos you can surf back home but it's a nuisance it it is early in your cruise

And while it is all lovely it isn't even half as beautiful as say the W coast of Corsica, calanques around Porto, etc (I can post pics if you want!)
 
No question it's difficult to get mooring spaces in July/August particularly the further you go east but it's not impossible. We spent 2003 in SoF and a few weeks in 2005 and had to take our holidays in August due to school terms
We never managed to get into Cassis so you've been luckier than us but, from memory, these are some of the places we managed to get overnight berths but it really is pot luck

Port Frioul
Marseille Vieux Port
Iles des Embiez
Ciotat
Bandol
Ile de Porquerolle
Port Cros
Hyeres
Port Grimaud
Ste Maxime

Yes there are plenty of anchorages where you can overnight and, for sure, some nights you will have to but there is always the risk of the mistral blowing up, even in summer and particularly the further west you are. However, we found that marinas will try to squeeze you in if they can if a mistral is forecast
Sorry to say but a €20 note pressed into the right palm often finds a berth where none existed previously but do this discretely. Another thing you could do is try to prebook a berth in a particular marina for 2-3 weeks and use this as a base for day boating but you will have to do this months in advance and probably pay up front and many marinas will not even accept your booking. Turning up in person is always better than phoning
As a last resort you can always sneak onto the fuel berth after closing time in some marinas and leave before it opens but a lot of people have the same idea
 
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