Porquerolles this summer?

markc

markc

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During this summer I'm thinking of spending a couple of weeks of our trip around Porquerlles and Hyeres. Having not been there before, I would be grateful for any tips. I'd like a mixture of anchoring / buoys plus harbour stays to explore the towns and find various things to do for the kids (11 & 15), plus of course any places to avoid!
Thanks!
 
Of the three islands (actually 2 as the ile du levant is basically closed to the public), porquerolle is the most crowded and specially if you anchor east of the town (plage de la courtade) you will have the pleasure to swim in the effluents of the 100-odds small sailing boats all dumping their waste in the water.

Where to go depends from your vessel. As harbour go there are 2, Porquerolles and Port Cros. Porquerolles is a proper marina while Port Cros is more of a long jetty, there is no electricity and no water, and if you run your generator at the wrong time people will try to kill you. Port Cros is really only doable with boats up to 12/14 meters, the jetty part close to shore has 1 mt depth only.

In Port Cros you can also anchor to a buoy, there are good ones inside the port itself and a lot of bad ones outside of the port - bad means that if the wind picks up you will be rocking a lot. It is also forbidden to anchor (altough I anchored plenty of times in front of Port Cros - Ile du Bagaud which is a private island and cannot be stepped on). The buoy have a reservation system online I think, the jetty nothing at all - if you are there early around 11 when the flotilla leaves you may snatch a place.

The big plus of Porquerolles is the absolute no-fishing rule. As a result you will swim surronded by enormous Dorade and this is really the highlight of this area in my opinion.

If you manage to get some mooring in Port-Cros the best beach is just north of Port-Cros, "Plage du Sud", a dreamy half-moon sandy bay with a jetty to anchor your tender. To the west of Port-Cros there is a kind of underwater parc (signs saying what kind of fishes etc hanging underwater) which was always a big hit with my kids. Also a jetty tender is available. The "city" itself has a few restaurants - Anse de port cros pricey and you have to book ages in advance, and Hostellerie Provencale which is where all the yachties go at dark and get drunk. They also have decent food (again pricey). Land activities - there are some walks which I found very interesting.

In Porquerolles either go to the Marina or anchor to the East on Plage d'Argent, which is not only a superb white sand beach but it also has some shelter from the ever present danger of Mistral. Many more restaurants there, there is decent market for fruits etc, during the day it is assaulted by day-trippers - you can rent mountain bikes and visit the island if you feel energetic (my kids did not liked this part).

And speaking of the weather - is all laugh and smiles until you get a "Boutade" of Mistral - which last 3 days - in this case there is no real shelter beside the Marina. So if Mistral is coming there is Port du Hyeres some Miles to the South, crossing the channel from the island to the coast will be a pain if the mistral is already up as you get all the waves from 90 deg. Hyeres you can anchor outside or go in the marina.

To sum it up: try to get as much time as you can in Port Cros is the most beatiful in my opinion, specially at night it looks like a pirate hideout. There are no cars on Port Cros so your kids can roam around in safety. Porquerolles is a bit too crowded in my opinion but it has the white beach so also worth a trip.

Usually 4-5 days are plenty to visit the area.
 
Yes, they suffer from crowds in summer.....the water is really choppy when anchored because of the amount of boats and ferries....yet they are still magical places. Beautiful islands a world away any yet only six miles. I like summer because of the summer nights....I grew up on a Polynesian island and it’s the sultry perfumed nights which separates tropical from the merely warm. I’ve never had success at contacting Porquerolle beforehand in summer.....it’s mostly a first come first served when it comes to visitor berth....you are met by kids in red ribs who will direct you to where you can tie up...or just tell you it’s full and try later (or corse we are only talking peak months)....you can anchor in Courtade or Argent....it’s a bit of a scrum and you are directly in the path of the ferry wash. Notre Dame is nice and secluded but it’s a bit of a hike from the village.
You can hire bicycles, electric or just mountain bikes, or hike.....it’s a great walk with a the south very rugged. There are very nice restaurants but book in the summer. There’s a couple of shops and a bakers.
 
All the towns are worth visiting and all the beaches worth exploring in this region.
Port Cros has very limited mooring and it’s a national park so you cannot jettison anything overboard....I leave the plug in when I brush my teeth or wash my hands as I don’t have a grey water tank. The town is charming beyond belief but have very limited services.
 
I’ve never stopped at Le Levant is also a military base and a nudist village...I haven’t actually every stopped there but the harbor breakwater is worth a look
 
I am planning on going to that area later in the year, I looked at a boat in Hyères a couple of months back and it seemed nice. Provence at vendenge time is wonderful.
Mistral...hmm.
 
FD9122F7-B9ED-49A9-A044-95AA7D52965E.jpeg
On the way anchor off this spit ( sorry forgot the name) , it’s just W of cap Camarat , there’s stuff on shore .Kids love to climb that hill .

Cavalaire is nice marina wise great staff and there’s bouys too with a shuttle service . Town is proper French unspoiled.

Port Man at the E edge of port Cros is a great shelter if mistral blows and a smaller cove W of this .
It’s at the opposite side to actual Port Cros harbour ( pics ^ by Bouba ) .

Port Cros definitely worth a visit there are bouys for 17 m ……but as Printex said many French “ park “ there boats like cars in terms of obeying reg . We have anchored too when unable to find a buoy .

Porquerolles itself is great , as said anchor just to the E .

Agent bay is quite a walk / treck from its beach . The bars do discos until the early hrs so imho avoid .

Further round the island if you can there early to Bay Langoustine ( sp ? ) is nice .

On the mainland there’s around the Presidents summer residence to anchor and a bay to the W omega shaped with restaurants in the pines . Plague d Briande

Water is your biggest problem in this area .
Even if you try a splash and dash ( call in for 100 L of diesel ) the taps are normally off , they are temperamental in Porquerolles itself . Some visitors jetty’s ( your likely place ) haven’t got anything……so be ready to offer yachties next door a hot water kettle full when you choke them with your geny .
It’s a mozzie haven too . Fortunately our geny ran it’s exhaust from the transom and was pretty quiet so we ran it all night to Aircon down the boat + windows shut .

Further up the mainland W there’s a nice port , a proper marina with full facilities ( water + leccy ) Bandol .

Lavandou also across the bay has good facilities visitor wise to restock .
 
Personally I think it’s a great boating area....principally because there are so many places worth exploring in such a small area....and it’s actually quite sheltered
 
Thanks everyone for the info & tips! I'll pick a weather window with sans Mistral forecast and prepare to do battle with the swarms of July / August boaters, and add to the melange. Looks fun!
 
I write this on day 2 tied to a buoy at Port Cros. It's a lovely place! There are only 4 buoys for boats over 15m, but I booked it at the beginning of the week on their website...92 euros for 2 nights. We stopped over on the way at Sainte Maxime and a couple of nights at Bormes Les Mimosa and took the opportunity to meet up with Bouba to get all the local info!

We haven't seen anyone from the port enforcing any rules, but we're mostly being good.

Fun times yesterday when we were boarded by the Douane. I had to produce all docs including proof of VAT paid. They were all very friendly

We walked up to the forts this morning which were interesting and had spectacular views. Also found the Épicerie which had way more provisions than expected including fresh bread and pastries, homemade pizza etc.

Here are some pics
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