The most famous thing to do in Cassis besides just relax is to visit the most gorgeous Calanques…read more What are calanques? They are these beautiful rock cliff formations that form gorgeous and stunning views especially when you look at the white rock next to the super clear mind-blowingly aqua blue water. Call it a wonder of nature or whatever you like, but it's really not to be missed if you come to Cassis. This is the tour company that runs the most popular tour of the Calanques. They have multiple boats and you can book a tour the day you wish to go most of the time. So here are some important things we learned.
1. There's a little stand right in the middle of the harbor where you buy your tickets. It's pretty obvious. They take cash and cards.
2. There are three different tours you can buy of varying lengths of time and varying number of calanques. The smallest tour is 45 minutes and 3 calanques. The longest is 2 hours and 5 calanques. Based on the guidance of our host, who told us "three calanques is enough for anyone," we chose the shortest option. I do agree that for most people, this is plenty. The boat ride takes you out and you basically go in and out of the little harbors in between the calanques. Even if you don't care about the calanques, it's just a nice boat ride and a nice way to see the coastline from the water. It's also a great photo opp of the gorgeous Cassis lighthouse as you go by. But we LOVE nature stuff, and we are super geeky and weird about nature things, so we actually regretted not going for the long tour. If you have little kids, 45 minutes would be great.
3. The boats have seating both up and down, so if you want the best view, you'll want to sit upstairs. Depending on the weather, you may need to bring a hat or scarf or a second layer to stay warm. It got pretty brisk up there in February.
4. It's not a "tour." It's a boat ride. Unlike such things we've done in other places, there is no tour guide talking to you and explaining things. The staff drives the boat and helps you get on and off safely (and a bunch of other stuff I'm sure I didn't see). But they don't like explain anything to you really. You're just on your own to enjoy the view and snap pics (bring a fully charged cell phone!)
5. The water can be rough. So the first day we wanted to go, we were unable to. When we arrived at the ticket booth, we found it closed with a sign saying "la mére agitee," in other words, no tours today because the sea is agitated. The next day, we were able to go out, but the seas were surprisingly choppy. The boat definitely rolls and lists. If you get motion sick, I would advise you to do some dramanine or something else prior to boarding if it's a windy day.
6. I don't know if you can buy tickets in advance for a future date. But on the day we went out, it seemed that people were buying tickets for the next available boat ride. So I could see this becoming an issue in busy times where you'd show up and be told the next available ride is like four hours away. So if you want to be sure you get to go early in the day, I think it's advisable to go to the booth first thing.
All that said, we had a wonderful time. The calanques are GORGEOUS even on a cloudy day like ours. I highly recommend this trip and would honestly do it more than once if I were staying long enough so I could see the calanques under different conditions.
