After a weekend in the Calanques with our family between Marseille and Cassis, with our children aged 5 and 11, here’s our opinion on the family-friendly walks between Sormiou, Morgiou, Sugiton, Port Miou, Port Pin and En Vau.
The sun, the turquoise water, the pine trees and the limestone rocks gilded by the first rays of sunshine made these calanques a fantastic sight, even in February! On the 1st day, we hiked in trousers and long sleeves under clear skies, letting the sun warm us up. On the 2nd day, we wore jackets, as the mistral and grey skies got in the way! But the superb scenery and translucent waters were with us, as always, for this fabulous discovery of the Calanques National Park. This is a brand new national park, created in 2012! So make sure you follow the instructions to preserve it!
WARNING: since summer 2022, free registration has been compulsory to access the Calanques de Sugiton and Pierres Tombées sites, to combat erosion caused by too many tourists! There is a risk that this will happen again year after year at certain busy periods.
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Video summary
Children’s walks in Marseille’s Calanques
Calanque de Sormiou as a family: The easiest walk
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On the first day, after sleeping the night before in Cassis, we drove to Sormiou. From Cassis, it’s a 40-minute drive, during which Mini Voyageur slept for just 2 hours after waking up ;). The advantage in February and in low season is that you can get to the Calanque de Sormiou by car. After paying for the car park, we set off on foot to show the children the calanque.
We pass through the first small hamlet of cabins, in fact small concrete buildings, all empty at this time of year. Then we came to a small pebble beach. The children were rather disappointed here, but the beach was not the aim of our family walk.
En prenant ensuite à droite, le long de la montagne, nous avons effectué une petite randonnée, facile, d’environ 40 min aller pour rejoindre le 1er éperon rocheux. Ensuite, la grimpette vers le Cap Redon se faisait plus raide et avec la randonnée prévue ensuite, nous ne voulions pas trop fatiguer les enfants.
Mais cette petite partie nous a déjà permis de voir de superbes paysages, perchés au-dessus de l’eau!
Practical information for a family outing to the Calanque de Sormiou
- Duration of the walk on the Pointe de Sormiou: 1h30 return journey (we live in mountains; our kids walk a lot !
- Difficulty: easy – no dizzying peaks, one or two passages where I held Mini Voyageur’s hand, mainly to stop him slipping on the pebbles and rolling on the rocks.
- Parking: 4.5€ private parking, when you arrive by car at the bottom of the hill
- Type of beach: pebble
- Calanque easily accessible with baby.
- Access by car to Sormiou: possible from September to April – in April, road closed on Sundays until early June and from June to September, road closed every day, except to go to the restaurant!
From Morgiou to Sugiton: the most beautiful according to our family
This walk is our favourite of the weekend. However, it is rather complicated with children. If you worry easily, don’t do it! I had a few scary moments, because sometimes we’re on sheer cliffs, there’s a bit of climbing, and even a ladder to climb down.
But don’t let my mum’s little scares put you off, the children had a great time outdoing themselves! Mini Voyageur, aged 5, was very proud to have successfully completed the course, which, apart from 3 difficulties, was very enjoyable. Beautiful views all along the way and very few changes in altitude!
Practical information for a family outing to the calanques: Morgiou and Sugiton
Duration of the walk from Morgiou to Sugiton: 1h30 one way – 2h on the return journey
Difficulty: 2 or 3 perilous sections, which can be frightening for many. There’s a steep rocky section, a short 5-metre climb that you’ll have to do with the strength of your arms and legs, and a lovely ladder that you’ll have to climb down and then up again, all with a narrow passage! See the photos below!
Tip: I saw a papa, tenir sa fille avec une corde autour de la taille, cela peut-être une petite sécurité!
- For the less adventurous: the calanque de Sugiton can be reached very easily, even with a pushchair, as far as the belvedere overlooking the calanque. The more courageous can take the small paths to reach the calanque, but pushchairs can only go as far as the lookout.
- Calanque accessible with baby via the itinerary above.
- Parking: free of charge at the entrance to the village, which allows you to cross a superb lane lined with cottages. Alternatively, there is a larger car park near the harbour.
- Type of beach: at the bottom of Sugiton, the first small sandy beach was sheltered from the mistral, but we went a little further, where there was a beach of coarse sand, small gravel.
A family trip to the Calanques de Cassis: from Port Miou to En Vau
The calanques of Port Miou and Port Pin: an easy family walk
These are undoubtedly the easiest walks to take with children. Park your car at the start of the Port Miou cove and walk along the cove, at the foot of the cliffs and old quarries, for around 30 minutes before descending towards Port Pin.
The descent to Port Pin is a little more difficult for very young children, as you have to climb over rocks. But my 5-year-old had no problems. The calanque at Port Pin is just magnificent! The beach is so pretty, and the water so clear, that Mini Voyageur got undressed in 2 seconds to dip his feet in, but in February, he got dressed again in 5 minutes!
Practical information for a family walk in the calanques of Port Miou and Port Pin
- Duration of the walk from Port Miou to Port Pin: 30 min one way. From Cassis, allow an extra 40 minutes one way!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Parking: Free at the entrance to the Mogiou cove,
- Type of beach: Port Miou is actually just a port, no beach seen – at Port Pin sandy beach
- Calanques accessible with baby, but without pushchair for Port Pin
The Calanque d’En Vau via Port Pin: more demanding
As with the previous calanques, there are several ways to get there. Well, I admit that I hadn’t really studied the hiking guides and so we had to go to En Vau from Cassis.
So between Port Pin and En Vau, there’s a small mountain to climb; the ascent is fairly easy, but seemed interminable to the children (but we’d already been walking for almost 2 hours). When we got to the top, the mistral wind was blowing very, very hard, chilling our little family to the bone! Then it was downhill again, with a beautiful sheer drop into some large, crumbling rocks. We walked for 10 metres and then turned back!
Why didn’t we reach the calanque d’en Vau with the children?
Because we set off from Cassis on foot! By the time we got to Port Pïn before the big climb up to the pass and down to En Vau, we’d already walked for almost 2 hours. The crazy wind and the very steep descent scared me! I told myself that the children (and I with my aches and pains from the day before) would never make it back up, so we turned back, all disappointed.
Leaving from the Port Miou car park, we would have had no trouble at all, even if the descent had slowed us down a lot compared to adults!
Practical information for a family walk in the Calanque d’En Vau
Duration of the walk from Port Pin: 40 min uphill, I think 20 min downhill and 20 min flat to reach the Calanque.
Difficulty: very steep and rocky
Parking: free at the entrance to the Calanque de Morgiou,
Type of beach: pebble
Other walks to En Vau: From the crest, coming from Port Pin, it is possible to overlook the Calanque via the forest path, but we didn’t try it out. From the Col de la Gardiole, it is possible to descend to En Vau in around 50 minutes on a fairly wide path.
Equipment for hiking in the Calanques with your family
I advise you to be equipped if you want to do the hikes we did:
- Hiking shoes for each member of the family (we equip ourselves at Décath…): although sometimes I’m not fussy about shoes, there were certain passages that required good shoes so as not to feel the sharp rocks or slip.
- Down windbreaker for everyone
- Hiking rucksack, including children’s water bottles and jackets
- Cap and sun cream, even in winter (the water reflects a lot)
- Picnic equipment: stainless steel water bottle, sandwich holder, ultra-compact picnic mat, etc.
Family accommodation to discover the Calanques and Cassis
On our last trip to Marseille, we were in a camper van, and slept in a private car park: the Marly Parc, not far from the road to the Calanque de Sormiou.
But this time we rented a flat via Air Bnb, in Cassis, very well situated, 2 steps from the beach and the port. The apartment had a small mezzanine bed and a sofa bed underneath. A shower room, a little narrow! But the essentials were there! And at 80€ a night for 4 in the centre of Cassis, we’re not going to be picky!
And as we only walked around Cassis, here’s a little glimpse of the town and the port.
Here are your favourite accommodations, which you have booked and recommended, for visiting the Calanques with your children:
- Panisse – Parking – Clim – Wifi
- Appartement Cassis vue mer d’exception
- Novotel Marseille Centre Prado Vélodrome
- Ibis Budget Marseille Valentine
Eco-responsible tips for discovering the Calanques with your family:
Make the most of the shoulder seasons, like us in February, to enjoy the site in peace and quiet. In summer, the place will be packed!
Walk as much as possible to avoid getting stuck in traffic jams, especially during the high tourist season.
As in the mountains and when hiking, take all your rubbish back in your bags, no bins on the sites (so they don’t overflow!).
To discover the coastline from the water, use low-impact craft such as kayaks and paddleboats.
So that’s the summary of our lovely family weekend in the Calanques. I’d be curious to know what hiking routes you took to discover the Calanques as a family? Tell me all about it in the comments! And please leave me some photos of En Vau on Facebook, so I can see what we missed!
To find out more
- The French Riviera with your family: all our articles
- Provence with the family: our special weekend feature
- Family holidays in France: all our ideas
