09 September 2023 | Tourism, Nature

Calanques d'En Vau via Port-Miou and Port Pin

The Calanques National Park stretches from Marseille to Cassis in the south of France with breathtakingly beautiful landscapes for each calanque. You will discover its cliffs which throw themselves into the Mediterranean Sea with paradisiacal beaches. The Calanques National Park is home to 26 creeks over 20km. The creeks of En-Vau is one of the most breathtaking. Discover the hike to reach the creek of En-Vaut via that of Port-Miou and Port-Pin.

Parking, where to park?

The nearest car park is located at the marina of the Calanque de Port-Miou in Cassis, it is paying. You can find parking spaces with parking meters in the area. The car park is located 10 minutes from the start of the hike.

The hike to reach Calanque d'En Vau Calanque of Port-Miou

Calanque de Port-Miou

The first part of the hike is completely flat, passing between the old Solvay quarry and the Calanque de Port-Miou. You will overlook the port of Port-Miou on your left. This cove is dedicated to anchoring boats, if you want to swim you will have to go to the next cove: Calanque de Port-Pin. Once past the Calanque de Port-Miou, the path that leads to the Calanque de Port-Pin is more rocky and winding.

Calanque de Port-Pin

Be sure to practice hiking with sneakers with good soles, preferably adherent. After 35 minutes of walking you will arrive at the Calanque de Port-Pin with its beach mixing sand and gravel with its turquoise water. Prefer very early hours in order to be able to enjoy the creek without visitors, it is an overloaded creek during the high season.

Calanque d'En-Vau

From Port-Pin, you will have two paths available to you to reach the Calanque d'En-Vau. A panoramic path on the left marked in blue (difficult) and a path on the right (the GR51) marked in red. We strongly recommend that you take the panoramic path on the left in order to be able to take advantage of the exceptional viewpoints that will be available to you. The GR51 trail is faster but cuts through the interior of the forest and you will not have any accessible viewpoint.

Hike via the scenic trail:

From the start of the trail, you will approach a very stony and climbing path which will take you to the summit which overlooks the calanque of Port-Pin, but also the bay of Cassis and Cap Canaille.

A few minutes later, you will arrive at a viewpoint and belvedere overlooking the Calanque d'En-Vau and offering a breathtaking view with its immense cliffs. You will also pass on a panoramic path which reveals a panorama of the Riou archipelago.

Descent to the beach of the Calanque d'En-Vau

Access to the beach is in 30 minutes, with a path as indicated on the signs: difficult path. With a very slippery and steep descent in the middle of the stones. The Calanque d'En-Vau beach is quite small, and very popular with locals and tourists in summer, so we recommend that you go there early in the morning if you want to enjoy it without too many people.