Cassia from Toulon- How to do the town and what beach to go to.

[World Gallery]

We have decided that Cassis would be the best choice for our family of 7 (kids ages 11-18). The town sounds nice and they have a beach. The problem is, I can't seem to figure out how to get to the best beach in Cassis. In Rick Steves' Med. Ports book, he states, "the best plan is to join a cruise-line excursion, rent a car, or the train (don't want to use the train).
The ship's tour looks okay and the price is decent but it doesn't include beach time.
What is the best option for getting to and exploring Cassis and its beaches? We want to explore the town and swim at the beach and maybe explore the calanques (they look beautiful). Is there a public beach or day pass for a hotel close to a calanques?
Thanks.

[tripgrl]

I'm also curious about this, particularly the transportation to and from Cassis. Does anyone have any advice? Thanks!

[Hlitner]

Although there are many trains between the two cities, the station in Cassis is not very convenient to the beach which means you would need a taxi or local bus once your get to Cassis. Personally, we prefer to rent a car when in many places of Western Europe since the cost (usually about $100 for a day) is very reasonable when one considers you can take 4 people and have maximum flexibility. Using trains and buses can be a fun experience, but can also be a bit complicated when stations are not located in convenient locations.

Hank

[SuiteTraveler]

http://toulon-private-tours.com/

We used this company and they were awesome - we did the boat ride in the calanques- do NOT miss that! The beach is lovely, and we had a picnic there, but in addition we went to a French outdoor market, bakery in the town, olive oil tasting, bought herbs de province and wine tasting in Provence. Worth every cent and more. They will customize the trip to your preferences.

BTW, it is a public beach. You have to bring you own stuff. There are places to eat in hotels nearby on the square. Parking is outside of town - quite some distance away. You can buy boat tickets for the calanques day-of - be sure and take anti-sea sickness medicine before this tour - the ride is enough to make anyone feel queasy, but the clanques are oooooo-awwwww worth it!

[World Gallery]

Originally Posted by SuiteTraveler

http://toulon-private-tours.com/

We used this company and they were awesome - we did the boat ride in the calanques- do NOT miss that! The beach is lovely, and we had a picnic there, but in addition we went to a French market, olive oil tasting and wine tasting. Worth every cent and more.

Thanks! I will contact them. I have been waiting for someone to reply. There is very little information for the port of Toulon. So little that I was considering doing the ship's tour to Cassis but it isn't anything like what you are describing.