Toulon with kids - can you walk to a beach from ship?

[World Gallery]

Toulon is one stop I can't seem to get figure out for our June cruise. We are considering either Cassis or just staying in Toulon if there is a beach within walking distance from the ship.

We have read about tours and boat rides in Cassis and contacted a private tour guide but boat rides all depend on if it is windy or not so you can't decide in advance. Would it be worth going to Cassis we we can't ride the boat to see the calanques? is there enough to do there that would keep kids ages 10-17 interested or would we be better off staying in Toulon?

Also,can we decide when we get there based on the weather, then take a taxi to Cassis without having a tour?

Is there a nice beach within walking distance where our kids can get into the water, one with bathrooms, places for snacks?

Thanks.

PS Kind of confused on why NCL even stops here at this point. Nothing seems easy here.

[Hlitner]

Toulon is one stop I can't seem to get figure out for our June cruise. .......

Thanks.

PS Kind of confused on why NCL even stops here at this point. Nothing seems easy here.

 

We have often expressed some puzzlement regarding NCL itineraries in the Med. Toulon really has never made sense to me as a port (its also used by some other cruise lines) since Marseille is a much better "gateway" port to the region. NCL also has a habit of scheduling short port days in places where a long day is very beneficial (such as Monte Carlo and Cannes). For these reasons (among others) we have not booked NCL for any of our last 60 or so cruises. I do not think there are any beaches within walking distance but this is not an area famous for beaches. For many it is a gateway port to Provence....and the nasty truth is that it benefits the cruise line to put passengers into an area that is a bit inconvenient since they can then encourage more folks to book their overpriced (and profitable) excursions. If I sound a bit cynical it is not an accident :)

 

Hank

[rlse9]

I'm pretty sure there aren't any beaches in the near vicinity. Sadly, there just isn't much interesting in Toulon. The highlight of Toulon to me was a small restaurant in the mall where we had sandwiches with the most delicious bread. Other than that, the entire place seemed quite forgettable to me, not that it was a bad city but there just wasn't anything interesting to see.

[numbersix]

I agree--Toulon is a very plain, French working city--and home to its Mediterranean fleet. It's the perfect place to 'get out of town'--there's a bunch of nice towns around: hill towns like Evenos and Le Castellet, beach towns like Sanary and Bandol, Cassis, and , a little further afield (I know it's easier done from Marseille), Aix-en-Provence.

 

For those so inclined, it's a good place to rent a car and take off for the day.

 

But Toulon itself--kind of dull.

[Hlitner]

I agree--Toulon is a very plain, French working city--and home to its Mediterranean fleet. It's the perfect place to 'get out of town'--there's a bunch of nice towns around: hill towns like Evenos and Le Castellet, beach towns like Sanary and Bandol, Cassis, and , a little further afield (I know it's easier done from Marseille), Aix-en-Provence.

 

For those so inclined, it's a good place to rent a car and take off for the day.

 

But Toulon itself--kind of dull.

 

Agree that this is a port where we would certainly rent a car. But it still "bugs me" that some cruise lines use this inconvenient port....

 

Hank

[fabnfortysomething]

there is one option I found for Toulon which might appeal to kids. Le petit train de Toulon.It's a trolley train which runs in a circuit around the town and has a stop near the port-might give you some orientation to the area