Marseille: Integral of the Calanques cruise from Marseille to Cassis worth taking?

[leert]

We will be in Marseille from 7am to 5pm early September, considering taking the Integral of the Calanques cruise from Marseille to Cassis, a 3hr15m cruise that leaves Marseille @9:30 and arriving Cassis ~12:45. (https://adventourbegins.com/marseille-cruise-port-guide-france/).

Has anyone done this before? Do we have enough time to do lunch and sightsee in Cassis before heading back to Marseille ~4pm to board the ship?

 

According to google maps, driving time is ~45 minutes (assume we need a private transfer from Cassis to Marseille cruise terminal)? Buses will take 1.5 to 2 hours and there is a train that runs from Cassis to Marseille that takes 30-45 minutes. What mode of transportation back to the port is more reliable?

We are trying to figure out if we can rely on public transportation or do we need to arrange private transfer.  

 

Another option we are considering is taking a guided hike, again, public transport seems complicated.

Thanks in advance for the suggestions.

leert 

 

[Hlitner]

As long time (over 50 years) independent travelers we love this kind of question and will add that public transport is not complicated when you do your homework  IMHO, getting back to Marseille would best be done on the train (quite cheap and fast).  Keep in mind that once you are back in Marseille you will either need a taxi back to the port (or you can walk to the Vieux Port and probably catch a shuttle bus).

 

Trains in France are reliable until they are NOT :).   Things can happen, such as strikes, breakdown, etc.  You can certainly check the strike schedule (most are announced in advance) right before your trip.  

 

If we were doing that trip, the 14:35 train would be about the latest we would consider (coming back for Cassis).  That gets you into Marseille by 3pm which leaves a good margin of error if the train is late.  That would leave you with less than 1 1/2 hours in Cassis (you do have to get to and from the train station) which is not much time to enjoy a city and have a nice lunch (DW and I can easily spend 1 1'2 hours just having lunch).  Not my idea of a worthy day trip....but everyone has their own standards.

 

Hank

[marazul]

You could also go to Cassis first and, once there, take a short one hour boat trip to see a couple of the calanques.  That would leave you plenty of time for lunch and to return to Marseille. 

 IMO, a 3 hour boat ride is way too long. 

[leert]

Thank you very much for the advice. We looked at boat options from Cassis as well. Since we have limited time in port, we decided to take a short excursion from Vieux Port to see the Calanques and save time for other sites in Marseille. 

For anyone looking for boat tour options, here's a detailed comparison of them:

https://www.france-hotel-guide.com/en/blog/calanques-marseille-boat/#Best-Cruises-in-the-Calanques-Comparative-Table

 

PS, a correction to the original posting, the link about the boat tour should be: https://www.calanques-if.com/en/tours/calanques-national-park