The Îles d’Or: Port-Cros, Porquerolles and the Giens Peninsula

Easy to moderate. From 2 to 4/5 hours of actual walking per day and/or 300 to 500m of ascent and 300 to 500m of descent per day. No technical difficulties, with easy to moderate paths and trails. However, in bad weather and strong winds, do not venture onto coastal paths, particularly around the Giens Peninsula (risk of waves flooding the paths).

This is a single-centre holiday, so you leave your luggage at your hotel for the duration of your stay. You only need to carry your daypack with your picnic lunch and the things you need for the day.

You reach the starting points of the walks on foot, in your own vehicles or by public bus, then take the boat to the islands. We provide bus and boat timetables. Public bus no. 67 is operated by Réseau Mistral; it connects Hyères with the Giens Peninsula and takes you to the starting points of the walks and the ports.

Minimum 2 people.

4 days, 3 nights, 3 days of walking.

Choose your own departure date, available all year round except from 15 June to 15 September.

We provide a travel pack containing maps, a detailed route guide and hotel vouchers.

Two accommodation categories are available: 2 or 3* hotels, on the Giens Peninsula (3* hotel) or at Hyères harbour (2* hotel). Accommodation in a room for 2, with a shower and toilet, on a bed and breakfast basis. Beach access opposite the hotel.

Make your own arrangements for dinner; there are plenty of restaurants at Hyères harbour and on the Giens Peninsula.

3* hotel option

Your 3-star thalassotherapy hotel offers free access to its wellness area, open from 8 am to 7 pm, which includes:

• A heated seawater swimming pool
• A hammam area
• A sun terrace overlooking the sea, with direct beach access
• A cardio fitness room (open during reception hours)
• A shop

Information on what equipment to bring:

• Sandals are compulsory when entering the swimming pool or treatment areas
• A swimming cap is compulsory for pool treatments (swimming shorts are not permitted)

Treatments:

You can book individual treatments (the hotel has 21 treatment rooms), preferably before your arrival to ensure availability. The hotel offers a wide range of treatments in categories such as: Keys to Wellbeing; Spa Facials; High-Tech Treatments; Spa Body Treatments; Slimming Treatments. More than 70 different treatments are available (we can provide the treatment catalogue on request).

Breakfast is included, with hot food served buffet-style (the 3*-hotel option).

Picnic lunches and dinners are not included. In the evening, you can eat at one of the many restaurants around Hyères harbour or on the Giens Peninsula. For picnic lunches, you can order a packed lunch from your accommodation the day before, buy supplies before your walks, or eat locally, particularly on the island of Porquerolles.

Please tell us about any food allergies or special dietary requirements when booking; we will do our best to adapt your meals.

Start

On Day 1 in the late afternoon at your hotel.

Finish

On Day 4 in the late afternoon at your hotel.

If you wish, you can stay for one or more additional nights to discover the east coast of the Giens Peninsula, Almanarre beach or the Salins des Pesquiers salt marshes, enjoying a few extra hours of coastal walking, relaxing on the beach or birdwatching, particularly for flamingos!

By train

Arrive at Hyères railway station
From Paris (Gare de Lyon): direct TGV high-speed train, approximately 4 hours 15 minutes.
From Lyon: TGV high-speed train + TER regional train, 1 change at Marseille Saint Charles, approximately 3 hours 30 minutes.
You can check train timetables and fares at https://www.sncf-connect.com/fr-fr
Then take a bus to reach the hotel on the Giens Peninsula or at Hyères harbour: https://www.reseaumistral.com/

By car

Plan your route at https://www.viamichelin.fr/

Parking your car

You can park your car in the hotel car park for the duration of your stay.

A number of our trips offer opportunities to swim, during a day’s walk or at the end of the day. It would be a shame to miss out. However, we stress that you alone must decide whether it is appropriate to swim; you therefore do so under your own responsibility and at your own risk.

Member of Agir pour un Tourisme Responsable (ATR)

Since 2012, Grand Angle has been a member of ATR, the leading association for more responsible tourism. We design our trips – on foot, by bike and on snow – to invite everyone to discover the world differently: with curiosity, respect and kindness.

As members of the board since 2018, we actively help the sector move towards more meaningful practices. In practical terms, we focus on:

• Transparency in our practices and pricing
• Respect for our partners and local communities
• Protecting the environment on every trip

We also share the values of the traveller’s ethical charter, which encourages everyone to take simple steps to protect the places they visit and foster meaningful encounters.

Travelife Partner

Since 2025, Grand Angle has been recognised as a Travelife Partner, an international label that certifies our responsible practices in environmental protection, ethics and sustainable management, both within our company and in our work with partners and the organisation of our trips.

This label, the second level of a rigorous international certification scheme, recognises our practical efforts to support responsible tourism. We are actively working towards the next level, Travelife Certified, in line with our sustainable development policy

In this section, you will find links to products from our partner Alpinstore, a French online retailer specialising in outdoor equipment, based in Annecy.

For carrying your belongings

• A comfortable 30 to 50 L backpack with a hip belt to carry your personal belongings and picnic lunch during the day
• A bag for luggage transfers: a backpack, a travel bag in good condition or a suitcase that is not too bulky. One bag per person, with a maximum weight of 15 kg

Find out how to pack your hiking backpack in our magazine.

For hiking

For maximum comfort, choose a layered clothing system: warm base layers (leggings + top) such as “Carline” or “Capilene” (hollow fibres that wick away perspiration) + a sweatshirt or fleece jacket + a mountain jacket and overtrousers with a waterproof, breathable membrane (such as Gore-Tex or equivalent) for bad weather. As a general rule, except in hot climates and countries, avoid cotton, which holds moisture close to the body (and takes a long time to dry), and choose suitable synthetic fabrics instead.

• Hiking boots with ankle support, a good deeply treaded sole, a supportive heel counter and good waterproofing
• Comfortable hiking socks (at least 3 pairs)
• A fleece
• Comfortable walking trousers (made from quick-drying technical fabric)
• Comfortable technical shorts
• Technical T-shirts or base layers (made from quick-drying fabric)
• A long-sleeved shirt
• Walking poles (telescopic), very important for making walking easier. Discover all the benefits of hiking poles in our dedicated article or how to choose your hiking poles

Please note: synthetic technical clothing performs very well. New merino wool clothing is also available; it performs very well, is comfortable to wear and has the advantage of resisting perspiration odours!

For your picnic lunch

• Your eating kit: a plastic bowl, container or plate, and cutlery (spoon, fork, knife)
• 1 or 2 water bottles (with a total capacity of at least 1,5 L) – mandatory –; an insulated flask for winter

For protection from sun and rain

• Sunscreen (high protection)
• Sunglasses
• A hat, cap or bucket hat
• A rain poncho or a waterproof jacket such as a softshell or Gore-Tex jacket, and possibly waterproof trousers

After your walk

• A pair of trainers for the evening
• A change of clothes and underwear
• A toiletry bag and a small towel
• A swimsuit and towel for wellness facilities (where specified) or swimming
• A small first-aid kit: personal medication, surgical masks, hand sanitiser, plasters, sterile dressings and a bandage, gauze, disinfectant, arnica granules and aspirin, etc. (please note that this list is not exhaustive and should be adapted to your own medical needs).

Find these tips in our article #“What to take on a hike”.

This list is intended as a guide and should be adapted to your trip and the season in which you are travelling.

Country: France
Capital: Paris

Documents

Travellers, including minors, must carry a national identity card or passport (EU nationals).

Health

Bring your Carte Vitale health insurance card and your usual medication for the duration of your stay.

Hyères Tourist Office: https://www.provencemed.com/hyeres-porquerolles/hyeres/

Address: Rotonde du Park Hôtel, 16 avenue de Belgique, 83400 Hyères
Telephone: 0494018450.

Porquerolles Tourist Office: https://www.provencemed.com/hyeres-porquerolles/porquerolles/

Address: Carré du port, Porquerolles, 83400 Hyères
Telephone: 0494583376

International dialling code for calling France from abroad: +33.

No time difference: GMT +1.

L’homme de Porquerolles, by William Luret, paperback edition, a biography of F. Fournier

A la découverte de Porquerolles, d’Hyères… et d’aujourd’hui, published by Éditions Aris

IGN Top 25 map at a scale of 1/25000: no. 3446 OT Hyères / Porquerolles Island

IGN Top 25 map at a scale of 1/25000: no. 3446 ET Le Lavandou / Corniche des Maures / Port-Cros National Park

THE GOLDEN ISLANDS

Facing the Maures massif, off the Giens peninsula, the 3 Hyères islands (Porquerolles, Port-Cros and Île du Levant) have remained unspoilt and are now the last reminders of what the Côte d’Azur was like before it was engulfed by concrete.

Between 2 and 3km wide and 7,5km long, Porquerolles is the westernmost and largest of these three islands. Its terrain rises on the side facing the open sea, with rocky coves and cliffs towering 100m above the water in places, then slopes gently down towards fine sandy beaches to the north. From west to east, four cultivated plains are separated by hills covered in forests of cork oaks, Aleppo pines, eucalyptus, fig trees, olive trees and strawberry trees… There are no roads on the island; only dirt tracks allow you to explore it.

Throughout the island, visitors can enjoy beautifully preserved natural surroundings where all kinds of Mediterranean trees and plants grow. In 1971, the French state bought 4/5 of the island and placed this land under the care of Port-Cros National Park, while a botanical conservatory maintains collections of varieties of oleander, almond, mulberry, apricot and peach that have now disappeared from gardens.

The 350 people who live on the island make their living from farming, growing grapes, fishing and welcoming visitors.

A LITTLE HISTORY…

In 1912, François Fournier bought the island of Porquerolles at auction. At 55 years old, he embodied the legendary “self-made man”: he left his native Belgium with empty pockets, established himself as a construction foreman on the Canadian Pacific Railway, took part in the Panama Canal venture and made his fortune prospecting for gold in Mexico. On his return, he bought Porquerolles as a gift for his young wife and transformed it into an immense garden. He planted vineyards, fruit trees and fields of grain, and introduced sheep… When he died in 1935, his children resisted the lure of property development and kept the island intact, shaped just as their idealistic father had dreamed.

WITNESSES TO THE PAST

Fort Sainte-Agathe overlooks the entire archipelago and the Bay of Hyères. Built in 1531, destroyed, rebuilt and enlarged in the 19th century, it now houses an exhibition on underwater archaeology. Among its treasures are parts of Greek shipwrecks dating from 600 BC, recovered during excavations around the islands: “La Madrague de Giens”, a merchant vessel from ancient times, was nearly 30m long and could carry 8000 amphorae. However, no wreck dating from the Middle Ages has yet been discovered. By contrast, battles against the English and the Dutch in the 18th century left remains with fascinating stories to tell. Every object found is catalogued and treated so that it can be preserved or displayed at the fort.