Harbour

L'Ayguade du Levant

3.0Hyères les Palmiers, FranceVar

Maximum length: 82 ft
VHF channel: 12
Maximum draught: 11 ft

Floating pontoon of 33 berths with no breakwater, on the north coast of the Île du Levant, Îles d'Hyères, facing the mainland in Provence.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach from the north between Port-Cros and the Levant. There is no breakwater, so the floating pontoon moves as much as the anchorage alongside and is fully exposed to west winds. Berths are small, sized for about 7.5 m with a few to 10 m, so longer boats cannot be taken; moor bow to a buoy with the stern to the pontoon. Anchoring off the port is possible with a few mooring buoys. The landing quay is kept for the mainland shuttle. Maximum draught 3.5 m. A military firing range covers 90 percent of the island. VHF 12 for the harbourmaster.

Practical

33 berths, mostly residents, with limited visitor space. There is no water, electricity or shower on the pontoon; the public toilets at the harbour exit are clean but carry no paper. The port opens around mid-May; before that only the rough shuttle dock is usable, where boats may lie from 18:00 to 09:00 between crossings. Prices are high for what is offered, around 257 euros for two nights for a boat of 15 m or more, with a two-hour free period then 13.27 euros per half day. An agent meets arrivals at the shuttle dock. Small grocery and a few restaurants in Héliopolis, 400 m uphill; ferries call from Le Lavandou and Cavalaire.

Ashore

Héliopolis naturist village, founded in 1931, is reached by a 400 m road from the harbour, and the island is naturist, though not compulsory in every area. The fish restaurant Le Gambaro overlooks the port, serving fish and lobster from small local boats. Plage des Grottes lies 300 m east. The remaining 90 percent of the island is a French Navy firing range, closed to the public.

History

The Île du Levant hosted a penal colony for children from 1861 to 1878. The western tip became a naturist village in 1931 while the Navy took over the rest of the island in 1948 for missile testing.