Best anchorages and harbours in Vendée

Plage de la Grande Conche / Plage des Ovaires

Open bay on the south-east shore of the Île d'Yeu, in the Vendée, with a sand bottom and a ban on anchoring over the seagrass beds.

• Sheltered W, SW

Mouillage des Sabias

Anchorage on the south coast of Île d'Yeu, two miles from Port-Joinville, sheltered from winds from the north sector.

• Sheltered N, NE, NW

Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie

Anchorage off the estuary of the Vie on the Vendée coast, sand bottom, shelter from NW through E.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Cordemais

River port of around 60 berths on the north bank of the Loire estuary, 20 km upstream of Saint-Nazaire.

Port Joinville - Île d'Yeu

Main harbour of the Île d'Yeu on the north coast of the island, 648 berths, maximum draught 3 m, 13 nautical miles from the mainland at Fromentine.

Quai Garnier

Town-quay pontoons on the Chaume side of the Les Sables-d'Olonne channel, 120 berths, maximum draught 1.5 m.

Pointe du Chatelet

Anchorage off the northwest tip of the Ile d'Yeu, near the Grand Phare and the wild Cote Sauvage.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE

Pointe de Mindin

Anchorage in the Loire estuary, on the south bank at Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, opposite Saint-Nazaire.

• Free
• Sheltered SW, S, SE

Les Sables d'Olonne - Port Olona

Non-tidal marina in Les Sables-d'Olonne, 1400 berths, maximum draught 5 m, starting harbour of the Vendée Globe solo round-the-world race.

Plage des Souzeaux - Anse Rouge

Anchorage on the north coast of Noirmoutier island, between the Souzeaux beach and the Plantier point, with around 200 moorings on mud bottom.

• Paid
• Sheltered SW, S

Île du Pilier

Anchorage off the Île du Pilier, a small granite island northwest of Noirmoutier in the Bay of Biscay.

• Sheltered W, SW

Port-La-Vie

Marina of 1 000 berths at the mouth of the Vie river in Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, on the Vendee coast.

La Meule

Small rocky inlet on the south coast of the Île d'Yeu, used as a fishing and visitor mooring under the white Notre-Dame-de-la-Bonne-Nouvelle chapel.

• Sheltered N, NE, NW

Port Lavigne

Tidal harbour on the Loire estuary, on the south bank downstream of Nantes in the Pays de la Loire.

Saint Jean de Monts

Open roadstead off the long sandy beach of Saint-Jean-de-Monts, Vendée coast south of the Baie de Bourgneuf.

• Paid
• Sheltered N, NE, E

le pellerin

River port on the Loire in Loire-Atlantique, about 15 km downstream from Nantes on the left bank.

Anse des Broches

North-facing cove on the Île d'Yeu, Vendée, west of Port-Joinville.

• Sheltered NE, E, S, SE

Port Bourgenay

Purpose-built marina of 640 berths on the Vendee coast, south of Les Sables-d'Olonne, at the edge of Talmont-Saint-Hilaire.

Les Evens

Open anchorage on sand off the Côte d'Amour between Pornichet and La Baule, Loire-Atlantique.

Loire Nautic Services

Boatyard and pontoon on the right bank of the Loire at Cordemais, 20 NM upstream from Saint-Nazaire.

Noirmoutier-en-L'île

Lock harbour on the east side of Noirmoutier island, at the head of the Étier de l'Arceau, 2 NM south of L'Herbaudière.

Pornichet

Open roadstead anchorage off the beach of Pornichet, at the western end of the baie de La Baule, southern Brittany coast.

• Free
• Sheltered N, NE, E, S, SE

Luzeronde

Anchorage off the sand beach of Luzéronde on the north coast of the Île de Noirmoutier, west of L'Herbaudière.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Pornic

Marina of 914 berths at Pornic in southern Loire-Atlantique, split between the Vieux Port under the castle and the Noëveillard basin on the Côte de Jade.

La Baule - Le Pouliguen

Tidal harbour at the mouth of the étier du Pouliguen between La Baule and Le Pouliguen in southern Brittany, 820 berths.

Anse de la Clere

Sand anchorage on the north coast of the île de Noirmoutier, Vendée, between Noirmoutier-en-l'Île and L'Herbaudière.

• Sheltered W, SW, S

Anse du Boucau

Mooring off the Pointe Saint-Gildas at Préfailles, on the south coast of Loire-Atlantique.

• Paid
• Sheltered W, E, SW, S, SE

La Linière

Sand anchorage on the north coast of Noirmoutier island, between L'Herbaudière and Noirmoutier-en-l'Île.

• Sheltered SW, S, SE

Petite Rade

Sand anchorage in the outer roadstead of Les Sables d'Olonne, just south of the harbour entrance, on the Vendée coast.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Anse des Soux

Sandy cove on the south coast of the Île d'Yeu, between the Pointe des Corbeaux and the Pointe du But, sheltered from the north.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W