The ferry from La Tour Fondue deposits you at Porquerolles village, where bicycles outnumber motors and the loudest sound is the clink of pastis glasses. A ten-minute pedal northeast through fragrant maquis brings you to La Courtade, the island's longest accessible strand. Fine blond sand stretches in a gentle arc, backed by a band of umbrella pines whose resinous scent mingles with salt air.
“The island's only car-free beach reachable by bicycle, where shallow sand-bottomed water warms like a lagoon.”
Credit: UnsplashCrystal lagoon with rocky outcrop
The seabed slopes so gradually that children wade out fifty feet while you still stand knee-deep. Water temperatures climb to 24°C by July, turning the shallows into a bathtub tinted every shade between mint and lapis. Families claim spots under rented parasols near the beach club, while couples spread blankets farther along where pine shade meets sand. The seafloor is clean sand—no rocks, no urchins—making this the island's safest swimming.
By late afternoon, the day-trippers cycle back to catch the last ferry, and the beach empties. Locals arrive with coolers and paperbacks, settling in for the golden hour when the light turns the pines amber and the water glows. A beach attendant rakes the sand smooth each morning, erasing yesterday's footprints, and the ritual begins again.
