Toulon to Les Sablettes by boat: the 18M water-bus across the harbour

Head for the station maritime on quai Cronstadt, at Toulon's port, with small change in your pocket: the deckhand sells the €2.00 maritime ticket on board and takes no banknote larger than €10. Validate it straight away. A direct sailing reaches the Sablettes pontoon in 20 minutes; one that also calls at Tamaris takes 25. On weekdays the first boat leaves Toulon at 06:00 and the last regular one at 20:15, with three late boats added on Thursday and Friday evenings.

Mistral is the bus and boat network of the Toulon Provence Méditerranée metropolitan authority, and 18M is one of its three harbour lines. Its maritime ticket also covers an hour of onward travel on Mistral buses, as long as you validate it every time you board. This page reproduces the 18M winter timetable issued in September 2026; a comparison with the network's open timetable data on 29 October 2026 found every departure matching. That means 30 departures in each direction from Monday to Friday, 26 on Saturdays and 10 on Sundays.

Weekday, Saturday, Sunday and late-night sailings

18M winter timetable, September 2026 edition, checked 29 October 2026. Extra Sunday sailings are added from 18 April 2027.   Réseau Mistral – line 18M winter timetable (PDF) · 2026-10-29

What a crossing costs and where to buy it

A single 1 voyage maritime ticket costs €2.00 for any passenger. You can buy it from the deckhand on board, in cash, or in the Mistral app under M-Tickets. Have coins ready: the only banknotes the crew accept are €5 and €10. Validate the ticket as soon as you have it, and again each time you board a bus or another boat within the hour.

Two other tickets cover both buses and boats: a 10-trip ticket at €10.00 and a one-day pass at €3.90 with unlimited travel from the first validation. Mistral lists them at its sales offices, at agents and in the app; on-board sale is not mentioned for either.

Mistral network fares, checked 29 October 2026   Réseau Mistral – 1 voyage maritime ticket · 2026-10-29

Where to board at each end

In Toulon, boats leave from the station maritime on quai Cronstadt, at the port. In La Seyne-sur-Mer the end of the line is the Sablettes pontoon; some sailings also call at Tamaris. Mistral only lets passengers board and leave at its marked stops.

Across Toulon harbour, direct or via Tamaris

The 18M stays inside Toulon's harbour roads the whole way. A direct boat takes 20 minutes; one that also stops at the Tamaris pontoon, in La Seyne-sur-Mer, takes 25. Late-night boats from Toulon detour by Saint-Mandrier and reach Les Sablettes later, while those heading back to Toulon go straight there.

Bikes, luggage, dogs and wheelchairs

• No cars or mopeds

  Mistral sells passenger tickets only for its water-buses, and its rules ban mopeds and supermarket-style trolleys on board. A hire car has to stay ashore.

• Bicycles need the captain's go-ahead

  Full-size bikes travel only with the captain's prior permission. Eight of the twelve boats take up to ten, two take six, Lou Gabian five and La Mousco four. Folding bikes and kick scooters are fine once folded.

• Suitcases and pushchairs

  Bags that are too bulky or could be a hazard may be refused. Pushchairs must be folded and babies held in your arms during the crossing.

• Pets

  Small animals in a basket ride free. A large dog must be leashed and muzzled and needs its own single ticket; guide and assistance dogs travel free.

• Wheelchair users

  The crew help you on board with a removable ramp, and every water-bus keeps a dedicated wheelchair space.

• Summer is different

  Mistral prints its September-to-June timetables in blue at stops and its July–August ones in yellow. This page covers the blue, winter sheet.

Mistral's harbour lines and the islands beyond

Three water-bus lines leave Toulon: the 8M to La Seyne, the 18M to Les Sablettes and the 28M to Saint-Mandrier. All three use the same tickets, so the €2.00 fare and the one-hour transfer window apply on each of them.

Your Mistral ticket will not get you to Porquerolles: those boats belong to TLV-TVM, which sells its own tickets at La Tour Fondue on the Giens peninsula. The network's bus route 67 does reach that pier from Hyères town centre: see the Tour Fondue – Porquerolles crossing.

Visitor questions about the Les Sablettes water-bus