In December 2018 I decided to go for a pet-friendly trip with my partner and of course my beloved dog, a 12-year-old Dogo Argentino named Tex.
We have chosen as destination the beautiful Hyères, a French riviera city located in the Var department, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. We know the area very well as we have been traveling to France with our dogs for more than 10 years.
These are my tips for choosing what to do and where to stay for a perfect trip to Hyères without giving up the company of your best friend.
The Hyères area is full of walks that you can enjoy together with your dog.
You can discover the Giens Peninsula and admire the islands of Hyères. It is also one of the most renowned places for sports lovers such as kitesurf, windsurf, kayak, diving, stand up paddling and a top destination for birdwatching and ornithology enthusiasts.
A walk along the old salt pans of Hyères, easy and flat. Here you can see all the details about the path (in French).
A difficult trail on the cliffs of the peninsula that will offer you breathtaking views of the coast and the islands of the Hyères archipelago. Here you can see all the details of the trail (in French).
The salt pans of Hyères are divided into ancient salt marshes and Pesquiers salt marshes and host more than 260 different species of birds.
You can book a guided tour of the old salt pans with an expert ornithologist for only 5 euros.
Islands of the Hyères archipelago are also called Golden Islands and can be visited using the ferries that depart from the Giens peninsula. Porquerolles, Port Cros and Le Levant are the major ones. The island of Porquerolles, a beautiful unspoiled paradise, is the largest one and has a hiking trail.
La Pinède Residence, Hyères is located in the Giens Peninsula, has a 3-hectare park directly overlooking the beach, a heated outdoor pool from April to October and children’s pool.
We stayed in the smaller (28 square meters) apartment for 2-4 people, equipped with:
The place is very welcoming and at our arrival we were surprised with some gifts for us and for our dog; inside the park of the residence you can find covered benches, tennis tables, children’s games in addition to the aforementioned pool.
La Pinède residence has a direct exit on a large beach, Rada de la Badine totally free, uncrowded and clean, from which you can walk for a long time on the beach (to the left) or go along one of the coastal paths that pass next to bunkers of World War II leading to suggestive and hidden glimpses that recall tropical beaches (plage des Arbanais going down on the left before the military ground, plage du Gabian going down on the hidden path right before the military ground).
The residence has the possibility to park inside, a few meters from the entrance of your apartment and the exits are protected by gates with a code that is changed every week. The driveway is directly connected to one of the two main roads of the peninsula, in a few minutes you can reach a bakery, a pharmacy and a mini market.
In an 8-minute drive (2.7 km) from the residence, you can board to the island of Porquerolles, the largest of the islands in the Hyères archipelago.
