Travel Tips & How to get Here.
You’ve hit the “Contact Us” button, you’ve confirmed your Canal du Midi cruise dates, you’ve booked! The next stage is travel-planning.
Athos Crew come to meet and transfer passengers to the boat on Sundays in Beziers, 15:30 – 16:30. We’ll meet you at your choice of locations: Beziers Train Station, Beziers Airport, Beziers Car Hire centres, or a Beziers hotel where you’ve stayed the night before.
This post is to help you with your airline and travel searches. It lists the closest airports, train stations and useful websites that will help you get to Athos’ Canal du Midi cruise start and end point in Beziers. Athos can recommend a few regional hotels that meet her discerning standards. And please, don’t hesitate to ask Dannielle if you’d like her to pick up the phone and make a hotel or B&B booking on your behalf. Read on!
Closest AIRPORTS to fly to:
PARIS CHARLES DE GAULLE
The largest French airport that connects internationally. To travel from Paris to Beziers, the most relaxing option is the direct and easy 4 hour high-speed train (TGV) into Beziers centre. Sunday TGVs go from: Paris Gare de Lyon 11:05 – 15:33 Beziers train station. There are also TGV’s that link Paris CDG Airport Train Terminal 09:58-15:32 Beziers *change trains at Montpellier. Alternatively, check whether your international airline offers the internal Air France connector from CDG into Montpellier.
BARCELONA EL PRAT
hosts direct international flights from North America, and also connects by train with the main line into France in just under 2.5 hours. Sunday trains from Barcelona Sants (train station) go from 14:30 – 16:35 Beziers. Rental cars can also be hired at Barcelona airport, and by autoroute, it is an easy 2.5 hours by car to Beziers. Cars can be rented at Barcelona International Airport and dropped at Beziers Vias Airport or Beziers Train Station (Europcar, Hertz).
MARSEILLE-MARIGNAN (also called Marseille-Provence)
hosts direct flights from Montreal, and is also a major European hub for flight connections. There is a train terminal at the airport and a direct train connection to Beziers on Sundays: Airport 12:06 – 14:37 arr Beziers Station.
TOULOUSE-BLAGNAC
A major international hub, Toulouse also has a 20-minute free shuttle bus that takes passengers from the Arrivals terminal into the central train station. There are multiple times connecting to Beziers, including Sundays dep TLS 14:39- arr 16:07 Beziers.
MONTPELLIER-MEDITERANÉE
Air France flights connect main European hubs to Montpellier. EasyJet also runs daily flights from London Gatwick to Montpellier. A 20-minute shuttle service connects from Montpellier Airport to Saint Roch Train station. Trains run regularly to Beziers and take 40 minutes. Athos suggests the Baudon de Mauny hotel in Montpellier in the event that you choose to stay a night, or the Hotel Le Guilhem.
How to book TRAINS
Train times and tickets from all European cities can be found online 90 days in advance of the date of departure. Trainline is an easy to use website. Tickets can be purchased online 90 days in advance of the departure date. *Hint: if it is more than 90 days in advance and you’d like to check train times, simulate the schedule by picking a later date with the same days of the week for you’ll be wanting travel. Main lines typically keep the same schedule the year around, particularly on Saturdays and Sundays. Although our favourite (most user-friendly) train website is Trainline, the direct and official French website for trains is SNCF. In the event of discrepancy between the two sites, SCNF tends to be the most accurate and updated. For example, explanations like works on lines or strike information do not appear on Trainline)
BEZIERS HOTELS we can recommend:
If you choose to spend a night in the Beziers area pre-cruise, Athos Crew will collect you from your hotel on the Sunday of your cruise departure.
Mention Athos when booking, or ask Dannielle info@athosdumidi.com for help.
