Joining an Athos Cruise on the Canal du Midi

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.

Hotel Particulier Beziers

La Villa Guy

In Situ

Chateau Hotel Raissac

info@athosdumidi.com for help.

The best holiday for 2025 is right around the bend. Come cruising with Athos!

Are you looking for the best holiday, either this year or next?

You’ve Googled it. You’ve talked to friends and family. We here at Athos make a wager that none of the ideas you’ve stumbled on are anywhere as original as “hotel barge cruising?”

What could be a better holiday than a week-long cruise in your own luxury floating hotel in the South of France?

Does your best holiday wish-list include any of the below?

Experience Southern french culture and history

The great bit about exclusive travel is having your own guide-ambassador at your disposal all week. Athos’ tour guide has been given accolades over the years.

“Mathew is a gifted Tour Guide and Teacher. He shows accountability for everything”.

Taste the best of Southern France’s Food and Regional Wines

Best holidays are synonymous with best food and best wine. Athos has vetted wines from the Corbieres, Minervois, Coteaux de Languedoc and other top wine-growing terroirs in the region

Athos’ crew know the food markets and they’ve put the Chef through her paces!

You can’t go wrong when the food and wine footwork have been done for you. If you have dietary preferences or allergies, Athos has it in hand. Just let us know in advance, and we’ll sort it out without cutting corners on the best southern French gourmet experience.

We recently stumbled on two bits of passenger feedback about onboard meals that made us chuckle:

What was your favourite meal? Passenger response: “You aren’t serious. Each meal was planned and created by a Genius.”
Out of 10, rate the menu and range of dishes. Passenger response “25”.

The best holidays are at a destination that is uncrowded and original.

…especially knowing what we do about Covid. We just loved travel-writer Jaime Ditaranto’s take on this subject. She spent a week onboard Athos in September 2018. Her video link and article say it all!

Comfortable climate – neither too hot nor too cold

If it’s going to be enjoyable, the best holidays tend to involve comfortable climate. The Languedoc (or Occitanie as Southwestern France is recently ) is typically windy. The winters can howl (like today) but it means that in summer there is always a comfortable breeze. There is a reason that summers on the coastal South of France are an escape from the stifling heat of populated European cities.

Add to that, Athos is fully air-conditioned and heated. All cabins have individual air conditioning that you can leave on all night and all day. The main salon is also fully air-conditioned. The spacious upper deck has a fixed sun awning to protect cruising passengers from daytime rays.

Proximity to the Mediterranean without the crowds

The best holidays involve enjoyable destinations minus complication. When you go barging, there’s no switching hotels each night because your luxury hotel floats with you. Your goods and your bags stay in your cosy cabin, and your guide drives you to off-the-beaten path visits. This means that if you love a beach, you can get there…but you don’t have to spend all night and day surrounded by beach-goers and beach front. Have a look at Athos’ Best of Languedoc Itinerary and each day’s suggested activities between Argeliers and the Etang de Thau at Marseillan. If you click on our interactive map and let your mouse hover, a pointer will show each day’s mooring.

If you’d like to ask about availability for your best 2025 or 2026 holiday on Athos, or request more information send us an email.

Family Barge Holiday!

Barging isn’t just for grown-ups — it can be great family fun. A family cruise on Athos has the makings of perfect peace. Remove yourself from the hustle and demands of the work & school programme, hand over the making of family meals to a talented Chef. Let your Tour Guide work out the logistics of site-seeing and getting you where your group wants to go. Athos and her trusty crew make it all possible, no matter the differences in age or interests.

FAQ’s – Facts and Questions about a Family Fun Cruise onboard Athos

family canal cruise Carcassonne — kids activities in Carcassonne

Will there be activities to keep children busy?

Athos’ Family Fun Cruise Itinerary includes activities and a daily plan that has something for the whole family. There is flexibility built in so that your group can tailor your own interests (some families have signed up for a morning horseback riding, others hit the beach or the waterslide park, some go for kayaking…). The options are yours and require a simple request to Athos’ expert Tour Guide. He’ll figure it all out for you.

Family horseback riding — Family trail ride at the Fount del Bosc, Argeliers

A 4 month old baby will be part of our family group. Do you have a car seat, baby cot and high chair?

Yes. Athos has a collection of appropriate baby car seats from the rear-facing newborn variety all the way to appropriate booster-seats for children under 36kgs. Just let us know the approximate weight/age of babies, toddlers and children pre-arrival. We’ll have it ready and installed in cars for the week.

Athos also has travel cots or roll-guards for baby or younger children’s beds. Depending on the numbers of your group and how you wish to distribute cabins amongst family members, Athos is happy to make suggestions on which cabins would be most conveniently used for which equipment.

High chairs and baby bicycle seats are available. Just say the word!

We are a multigenerational group. Grandparents are unlikely to want to kayak. Can they wine-taste instead?

The options are endless! In short, yes. Athos runs two Chrysler minivans, which means that as long as family members can agree to a 6/6 split or 6/4 split etc…there is no reason why one crew member can’t take kids and one adult to the beach, while the Tour Guide heads off wine tasting with Grandma, Grandpa and few others. Also, Athos crew are good at making use of the whole day – so while some family members may wish to just chill onboard for the morning, lunch, cruising…all is not wasted. Your Guide will have further plans; for example, a game of petanque on arrival to the evening’s mooring spot, or a quick swim at the river around the corner before family dinner on deck.

We are a family of 3 and we’d like to join a Family Bike/Barge Cruise on the Canal du Midi?

Athos runs the Family Fun cruise for whole boat Charter groups only. Your group can be as small as 2 or as large as 12. We won’t, however, mix families with children on individual cabin-booking weeks because we have an idea that wine tasting, history and foie gras aren’t everything to keep kids interested over their hols!

Family Charter Athos Canal cruise — Diesel the Ship’s Dog was invited along by this family during their week onboard Athos!
Have a read about Ciao Bambino’s family week onboard Athos.

2025 Cruise Price List and Sailing Schedule for Athos’ Canal du Midi Cruises

It’s our most Frequently Asked Question… and the answer is right here!

Athos 2025 Price List and Sailing Schedule

2025 PRICES	$ USD
	VALUE	REGULAR
Stateroom per person	6050	6990
Single supplement	2200	2500
Charter for up to 6 passengers	50000	56700
Charter for up to 8 passengers	53000	60100
Charter for up to 10 passengers	56000	63500
Family discount/child	300

Value Season:

March30-April19, October 19-26

Regular Season:

April 20-October18

Sailing Schedule and Availability Chart

Click the above link to request our availability chart. Find information about cruise dates, cruise direction, and the number of cabins still available on each 2023 cruise week.

Email Dannielle directly to request booking and payment details.

Cruising the Canal du Midi in Spring

Without a doubt, the most popular times on the Canal du Midi cruise calendar are Spring and Fall.

Why? Well, those who don’t have to travel during peak times are wise to opt for the shoulder seasons. And they do.

Canal du Midi Spring and Fall weather is typically more moderate.

Although the Canal du Midi area does experience showers in spring, they tend to be sporadic. And a sporadic shower is a fare trade off for those who wish to avoid summer heat and crowded travel, or worse, crowded destinations. Athos cruises the Canal du Midi which is deep in the countryside, and Athos takes private moorings, so crowds are never a worry. As for the busier tourist sites like Carcassonne, we try to encourage a “seize-the-day” schedule…followed by a long lunch with wine and a siesta while cruising. (It’s a steady plan).

Great things to experience along the Canal du Midi in Spring

Asparagus. Fresh, green, crisp, sweet. Best when bought by the side of the road, directly from a producer.

Wild flowers

In spring, the Canal du Midi and surrounding countryside is covered in wildflowers. Those who are more versed in botanical studies will no doubt have a longer list than this one: sage flower, thyme, rosemary, poppy fields, snapdragons, Scotch broom, freesias, thistle, wild orchids, almond blossom, cherry blossom, Judas tree, irises.

Mild 20 degree days of sunshine, clean air and clear skies.

Spring days perfectly made for wandering the Canal du Midi tow path, clicking pics of perfect wildflowers.

There are still a number of Spring cruise dates open to bookings: May 11-17 2025 and May 18-24 2025. Contact us by email and have a look at our 2025 Prices and Best of Languedoc Itinerary