canal du midi

We have booked a Canal boat to travel the Canal du Midi in September. We are a family of 5 -- 2 adults, 3 children. We plan to go from Castelnaudary to Port Cassafieres over 7 days. Is this too ambitious? Or could it be done in 6 days? We have booked with Le Boat. Welcome any advice.

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%26lt;%26lt;Or could it be done in 6 days?%26gt;%26gt;

I am not sure what the point of your question really is. You might be able to do it in fewer than 6 days but generally, canal travel is not a race.

The last time I travelled this same route (last summer) I took 10 days which seemed to me a very pleasant pace. Many people are able to complete the distance in 7 days and still have time for sight seeing.

There have been pages and pages of information already written on this exact route on this forum. I recommend you perform a simple forum search using the words %26quot;canal du midi%26quot; or similar and you%26#39;ll have the wisdom of many posts instantly at your finger tips.

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Thank you. Our issue is that we must be back in Toulouse for a 12pm flight, so if we reached Port Cassafieres late on the 6th day, we could over night before making an early getaway back to Toulouse on day 7. Do you know how long %26quot;check out%26quot; of the boat usually takes?. How would you recommend that we get back to Toulouse??

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Port Cassafieres is quite a distance from Toulouse. The best way to reach it would be to arrange for a taxi to pick you up at Port Cassafieres, drop you off at the Beziers train station (about a 15 - 20 minute ride) and take the train from Beziers to Toulouse. Schedules are here:

www.ter-sncf.com

Once in Toulouse you%26#39;ll need transportation to the airport which is just north of town.

You could make this trip in 6 days but it would be really rushed. September is usually not as crowded as August but lock delays could put you behind schedule and the locks close somewhere around 6 pm. (I can%26#39;t really remember the times).

Alternatively, I suggest you try a shorter route. Trebes to Posrt Cassieres for example. Call the Le Boat office in Florida (the number is on their website) and talk to Debbie. She might have a better plan for you.

Another option would be to rent from France Afloat doing an out and back from Capestang.

http://www.franceafloat.com/

Locaboat also has several possible routes that may be done in 6 days:

http://www.locaboat.com/

Take a look at the above options and let me know if you have additional questions.