Flights

Easyjet, Flybe and Jet2com all do budget flights to  France, and it is worth checking their websites but we have found that the best routes and prices for a choice of both UK regional and close French airports are with Ryanair booked through www.ryanair.com.

The destination airports in France to choose from, with travel time to Gabian, are:

• Beziers / Cap d'Agde           35 minutes               Ryanair
• Montpelier                           55 minutes         Ryanair & Easyjet
• Carcassonne                      1 hour 15 mins         Ryanair
• Nimes                                1 hour 15 mins         Ryanair
• Perpignan                           1 hour 15 mins    Ryanair & Flybe

• Avignon                              1 hour 50 mins  Jet2.com & Flybe
• Toulouse                             2 hours 15 mins  Easyjet & Flybe
• Girona (just in Spain)           2 hours 15 mins      Ryanair

Flights with reasonable day departure times on Saturdays in 2010 include:

• Bristol to Beziers
• London Luton to Beziers
• London Stansted to Perpignan or Carcassonne
• East Midlands to Carcassonne
• Liverpool to Girona
• London Gatwick to Girona

Outside of high season (July/August), changeover days are flexible, which opens up a huge range of potential low cost Ryanair flights from most regional UK airports.

Airport parking – try the website www.gosimply.com. Booking in advance by internet can save a lot of money. For Stansted airport, an alternative to Pink Elephant is the local Bridgefoot Cattery Bed & Breakfast who do a parking only deal which is cheaper and quicker; see www.bridgefootcattery.com.

Car hire in France – the cheapest car hire is usually found by booking through the Ryanair website with Hertz, but for comparison you can also try www.europcar.com. The cars are very easy to pick up from and return to the airport, making the journey fairly hassle free.

If you are flying to Girona, it is best to book your car hire through Ryanair with Hertz to avoid the insurance surcharge some other hire companies levy for customers travelling into France.

By train

France has an excellent rail system, and there is a fast train service from Paris to Montpelier / Barcelona. Come off at Beziers which is 25km from Gabian (a 25 minute taxi ride). For a shorter and cheaper taxi ride, take the connection on the Bedarieux line north to Magalas which is just 9km, ten minutes by taxi to Gabian.

Visit the train websites www.sncf.co.uk  and www.voyages-sncf.com.  

By car

Crossing from the UK to Calais / Boulogne, take the motorway to and around Paris and then south by Clermont Ferrand, through the Massif Central and over the tallest bridge in the world at Millau (designed by Sir Norman Foster). Follow the motorway signs in the direction of Beziers, but come off before at Pezenas. Drive through the centre of Pezenas and take the D13 north signed Roujan and the Parc Naturel du Haut Languedoc.

Recommended hotel stopover: Orleans with its beautiful old centre with many restaurants.

From most airports (Montpelier, Nimes, Perpignan, Carcassonne, Gerona), take the E15 / A9 and come off at junction 34. Follow the signs north to Pezenas on the D13, making sure that you come off at Pezenas on the right hand slip road (otherwise you will find yourself on the N9 motorway - in which case come off at the first exit and go through the centre of Pezenas to re-join the D13 heading north). Follow straight on along the inner ring road around the west of Pezenas (Intermarche supermarket en route if desired), and continue north on the D13 signed Roujan and the Parc Naturel du Haut Languedoc.