With the French canals opening in Spring, Easter is the perfect time to go exploring by boat in the sunny south of France – cruising from the wild Camargue to the sandy Med!

Bag a cheap flight to Montpellier and head for Crown Blue Line’s base at St. Gilles on the edge of the Camargue, to board your own private cruiser for a family holiday of a lifetime.

You’ll love it just as much as the kids – casting off to explore this beautiful stretch of water in the Camargue, a huge nature reserve where milk white horses and pink-legged flamingoes stalk through salt marshes, creating an ever-changing scene as you cruise by in splendour.

Heading south towards the lovely Mediterranean beaches, this one week cruise from St Gilles to the Etang de Thau has no locks, and you can stop where you like for picnics along the way, or to spend the night by the quaint stone quayside of an old Crusader town, surrounded by wonderful restaurants.

From St Gilles it’s a leisurely couple of days to medieval Aigues-Mortes, a fortified town with excellent ramparts for re-living ancient battles, and beyond lies the sparkling Med, with vast, often deserted beaches running close to the waterway, sometimes as little as 50 strides from the boat.

Further on at Mèze the kids can have a wild time at the Dinosaur Park and Museum, and they’ll love the expanse of vast inland lake called the ‘Étang de Thau’, ringed around by picturesque fishing harbours and family friendly restaurants. Prices in April start from £593 for a week on a ‘Colibri’ sleeping 4 + 1 (£119 pp), and no previous boating experience is needed. Prices exclude travel but Montpellier is served by BA from Gatwick or Ryanair from Stansted, and Crown Blue Line staff are happy to arrange transfers. Visit www.crownblueline.com or call 0870 160 5635.

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