For general information see here.

From Villa Failte you will be using the yellow and red lines (broadly the same line just opposite directions ).  Walk for 15 minutes to Place de Gambetta, which is the square in the centre of Argeles Village where the small Carrefour is located.  The stop is just beyond the far corner of the square.  One side goes towards the port and beaches (yellow line ... you will see a yellow circle on the sign at the trainbus stop) and the other side is for the returning trainbus (red line ... red circle on the sign).  The cost for the journey (wherever you are going) is 2.5 Euros each way.  Payment can be made once on the trainbus (directly to "conductor") or in advance by purchasing book of tickets from the kiosks at the Centre Plage.

If going to the Port or beaches from Villa Failte then get the bus from the stop on the right hand side of the road with the yellow circle.

We took the trainbus in the evening when going to the Port for dinner.  There are scheduled times for the trainbus stops (see the trainbus schedules available from Tourist Offices, the sales kiosk, online, etc).  Broadly speaking during peak season every 20/30 mins and running late into the night.

If leaving the Port to return to Villa Failte the stop is found by turning left when leaving the Port and following the path / road round to the right of the roundabout.  The stop (red circle as you will be going on the red line) is about 100 yards further on on the right hand side (there is an Estate Agents / Immobilier just across the road).

Worth doing at least once during your trip ... if only for the experience !  PS, the picture below was taken very early in the season ... in July / August the trainbus is much busier !!!

Located on the quayside of Argeles Port is Navisud who rent out small motor boats for a few hours, half day or full day.

All of the boats require that you have a RYA international certificate of competence ... with the exception of the Bombard Explorer DB420, which is a 13ft / 4.25m dingy (the black one with the canopy below).

We (5 people with mix of adults and teenagers ... probably maximum capacity) hired this for 2 hours which was ample to travel along the coast to Collioure and Port Vendre Harbours and back.  A great way to see the coastline and to sample "the open seas" !  Lifejackets, etc are provided and the boat even has steps if you want to go for a swim during the trip.  Very easy to steer and operate, even with no experience.

Total cost was 70 Euros for the boat.  To rent, take a wander down to the Port where on most days the there is someone there to speak to ... it was always the same person whilst we were there this August and he spoke excellent English.

​Next time we will take one of the larger boats ... in the meantime I am taking the RYA course back in the UK !!!

Peche En Mer is run by a very experience boat captain from Argeles Port.

There were 3 of us and we were joined by 4 others on the trip which was booked direct with the captain by phoning (0033) 680231369.  His English isn't great but you can get by with poor French !!  There is a sign at the Port, where the boat leaves from, that says when the next trips are (see photo below).  We booked on the Saturday for a trip on the Monday.  Left at 0730 and returned about 1200.

Standard boat fishing using prawns, sardines and the likes for bait with each person (to max of about 8) having their own rod.  The boat has sonar for detecting fish shoals which is good.  Unfortunately, on our trip each person only caught a few fish, all relatively small ... we were warned before we left that might be the case though due to the sea conditions that day.

Was still very enjoyable and superb views along the coast from Argeles to Collioure to Port Vendres and Banyuls Sur Mer.  See selection of pictures below.

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Located in the centre of the village ... La Vieille Cave is excellent for meat skewers including pork, chicken and fabulous steak.  Have other dishes such as salads and fish / chips as well as a kids menu but it is the skewers that I would recommend ... delicious and reasonably priced.

The picture below was taken in winter at a time of day when it was closed ... but is open all year round.  Click on the link above for facebook page with menus and photos.

We have been to this small restaurant in Argeles Village several times now and is always good quality. Definitely recommended.

La Gamate usually has a few reasonably prices set 2 or 3 course menus or the option to choose individual items.  Variety of dishes including pizza, seafood, pasta and meat.  Not a huge menu but always plenty to choose from.  Has seating both outside and inside and is one of the few restaurants in Argeles Village that is open throughout the year and on most, if not all days.

Click on link above for facebook page with sample menus and photos.

Drove to Montpellier at the beginning of August ... easy drive of about 2 hours from Villa Failte.  Used Sat Nav but wasn't that difficult.  We followed signs for city centre parking and parked right next to the main square (Place de Comedie) in an underground car park.  Can't remember price but was reasonable.

There is also a park and ride tram service that is well signposted as you enter the city.

Came out of the car park directly onto the main square, Place de Comedie ... WOW ... fantastic place to sit and people watch with loads of outside cafes / restaurants, fountain, opera house, tourist office and tourist trainbus ... all in a huge open square surrounded by beautiful buildings.  Walk a few hundred yards and you are in a myriad of old streets lined with chic and artisan shops as well as al fresco dining on every corner / mini square.  In fact, in hindsight maybe better to have a wander and then eat at one of those.

We had a light lunch then hopped on the train bus for a tour around the city.  This goes through the aforementioned streets as well as up through the Arc (like Arc de Triumphe) to the highest point in the city.  The trainbus is effectively the same as those found in Perpignan, Argeles Sur Mer and Collioure ... seem to be an ever present but excellent feature of many of the towns and cities throughout the Languedoc region.

After that we spent the afternoon walking around the streets before finishing off with a visit to the Musee Fabre which is very close to Place de Comedie and where there was an excellent exhibition of the life of Frederic Bazille including many paintings from most of the famous Impressionists of his time including Renoir and Monet.

​Below are some of the pictures of our trip ...

Took the train from Argeles Train Station to Collioure ... cost 1.80 Euros per person each way, journey time about 5 min in the train (after 12 min walk from Villa Failte).

Once in Collioure it is a short 5 min walk from the station to the town centre where we got the Collioure to Port Vendres trainbus for 8 Euros each (return trip). The journey takes about 45 minutes each way and you can go all the way around or get off at Port Vendres and get a later trainbus back.

The journey is stunning with the trainbus heading up over the hills with fantastic views of Collioure, Port Vendres and the surrounding hills including vineyards and fortifications.

Back in Collioure we wandered around the arts and crafts shops and enjoyed a leisurely dinner beside the waterfront before catching the train home.

Easy and rewarding day out !

​Some pictures from trainbus in Collioure below :

Just back from a 2 week holiday at Villa Failte.  Decided to go for a days rafting and chose to book with Oxygen Aventure (www.oxygen-aventure.com) since they had good reviews on Trip Advisor and spoke English !  They have a few videos on the site as well.

Would highly recommend.  We (5 of us) chose the "Rafting Integral" which combines both their other rafting trips "Rafting Famille" and "Rafting Sportif" ... in other words partly relatively calm river conditions and partly exciting rapids.  The cost for 2.5 hours in the water (with an additional hour for induction, etc) was 45 Euros per person.  Booking can be done online ... e-mail Oxygen and they are pretty quick at responding with booking form etc.  Minimum group size is 6 so if you have fewer (we had 5) you could be joined by others on arrival (we had a Frenchman and his young son with us).  It is possible to book for morning or afternoon ... a godsend if you have teenagers that you need to get out of bed !!!

The start point is Belvianes Cavirac, just before St Quillan, which is about 1 hr 40 mins drive from Villa Failte.  The drive is absolutely stunning !  After Perpignan the route takes you through fabulous  mountain scenery, including rivers, gorges and beautiful French villages such as Maury and St Paul de Fenouilledes.  The route follows the route of the Little Red Train, crossing the line on several occasions.

The rafting itself was fantastic ... the wetsuits, booties, helmets and lifejackets were all in excellent condition as was the raft itself.  Our instructor spoke both French and English.  After a comprehensive induction we were quickly on the river and very quickly on light rapids !!!  A few of us did fall out a few times but it was very clear what was to be done and was very much part of the fun.  Before doing the "hairy" section we all had to demonstrate that we could swim across fast flowing water ... at this point we were given the choice of missing the section to join the raft at a later stage.  But to be honest the "hairy section" wasn't too bad ... if anything we felt that passed too quickly but we all had to row quite hard and follow the instructor's instructions !!!!

A few of us chose to float down the light rapids on the final stage.

The trip was primarily on the River Aude and through the Gorge St George and the Gorge Pierre Lys.  Definitely recommended.

The company also does canyoning, hydrospeed (down rapids holding onto floats), caving and climbing ... full information is on their website (see link above).  There are other companies doing very similar in the area and we saw a few ... they looked good as well.