There are tickets for the 30 and 31 of January, and the rest of the year, it looks like...

You can still join the tour, I'm sure, but unless you read up on the grotto you won't have any idea of what the guide is talking about. You can, however, get the gist of everything just by looking around and sensing the prehistory.

Hi Barbara, We drove from Toulouse airport to Saurat in the evening - we were staying in a gite there. The first bit around the Toulouse ring road was horrible (rush hour, unfamiliar car and roads, driving on the opposite side to the UK) but once we escaped the city and got on the right road south it was a very straightforward drive. We took the toll road so it wasn't busy at all and took perhaps 70-80 minutes with no hold ups. However during the rest of the week we found that the roundabout and stretch of road (N20) which takes you past Tarascon to the caves got very clogged up in the morning with long queues and slow progress. Its single carriageway and can't be avoided so perhaps that's where your friends got stuck? I can't say if it's as bad at this time of year as in the summer but I would definitely allow some extra time (up to 30 minutes) to get through it if you have tickets for a cave tour in the morning. On a more positive note we loved our stay in the Ariege - the caves were a highlight and also the castle at Foix. It's difficult to get around without a car but if you're keen hikers there are lovely big mountainous walks. Worth looking out for the local markets too - although we were there in midsummer so it may be different in December. I just checked and the gite where we stayed appears to be either fully booked or unavailable next month so can't help with that! Mary.

Dear Katrin, strollers and baby carriers are forbidden inside the cave to preserve it. Babies are not stricly forbidden but in our opinion, the security cannot be guaranted for babies inside the cave and that's why we say it is strongly not recommended. The long walk is complicated and can be slippy... in the end it is really up to you but you have to be aware of all this ! Anyway thanks for asking and do not hesitate to call us if you need more information !

Sorry but no baby carriers are not allowed inside the cave.

No sorry.

Hi it is really not expensive. 12 EUR for adult. 8,5 EUR for student. 8 EUR for children. enjoy, it is really a nice experience, for young and old

No sé si llego a tiempo para responder pero por si acaso. La cueva tiene escaleras y 2 zonas donde tienes que agacharte hasta casi ponerte de cuclillas. Debes tener en cuenta que resbala bastante. La caminata en sí no es larga y además vas pasando para las diferentes explicaciones, así que el hecho que no esté acostumbrado a andar no es problema, como tampoco lo es el del sobrepeso.

Si. Hay alguna en Español. En la pagina web habia los horarios. Hay que comprar las entraràs en la missa web.

Hi, you can drive from Barcelona, it's a few hours drive. And you will need to check with the car hire firm, don't just go over the border, you won't be insured. The caves are well with the trip, niaux and mas d azil, try to do both as they are quite close to each other. Have fun Jo