River and canal holidays in France
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If you wish to captain and crew your own boat to affront the locks, or enjoy the comfort of a luxury barge with attentive crew ready to serve you. The inland waterways of France has more than 2000 kilometre of navigable rivers and canals waiting for you. You can explore the wonderful countryside and small villages, hidden in the historical regions of France.
Self Drive Boat Rentals
There are companies offering excellent self drive boat rentals, where no special permits are required. There are boats available for 2, 4, 6 and up to 12 people. Well designed with modern fittings, WCs, showers, fully equipped kitchens.
All the family can take the boat's helm and enjoy a wonderful vacation. When you take over the boat, you'll be given instructions on steering and locking through, simple maintenance and information on where to moor. Certain companies offer "one way" trips where it is not necessary to return to the starting point, there are also programs with a mixture of river and canal.
You'll find the choice will depend on the region you want to visit and the boat size that you require, to help you select the ideal boating holiday we have Cruise Experts ready to answer all your questions, simply click here and fill out the form, you'll receive a tailor made suggestion meeting your exact requirements.
Crewed Barges
There are barges which have been converted into luxury floating hotels, cruising the waterways of France. Many standards and prices of barges are available, the passenger capacity varying from 4, 6, 8, 12, 20 and sometimes more, the cruise duration is generally 3 days or a week.
Some of the barges such as La Reine Pedauque, offer very high standards in French gourmet cuisine and wines. The excellent accommodation and well designed cabins shaming many a cruise liner and will ensure you have an unforgetable cruise vacation.
River Cruising
There are many hundreds of kilometre of navigable rivers in France, famous
names such as the Seine, Rhone, Rhine and Moselle. Offering access to
the oceans and other European waters, these rivers are ideal for larger
boats and offer good cruising. Generally open all year round, except during
flood times.
There are some lesser well know rivers such as the Tarn, Garonne and Dordogne where cruising is also very agreeable. Some streches may only be completed in canoes or inflatable boats, so make sure you check out the specifications before you arrive.
Canals
The canals of France offer connections between the major rivers. Usually
they are located in the centre of France, or North of the Seine, except
for the Midi canal. The canals bridge the gap caused by the water dividing
line and eastern mountains of the Jura and the Alps, and allow access
between the rivers.
Most of the canals are at least a few hundred years old, they are very interesting to cruise for many reasons. Even keen sailors will enjoy the challenge of completing a canal. The obstacles to overcome can vary from limitation in size, to difficult approaches at certain lock entrances, or the passing through narrow tunnels which can be a few miles long.
For the novice, canal cruising is a great introduction to boats and boat handling. After you have accomplished a few locks during one day, you'll rapidly become skilled in rope work and mooring.
Build Your Own Barge
- So you have a dream of owning your own barge!
- Do you want to build a charter boat for business?
- You've decided to make the break and convert an old barge in to a floating dream ?
Make sure you read through the most important list of a 101 things to do before your start.