Barge Cruises: The Best Slow Boat You'll Ever Take

If you thought a slow boat to China is the ideal way to travel, you should try a barge cruise, the best slow boat you'll ever take. Luxury barge cruises are available on the waterways of England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Holland, France, Germany and even the United States with companies such as Erie Canal Cruise Lines.

Europe is full of waterways, once used for commerce, with barges carrying goods from one town to the next. The canals and waterways are still busy with barges, narrow boats and cabin cruisers carrying people. An Amsterdam canal cruise, or France barge cruise offers a slow pace to visit villages, vineyards or the countryside, and to give you an opportunity to get off and stroll or bike along the shores. You get to know the people and the culture on a much more relaxed basis.

Barges May Be Newly-Built

Barges may be converted from former cargo barges or they may have been built specifically to carry passengers. You can charter a barge for your family or group, with most barges carrying six to eight people, with some larger. River barge cruises almost always come with captain and crew, but sometimes you can find a barge you can captain yourself, if you're so inclined.

Meals and wine are normally provided but some barges provide you the option of eating in village restaurants as you make your way slowly along.

Hotel boats are larger and you can book individually or as a couple. They always have a captain and crew and meals are provided. Narrowboats are an English phenomenon, where the waterways and locks are much more constricted. You will also see them in Ireland, Wales and Scotland. With a narrowboat, you are the captain.

Captain a Cabin Cruiser

Self-drive cruisers are cabin cruisers you rent and drive yourself and they are available in most countries. A penichette is another alternative, which looks part barge and part cabin cruiser. You will see them in France, Ireland, Holland and Germany.

These boats are normally seen on canals, but can also go on rivers. If you're thinking of a barge-type vacation, the lowest rates are in March, April and October. All the craft discussed are usually 16-feet wide or narrower, which is necessary to go through canal locks. You don't go far and fast in a day. The speed is three to 10 knots, so don't plan on traveling great distances.

Some come equipped with bicycles for shore excursions and on crewed boats there are usually shore excursions each day by bus or van to see local points of interest, such as castles, vineyards, markets and gardens.

France and Germany Cruises

Cruises in France and Germany range from relatively small barges to luxury barge cruises on larger ships that are a combination of riverboat and hotel barge. There is a wide choice available, concentrating in one region, such as French canal barge cruises in Burgundy or the Upper Loire, or taking a much longer cruise. One example is an eight-person ship at $2,300 a day (for the whole ship) that will leave from Mainz, Koblenz or Koln Germany and cruise to Rotterdam and Amsterdam in Holland or all the way to London.


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