hiley

where should i go and how many days

nukesafe

What type of "barging" are you interested in? Are you thinking of a "hotel" barge, where someone else does the driving, prepares meals, organizes side trips, etc., or do you want a "drive it yourself" kind of charter? If it is the first, here is a place to start: http://www.bargesineurope.com/ If it is the second, try this site: http://www.barginginfrance.com/rentalboats.htm

Don't limit yourself to these sites, as the web is full of lots more places to look and to compare prices.

As to the rest of the question, I would prefer France or Holland as places to go. The usual rental is for a week, but some companies have shorter periods; a weekend, for example.

IMHO, it is a wonderful way to have a vacation, moving at a slow pace through the lovely countryside, stopping to see historic sites, visiting vineyards, and eating either aboard or in neat restaurants.

Michael

One way upstream is the best way to do it if you do a drive-it-yourself boat. We went from St. Florentin to Montbard in a week (about 70 km. with 50+ locks). When we went, the locks were kept open on the downstream side, perhaps to minimize algae growth on its walls, so we generally could glide right in, close the gate behind us, and have the lock filled in. If you go downstream, the lock must first be filled with water before you can get into it. It takes time.

hiley

thank you .. we are thinking of the Loire vally.. we would like to see some vineyards ,a not too much of the cities.. Alos will hire bikes ,so need places from the barge.we will be going with 2 other couples

nukesafe

You had perhaps do some homework. There are a few hotel barges that go on the Loire, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZfbT...layer_embedded is one. The Loire, however is not really a river that is well suited to cruising, being shallow, sandy, and seasonal.

Why don't you explore the web a bit more, read the information that is online, and then decide the kind of cruising you want to do. Then come back here and I'm sure the folks on Fodors will be happy to answer your more focussed questions.

If money is a problem, I might mention that the hotel barges are considerably more expensive than the self hire boats.

klondike

nukesafe has valid points. Not sure there are Loire Valley area barges.

A lot of barge routes use the canals, not rivers. We self-drove a pénichette in Alsace for a long week-end starting at Lutzelbourg, heading towards Nancy. I believe if you headed in the opposite direction, towards Strasbourg, you may pass through some vinyards. It was absolutely beautiful, and we loved having the bikes, though you'd have to decide if you really want 6 bikes on the front of your boat; I would prefer 2, or 4 max., enough to allow some to get away on their own, bike into town for fresh bread in the mornings etc.

You could also research the Burgundy routes, they may go through vinyards. I've always wanted to do the Charente River in Cognac country on up to Angoulême, but again, can't remember if there are actually vinyards to visit. The barges can tie up in Cognac, and my sons loved their tour of the Hennessy distillery, take the best one, the "Paradise" tour.

historytraveler

I don't know what price level you're looking at, but French Country Waterways, LTD. have some excellent luxury trips. www.fcwl.com

nukesafe

Oh hell, I pasted the wrong URL in my post above about the Loire river cruises. That link must have been confusing, to say the least. Sorry about that!

The correct link I should have posted was: http://circacruises.com/Cruises-Rive...Chenonceau.htm

AGM_Cape_Cod

Last year my parents took a trip in Loire through Le Boat. They had a great time. http://www.leboat.com/destination/france/loire_valley

hiley

thanks again.I think we have now decided to do the canal from Decize to Briare.My apologies The Loire is not in this area.I think this route will pass Sancere an vineyard..
Also I believe we will be goingdown stream with the canal.and we have ordered bikes,...
So,anyone out there that has beeb on this leg of the canals? any hints?
Yes La Boat was most helpful,but slow in replying

JudyC

You might like to check out www.locaboat.com, I rented two barges from them May 2009 for one week trip in Burgundy, they are quite helpful.