Seine River Cruise: Bateaux Mouches or Bateaux Vedettes?
 

I'm just asking for personal opinions here. I want to do a Seine river cruise one evening while in Paris, and I'm wondering which you all prefer and why.

Is there a big difference between the two?

Do you want a dinner cruise?
If not, the very inexpensive Batobus is a hop-on-hop-off boat. It doesn't serve food or drink. It stops at the 8 big tourist sites, but you can just stay on and do the entire loop.

However you do it, be sure to see Paris after dark from the Seine. A must do thing!

I would chose which ever one is docked closer to your hotel. I have gone on both of them several times and that is how I made my decisions. They seemed similar to me. Check their websites to make sure they both do the exact same route. One time I felt we didn't didn't go as far past the Eiffel Tower as I had on an earlier cruise.

Tabernash2: I was definitely planning to go after dark! Thanks for the Batobus tip!

Happytrvlr: Our hostel is in the 9th arrondissement, and it looks like Vedettes is closer, but not by a whole lot.

The Batobus is TRANSPORT, not a cruise - two totally different animals. Take the Vedettes du Pont Neuf - smaller boats and better narration. You can go to their website and get a discount coupon, too.

What St Cirq said. Also, time the cruise so when you make the turnaround by the Eiffel Tower it will be lit up. We really enjoyed the cruise, even the 'mooners' we encountered near Notre Dame. Those darn kids!

Ditto

Batobus is just what it says---a bus! no commentary, people pushing to get on and off. IMO, a terrible experience.

Our favorite is Vedettes
http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/

Thanks for the input about the difference between the Batobus and the cruises! Very good to know.

StCirq: I'll be checking for that coupon, thanks!

Michele: nothing like a little local colour to keep your trip interesting (re. the mooners)! :) Around what time should we go to see the tower lit up on the way back, would you say? Do you know what time they turn it on in June?

Looks like vedettes is getting all the votes!

You need to take the Vedettes du Pont Neuf on the half hour, e.g., the 9:30 cruise to be at the ET when it twinkles on the hour.

The coupon is good for any time, any date; you just have to pay for your ticket with credit card online and use the voucher when you show up for the cruise.

www.vedettesdupontneuf.com

Merci, grandmere! ;)

Ahiddenbird,

Agree that Vedettes is the best option. Night cruising is lovely. My only problem was that I was there in early summer and it really didn’t get dark until well after ten o’clock if I recall. Too late for Gram. :)

Not to beat a dead horse, but this was not our experience at all:
"Batobus is just what it says---a bus! no commentary, people pushing to get on and off. IMO, a terrible experience."

We certainly did not see overcrowding on the Batobus. It runs rather frequently, and each one we took was less than half full. I am sure it depends on the season, but we found it to be a great way to get around Paris when we wanted to sit down awhile. And a great way to see Paris from the Seine. No, it's not a "cruise", but you can stay on it for the entire loop and take your own mini-cruise.

It is a fabulous option for a family, or budget-conscious travelers.

At 15E per person per day, I would hardly call the Batobus a good option for the budget-conscious. For 13.30E you can get 10 métro/bus tickets.

You can get a multi-day pass on the Batobus, and it rides on the SEINE, not city streets.

I'm quite aware of where it rides. I still think it's a poor choice for transport. The multi-day passes, at 18E for 2 days and 21E for 5 days, are still not a bargain compared to other possibilities, and I can't imagine anyone wanting to move slowly down the river 5 days in a row, waiting up to 20 minutes for a boat to come along each time. If it suits you, fine. I like to get places more quickly than that, and can do so even by walking.

ahiddenbird,
Here is the Vendettes du Pont Neuf website.

http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/departs.htm

The tower is illuminated after dark. The boat ride is 1 hr long. If you leave on the half hour for the ride you will be at the Eiffel Tower when it is twinkling on the hour.

Here is the page on the website that has the discount price and also the coupon. A couple bucks off.

Have fun!

I've taken a couple and IMO, there isn't that much difference. It is a boat ride on the Seine, for an hour, really, how different can it be.

OH, I've taken others than you name, but I did do Bateaux Mouches, but did that one in the day time. It was fine, it's just a bigger boat. I don't really expect that much, as I said, it's just a boat ride for an hour. I don't care at all about commentary and never listen to it, anyway.

I just read this thread as am going to Provence and Paris in a week (can't believe the trip is finally this close) and had been wondering whether I needed to buy tix ahead for an evening cruise on the Seine.

Looks like we'll save money to do so and won't be tied to any one particular evening, so am planning to go ahead and do that. I now have a question for once we're there...we'd like to try to take a 9:30 pm cruise, how much ahead would you think we'd want to get there? None of us have ever been, so have no idea about the lines to expect.

Oh and one other q along this line, has anyone taken the dinner cruise Le Calife and if so was it a good experience, did it feel worth the money to you? Thanks.

I think arriving at the Pont Neuf departure site 20-30 min ahead of time is plenty at this time of year; even later would probably work, but you might not get the seats you want. We always like to sit outside, and the best seats fill up fast for the 9:30 cruise.

Is 930 still the best time to take Vedettes du Pont Neuf ride mid July? I'm just wondering because I wouldn't think it would be dark by then so half the ride would be in the light and half in the dark. I had been planning on 945 but if it doesn't run at 945, then that's a problem too... really didn't want to be out too late for the kids so if 930 works, all the better :-)

Merci, grandmere!

To my knowledge the Vedettes don't do a 9:45 cruise. It's not as though the 9:30 cruise is going to be bright sunshine one minute and pitch dark the next. IMO, it's the best bet for seeing the ET twinkle.

We took the 9:30 in July and it was great. The lights were on along the river...just beautiful and memorable.

We prefer the Pont Neuf vedettes. And also prefer to go at "dusk" so that by the time we get to the Eiffel Tower the lights are on--and the lights along the way are coming on. Take a bottle of wine and some glasses. They'll sell you a bottle at the dock for a fortune if you forget.

So I guess my final decision is: take Vedettes, show up for the 9:30 cruise 30 minutes early WITH my prepaid ticket (which will cost less because I paid online and used the coupon!). Be prepared to be wowed by Paris all lit up in the night. I feel like this is a solid plan :)

I have to say, who needs google when you have the Fodors Europe message board to help you plan your trip?

Thanks so much for the great advice on this everyone!

go_laura: I hope you have a blast on your trip! I'll be headed to Provence after Paris myself, only I'll be going in June, and I can't wait. So jealous that your trip is already upon you :)

Ahiddenbird: from my report on a previous trip to París: "we take our Seine cruise in the “Vedettes du Pont Neuf”.It is very cold, but we resist in the upper(open) part of the boat.Another perspective of Paris, unforgettable, really not to be missed( buy your tickets on the web, save 5 euros each and skip the lines, as there is a special window for internet tickets).When we return, on the Pont Neuf there is a plaque about Jaques de Molay, last Master of the Templars being burnt here.I found interesting that the name of Jaques de Molay has survived, and nobody cares about the French king that killed him and other Temple Knights in order to take their treasures." If you arrime a littlemearly, you can take a look at the plaqueta, may be Thanks a littlemearly of those brave men and also take a look at he beautiful garden nearby.
Enjoy your trip!

P.S. Sorry for the typos, my IPad insists....

Thanks, jelopez33! I'll make a point to read the rest of your report :)