Holidays on the water are an ideal choice for a change of scenery and safe disconnection.
The Travel Industry including barging has experienced rough waters in 2020, in the context of an unprecedented health crisis that cut short a good part of the navigation season. Hopefully we all emerge strengthened from this storm.
Locaboat Holidays will re-open from the 27th March 2021. All Locaboat bases will open enabling you to cruise in France in the Burgundy, the Loire and Nivernais, the Saone and the Franche- Comte, Brittany, Alsace-Lorraine and Ardennes, the Canal du Midi, the South-West, the Lot Valley and the Camargue. In Germany Muritz, Mecklenburg and in Holland in Northern and Southern Holland including Amsterdam. In Italy on the Venice Lagoon and in Ireland on the Shannon and Erne.
Strict health and safety protocols that were implemented in 2020 will be continued in 2021 making sure you are safe to cruise.
Locaboat Special Offers: Book your cruise before the 31 January 2021 for one week minimum and get a 5% discount.
Locaboat Permanent Offers: Family discount of 10% for any crew including children one or more aged up to 18 years
Couples 10% discount of any crew of only 2 adults
Flotilla discount 5% discount if at least 2 boats are booked to travel together at the same time
Long stays – 10% discount for cruises of 28 days or longer, 7% discount for cruises of 21 to 27 days, 5% discount for cruises of 14 – 20 days, 3% discount for cruises of 10- 13 days.
Le Boat are ready to cruise from 26th March 2021. Most of the Le Boat bases will re-open in March 2021 but some of the one-way cruises have been restricted since Covid-19. Please contact me for more details.
Le Boat have reviewed and adapted many of their procedures in order to prevent the spread of Coronavirus at all their bases.
Le Boat offer cruises in the UK on the River Thames, in Ireland, in Scotland, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Holland and Canada.
Le Boat Special Offers: Book before 3 January 2021 and get the following discounts:
15% discount on Budget and Comfort Boats
10% discount on the Royal Mystique Model A or B and the Mystique and the Vision boats
5% discount on the Horizon boats and the Minuetto
Minimum duration 7 nights.
10% discount for a cruise of 14 nights or more, offer excludes Horizon boats
10% discount for 2 boats cruising together and booked at the same time. This does not apply to Horizon boats.
Alternative Travel Group, who offer independent walking and cycling routes in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Hungary and Scotland are waiting to welcome travelers again. I have been fortunate to do 5 independent walks with ATG and can only say they are perfectly planned and take you through the most beautiful countryside and choose the hotels and overnight accommodation with the utmost of care. In France I walked in the Lot and Dordogne Valley and the Classic Alsace region. In Italy I have walked the unknown Umbria and Spoleto route and the Amalfi Coast. In Spain I have done the Hills of Girona. All these walks have been outstanding. I had booked to walk in Portugal on a new route offered by ATG called “The Paths to Penda” in September 2020 unfortunately this had to be cancelled hopefully this will be possible in September 2021.
Unfortunately like most of the other South Africans I was unable to travel abroad this year so took the opportunity to reminisce about all the previous cruises I have been lucky enough to enjoy. I have been fortunate to cruise on some fabulous routes both with my family and friends. We have been welcomed by Le Boat and Locaboat Holidays and had wonderful holidays on a variety of boats and routes in France and Italy.
The first cruise we did was in 1996 with Crown Blue Line which was later taken over by Le Boat. We cruised in Central France on the Canal Lateral a Loire from Marseilles-les-Aubigny to Briare and return, we loved it and after that I offered my services as an agent in South Africa to represent Crown Blue Line. I noticed the Locabaot boats on the Canal and approached them too as it seemed sensible to be able to offer potential clients choices. Our second cruise was on the Canal du Nivernais on a Locaboat from Joigny to Corbigny. By then I had a few clients who we met up with on the Canal and cruised together some of the time which was fun. We cruised on a large Penichette with another family giving us the opportunity to do things as group of 8 or to split up as 2 families or couples to go off on their own, lots of flexibility. The Nivernais is definitely one of my favourite routes, I have lots of favourites. Straight after the Nivernais we drove down to the River Lot in the Lot Valley and did a second cruise with Locaboat Holidays on a smaller Penichette accommodating our family of 4. The River Lot is a more demanding area to cruise because there are no lock keepers and all the locks are manual. We started at the Locaboat base in Luzech and cruised the entire cruising area to a beautiful town called St Cirq-Lapopie. Fortunately our children were now both experienced bargees and could assist with the locks. The Rivers require some navigation skills and I do not recommend the River Lot for a first time cruise but it is wonderful to do if you have some barging experience.
After three trips our family were hooked and we were fortunate to have more opportunities to cruise. Next we cruised on the Canal du Midi certainly one of the most well known barging areas. All the locks are automated with lock keepers making it one of the easier areas to navigate. We cruised at the end of June before the European school holidays which was perfect, lovely weather but before the crowds. The Canal du Midi has excellent towpaths along the canal making it easy to cycle alongside the boat. One of the aspects I enjoy about barging is that you can self-cater and when the opportunity arises you can stop and enjoy a delicious local meal. We have had opportunities to eat at the local trucker’s restaurants, small cafes alongside the canal and Guide Michelin restaurants in the villages. Drinking and driving is never a problem if you choose your mooring wisely! I have cruised twice on the Canal du Midi once with our family and once with a group of friends, both most enjoyable trips and fun to return to areas you are familiar with
Another area I have cruise twice is the River Charente which I loved. The first time my husband and I cruised on the River Charente on our own and managed all the manual locks without lock-keepers, I enjoyed the activity. Each time we spent a week on the River first we cruised in Easterly direction the second time a Westerly direction. The River Charente takes you past beautiful Chateaux and through Cognac country a perfect opportunity awaits you to sample this delicious brandy. Another area in France where we cruised twice was in Burgundy where we cruised on the Burgundy Canal, the River Saone, the River Seille and the Canal du Rhone au Rhin. Burgundy is known as the heart of good food, markets and excellent wines and we certainly enjoyed them all.
I love France but realized it would be wise to sample what barging in Italy was all about. We were not disappointed, the Venice Lagoon offers small villages, elegant beaches and some beautiful towns. Arriving in Venice on a barge at dawn was one of my most exciting travel moments seeing the famous buildings in the early morning light was spectacular. We enjoyed exploring the surrounding islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello each with their individual charm. Navigation in this area is not easy and again as there are a lot of craft on the water ranging from cruise liners to small paddle boats I do not recommend this area for first time cruises. However once the “barging bug” has bitten it is definitely an area worth visiting.
I hope that in 2021 travel will be open and safe for all of us again. Until then reflect on your holidays enjoy the memories and stay safe. Wishing you all a happy and healthy Christmas and all the best for 2021.
