We are self cruising down the Canal Lateral a la Loire. We have a book that contains maps of the towns along the canals and I have watched different videos that show the cruising the canal. I have a couple of questions:
Thanks!
Hello,
A group of six completed a cruise along the Canal du Nivernais in Burgundy in mid-September. Although a different canal, I can at least provide you with a few tips that we found helpful. We used Locaboat out of Joigny. We book a 10 night trip return from Joigny on a 1500FB. You have not said how long you plan to cruise nor at what time of year. Our boat had four cabins each with a bathroom. We used the fourth cabin for storing our bags and some supplies. Loads of room on this size boat.
We found that Locaboat to be top notch. Correspondence and booking was easy. At the base, their introduction on the boat and the canal was efficient and informative and once underway, were available for calls if needed.
Some tips that we found helpful:
- do a shopping at your base and stock the boat with toilet paper, paper towels, plastic wrap, foil, dish soap, and other basic items along with cooking supplies, bottled water and some food;
- have on board supplies to prepare at least two dinners, plus breakfast and lunch supplies. You can always restock at local markets and small stores along the way. However, not every stop had a store to restock.
- Most stops had a bakery, but not all. Some towns no longer have a grocery store nor a bakery.
- We cooked all but three dinners on board, as finding a restaurant was not always easy and was far more fun to eat and drink wine on board as it was just more cost efficient.
- Some nightly moorings were just that - a town dock for a few boats with no services, or at some, we could pay for power and water. Our boat had enough power and water to last at least two days, so if you have the opportunity, top up with water and recharge your batteries with shore power if these are available. We needed to run the motor for about six hours to fully recharge the batteries.
- We did manage to have full services at two locations where we paid a nightly fee, with only one having toilets and showers. Use the boat facilities which we all found to be more that adequate.
- Our boat had a canal cruise guide which had charts for navigation, distances between locks, moorage locations and their facilities. These were all up to date.
- do your research prior to leaving so that you have a basic idea as to what to see. We found a number of sites on line that we used to preplan some of the stops, or at least know what to see.
-Three of us had some boating experience which proved useful for navigation, maneuvering into some tight moorage spots, and just tying up at night.
Hope this helps.
David
I absolutely love canal boating in France! The serenity of the countryside, the sound of water rushing in to fill a lock, camaraderie shared by passing boats with a wave and exchange of “bonjours” leaves me longing for our next trip. Before any canal boat trip I plan, I order the official French waterways guide (Carte Fluvial) to the area we are planning to explore. It’s the official VNF, Voies Navigables de France, (government department of canals) guide. Each waterways guide covers a geographic area of canals providing a detailed guide for each canal listing everything available along the canal including facilities at marinas (showers, Fuel, water, port fees, etc.), local businesses (boulangeries, tabac shops, laundries, groceries, etc.) touristic sights, local history, local gastronomic and wine information right along with navigational aid and information (which side the lock controls are on, how deep the lock is, cautions, location of weirs and hazards, lock operational hours, etc) .
You can order one online at https://www.carte-fluviale.com/en/waterways-guides/waterways-guides-sorted-by-numbers. I believe you need guide #10 Pays de Loire for your area for 20.50 euro plus nominal postage. They are invaluable for us. Happy cruising! Lucky you!
Thank you so much for the replies! We are cruising in June. I researched the travel book about the canals and realized the boating company sent us one!
Please feel free to give us any other advice! We would love to read it. I am researching online And using the canal book to plan the places to stop.
Thanks again!
Here is a link to a bit of information on the canal: https://www.french-waterways.com/waterways/central/lateral-loire/ You can get detailed canal charts from that site, but a neat thing to do is zoom in on Google satellite maps and follow the route you intend to take. You can often see details of the lock approaches that are not clearly shown on the charts. You can also use Google to locate restaurants and supermarkets close to your location.
I have not done that particular canal, but we have cruised many of the other canals in France and you are going to have a wonderful time. Nothing beats waking early in the morning, taking the bike from the boat and pedaling down the towpath to the nearest village to find the boulangerie by following the wonderful smell of baking bread. Then pedaling back with baguettes across your handlebars like a true Frenchman. I'm a bit long in the tooth to be scrambling up slimy ladders in locks, but I truly envy you.
