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Loire River Barge or Boat Questions!

Posted by (Orange County, CA) on

Hi All~

I and a small group of wine nerds (maybe 12-14 total people) are thinking of a trip to the Loire and curious about barging:

  1. We'd love to spend 2-3 nights on a barge, but also want time in a city from which to do some excursions. My online searching so far keeps coming up with all-inclusive 6 or 7 night luxury barge tours (which sound amazing, but I don't think we want that many nights on a barge). Anyone know if there are companies that do 2, 3 or 4 night versions?
  2. Another option we're considering is basing ourselves in someplace like Orlean for 3-4 and then heading to Chablis. We can obviously do that by private coach, but maybe we could rent a boat(s) to take us? Rather than spend 2-4 nights on a barge, maybe we get at least a small taste of the sailing experience with a one-day trip upriver...? Striking out with my Google searches as the algorithm really thinks I want a speedboat or a 6-night cruise. Any ideas???

Many, many thanks!!!

Kirk

Posted by
773 posts

You will struggle finding transport for 12-14 people. Up to 9 people is not a problem but you will have to try booking with one of the large bus companies, possibly based in Paris. Its just as likely you'll have to look further afield, possibly even Belgium (dunno why, but a number of companies we have worked for prefer to use Belgian buses).

Travelling from Orleans to Chablis isn't possible by boat. The River itself isn't navigable except in very short stretches. The Loire Canal will take you south from Briare to Decize, and from there the Canal du Nivernais to Auxerre. I'd be surprised if it can be done in less than a week - you're talking 300km at less than 5 km/h, only moving during daylight hours.

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