Canoe trip on the Loire & South of France Tour 2025

I see it lists a boat cruise instead for both 2025 & 26. To confirm I'd contact the tour office though.

Sad to see that the canoe trip is no longer included in this tour. That was one of my favorite activities. I guess too many people opted out of canoeing. The river was only knee deep so no risk of drowning.

I was on this trip in April and we had a pleasant boat ride with a humorous guide/captain instead. It was interesting to note that the river was running very fast due to recent rains when we were there.

I wonder how much repeated inclement weather played a part in this decision? We did the tour in June 2023 and a thunderstorm derailed the canoe trip. The guide already had a “Plan B” for those who didn’t want to canoe but once the whole group needed to be accommodated he had to come up with a “Plan C” on the spot. I was impressed by his ability to pivot, but that has to be tough with 28 people.

Took this tour earlier this year and also had the boat ride with the humorous captain. There was a good block of free time before the boat ride to wander the town and get lunch. If canoeing is a priority for you, maybe get/bring a sack lunch and go for it during the free time.

We did this tour in 2023. The guides had their hands full with a few couples having difficulty managing their canoe— they got way behind and we didn’t see them. One of the canoes overturned—no guide around and none of us knew enough for rescue. There were several others in the water who swiftly rescued the people and the canoe.

I don’t think they (the two who overturned) were happy and it was unsettling that the guides were not around. We were all very grateful to those who came to our aid and they were quite cheerful about it.