Self-drive canaling in France: personal experiences?

Yes, I can Google thousands of sites, but I am more interested in
personal recommendations, either of rental companies or itineraries. I
am current most interested in the Loire, but other ideas welcome. We
are a group of 6-8 adults planninfg a Fall trip. Thanks.

There have been several articles about this in the NY Times and other
papers. You should be able to get references at your local library, or
various online sources. One such is
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index...&clientId=1525

"Mike M" wrote in message
om...
Yes, I can Google thousands of sites, but I am more interested in
personal recommendations, either of rental companies or itineraries. I
am current most interested in the Loire, but other ideas welcome. We
are a group of 6-8 adults planninfg a Fall trip. Thanks.

"Mike M" wrote in message
om...
Yes, I can Google thousands of sites, but I am more interested in
personal recommendations, either of rental companies or itineraries. I
am current most interested in the Loire, but other ideas welcome. We
are a group of 6-8 adults planninfg a Fall trip. Thanks.

"While visiting southern France in the spring of 2000, we rented a boat from
Connoisseur Cruise Line in Trèbes, on the Canal du Midi, near Carcassonne).
Our boat was the Corvette model and it was very well-suited for canal
cruising. It could be driven from inside the salon or from an open
deck above the salon. We spent most of our time on the open deck
since it was high enough to be able to see over the high earth berms
along the canal. At first I was a little disappointed not to be
cruising in one of those traditional long, low canal barges, but was
really happy to be able to ride up high with good visibility. There were
very few boats in the canal in early April, but we heard tales of long, long
waits at locks
(which seem to occur around just about every bend) and long lines of
boats in the canal during the high season. Also we heard that flies and
mosquitoes can be
very troublesome in the summer.
If I ever do this again, one thing I will not forget to bring is a
sturdy pair of gloves, preferably waterproof, for handling the ropes
at locks. A couple of times the rope got dropped overboard and got
pretty wet and nasty. All waste from the boats goes into the canal,
so handling something that has been for a dip is pretty unsavory.
During our trip we visited a large base of the Crown Blue Line
somewhere near the mouth of the Rhone. Their personnel were
unfriendly, would not allow us to inspect any boats, and refused to
give us any information. There was no communication problem since I
speak French, so perhaps we caught them on a bad day. I would say,
though, that compared to the Connoisseur boats, the CBL boats did not
look as well-maintained. During our cruise we actually did board a
CBL boat tied up next to us overnight. It was an older boat, a little
shabby, and not as well-equipped as our boat. More info on Connoisseur at
http://www.connoisseurafloat.com/index.html . I'd certainly take one of
their boats again.
It was a great experience.

GG

"GG" wrote in message
...

"Mike M" wrote in message
om...
Yes, I can Google thousands of sites, but I am more interested in
personal recommendations, either of rental companies or itineraries. I
am current most interested in the Loire, but other ideas welcome. We
are a group of 6-8 adults planninfg a Fall trip. Thanks.

"While visiting southern France in the spring of 2000, we rented a boat
from
Connoisseur Cruise Line in Trèbes, on the Canal du Midi, near
Carcassonne).
Our boat was the Corvette model and it was very well-suited for canal
cruising. It could be driven from inside the salon or from an open
deck above the salon. We spent most of our time on the open deck
since it was high enough to be able to see over the high earth berms
along the canal. At first I was a little disappointed not to be
cruising in one of those traditional long, low canal barges, but was
really happy to be able to ride up high with good visibility. There were
very few boats in the canal in early April, but we heard tales of long,
long
waits at locks
(which seem to occur around just about every bend) and long lines of
boats in the canal during the high season. Also we heard that flies and
mosquitoes can be
very troublesome in the summer.

We also did the canal du Midi, but in September. From Carcassonne to near
Montpelier. No trouble from midges or mosquitoes, and obviously they have
starightedned out the canal a bit, because there were not that many locks.
We had at least one entirely lock free day. Only queue was at the flight
near Beziers, but we knew to expect that, got there early,and didn't wait
long.

If I ever do this again, one thing I will not forget to bring is a
sturdy pair of gloves, preferably waterproof, for handling the ropes
at locks. A couple of times the rope got dropped overboard and got
pretty wet and nasty. All waste from the boats goes into the canal,
so handling something that has been for a dip is pretty unsavory.

Agree about the gloves, but if you tipped your **** into the canal you were
breaking the law. Everyone else has it pumped out at the end of the week.

Tony

6 to 8 people is a lot of on-board room for bicycles, but they are very high
on the list for convenience. Many of the quite pleasant towns are a
kilometer or so away from the canals.
rjf

"Mike M" wrote in message
om...
Yes, I can Google thousands of sites, but I am more interested in
personal recommendations, either of rental companies or itineraries. I
am current most interested in the Loire, but other ideas welcome. We
are a group of 6-8 adults planninfg a Fall trip. Thanks.

Yes, I can Google thousands of sites, but I am more interested in personal
recommendations, either of rental companies or itineraries. I am current most
interested in the Loire, but other ideas welcome. Weare a group of 6-8 adults
planninfg a Fall trip. Thanks.

We and a group of friends did two trips - one on the Canal du Midi, the other
on the Nivernais in western Burgundy. We enjoyed the latter more.Views better.
As another pointed out, the Canal du Midi has high berms - hard to see over.
Also very shaded - great in mid summer but not in shoulder seasons.
There were 8 of us. Be sure you rent a large boat - our had 4 sleeping areas.
Didn't want anyone having to sleep on the table in the dining area.