Riverly Reviews 

Very friendly helpful staff at collection and drop off points. Very knowledgable and they went the extra mile to be of assistance. Boat was very clean and well presented, with only one minor fault which was of no significance to our enjoyment. Information provided was clear and helpful.

We just returned from 11days out of Joigny, France, going a little on each the Nivernais and Bourgogne canals. We had a wonderful time in the towns and villages, and while on our flying bridge Penichette. The boat was very well appointed, clean, and small operational glitches were immediately remedied by a responsive staff. My only criticism is that there are lots of add-ons to the advertised rental price. Some can be avoided by purchasing an all inclusive package that covers fuel, bicycles, cleaning, and added insurance. Some of the mooring spots are an extra charge as well. I do feel Locaboat has bent over backwards to think of every detail to make your holiday an enjoyable time.

Communication was very good in the reservation process. Once onsite the staff were very helpful.

We had such a wonderful experience. Locaboat needed to make a last-minute change on to the trip we had originally rented due to flooding repairs that still needed to be made on the Lot River. They were able to switch us to the Canal du Midi for the same dates and for that we were grateful. The office staff in Argens-Minervous (where we picked up and returned the boat) were very helpful. This was our first time renting a canal boat and the experience exceeded our expectations. We will do it again! The experience of being on the canal, going by and visiting small villages, and the accommodations made it all worthwhile.

Everything was clean and ready for us when we arrived, and all paperwork was clear.
The route along the Yonne River and Canal de Nivernais was very interesting, though the current was strong due to the rainy spring

Right from the beginning we have received support and help about our queries from the Locaboat team and nothing was too much trouble. Juliette at Locaboat Lattes was friendly and helpful and gave us 'tips' and helped us with our planning but all the Locaboat team at Lattes are wonderful. We would definitely recommend and return to Locaboat when we do our next Canal du Midi holiday.

Cruising the Canal du Midi in late May was a wonderful experience. The Locaboat staff were very helpful during online booking and at their ports. Our boat was well kept and we got adequate instructions before leaving. No real problems and lots of good memories.

Well maintained, well equipped and well prepared boat were the main factors that made this a special trip.

Great job with entire process-from check in to check out—

We can’t thank the Locaboat people enough for our wonderful week (13/05-20/05) boating between Argens-Minervois and Bram. It was a trip of a lifetime we had planned for since before Covid.

Instead of staying in home port the first night, as was suggested, we set off for Le Somail, a short ride up the canal and oozing with small cafe’s. It’s a great place for your first nights’ stay.

May is a great time on the canal. Not too many boats competing to get through the locks, not to many people competing for restaurants. Weather during the day was in the high 60’s, at night it dipped to around 50. The heat on our 1500FB Penichette had an easy time keeping us comfortable.

We spent overnights in Le Somail, Capestang, Homps, Marseillette, Carcassonne (2), and Bram. The only one to skip would be Marseillette, there’s one cafe and it’s not very good at all.

I’ll talk briefly about food and drink. Two restaurants stand out and you better get reservations. Le Cathare, in Carcassonne, has wonderful dry-aged steaks and delicious fois gras. Just get the house red wine, it’s delicious! The other restaurant to call out, and the biggest surprise, was L'Île aux Oiseaux which is in the same building as the Port Captain (Locaboat) in the Port of Bram. Don’t miss either of these. They are overwhelmingly good.

As for vineyards, they’re all over the place! My favorite happens to be the most convenient to boaters, the Chateau Paraza between Argens-Minervois and Le Somail. Wonderful, family-owned business has struggled through COVID and the loss of the patriarch. The wines are exceptional, tasting is free, tie up right in front of the place and just walk up the path.

One final word. After covering 143km of canal, and talking with other boaters, we realized that Locaboat has the newest and cleanest boats with the best maintenance programs. We’ll never use anyone else.

Checking in was easy. Thorough introduction to the boat and test drive. Boat had most of the basics, the bow thrusters are a must for ease of navigating locks. Canal du Midi is a great way to see France at 8kph.

We had a very good experience
We liked the service and the kind people

The boating holiday was very exciting. As I first time boat user I was a bit scared, but Locaboat helped us enlist of the way. Good training, great easy to use boat, fantastic customer service when we needed extra help along the way

The boats clean & tidty great kitchen for on board cooking, plenty of plates glasses etc & utensils.on our boat I was a little disappointed in the fridge,freezer worked well but fridge did not..Predeparture instructions were good,but some minor technical problems,which in fairness were partially solved at the base half way through our trip,made some aspects of our trip a little annoying . Overall a pleasant trip . A little bit more care could be taken to proactively solve the problems we encountered before the trip commenced.

Everyone at the Loosdrecht site was very friendly and helpful. Check-in and out was quick and efficient. Boat functioned exactly as it should, no problems. Kitchen was fully stocked with pots, pans, dishes and glassware and we were able to make complete meals. Refrigerator space was more than generous. Just wish weather was better so we could have enjoyed the deck more!

We loved traveling on the canals with the boat. Very peaceful. Locks can be challenging but part of the experience.

it was the first time we had that expirience. it was great.

Whilst we still enjoyed our canal trip, it was hampered a great deal by a misrepresentation of the number of locks (66 as opposed to the 45 advertised) and by being accused at the end of our trip of having damaged (bent) the bimini - thanks to a photo we had taken on our departure day, we were able to prove it was already damaged. Otherwise we were to be charged 550 euro. It made us wonder how many other people had been accused of, and charged for, this existing damage. This canal was also our third choice after Locaboat had closed bases twice on two earlier bookings - the other two choices had 33/36 locks, and so even the jump to 45 locks was not ideal. The excuse that a triple lock is counted as one was ridiculous - they took so much time and energy and amounted to an average of a lock every 2kms.

The boat was in excellent shape. Frank gave a full briefing and made instructions simple and easy to understand. My French is appalling, but regardless he helped us understand all that was required.

My two adult children and I had a wonderful time, and we are very grateful to the staff for helping make this such a memorable experience.