Hi there! Greetings from a very murky Alsace somewhere near Saverne, France! Tom, Dagny and my in-laws are on board a canal boat deep in the canals of Alsace and the Moselle this week, and while we got off to a rainy start, things are looking up! In the coming weeks, I plan on giving you all the details of our canal boating experience along with a few videos, but today’s post is a little intro to a canal cruise in France.
Read on!
Canal cruise in France: Alsace
A few months ago, Tom and I were sitting at the dinner table talking about places to see in France and he brought up a France canal cruise. I wasn’t really familiar with the concept and thought he meant a big canal barge trip where someone else is the captain. He then filled me in on a company called Nicols and how they offer boat rentals all over France that don’t require a boating license. The boats are actually built not far from where we live so Tom knew all about the concept. It’s an interesting way to see an area, especially smaller towns off the beaten path, so we did some research and decided on Alsace.
Nicols has several bases in France and elsewhere in Europe. As I said, the boats do not require a boating license which makes this type of trip accessible to boat lovers everywhere. They’re fully equipped with refrigerators, little ovens, a stove, sink, bedrooms and bathrooms, etc. They even rent Wi-Fi hotspots for the week (using it now to type). You can also rent bikes to bring along once you’re in port if you’d like to go out exploring. The best part for me — and why we pursued this type of vacation — is that they allow dogs. We’ve seen so many other cruisers with their dogs as well. 😉
Here’s Captain Dagny at the wheel.
When you first get to the Nicols base before your trip, they give you a big binder with suggested routes and all the info you need along with a little training session to go over everything before you depart. Then it’s up to you to pick your stops and either dock in a port or moor up in nature somewhere. You can cover as much or as little ground as you’d like. If you want to completely unplug and chill, you can do that or you can head to larger ports and spend time in town. A canal cruise in France is full of options.
We got off to a murky start earlier in the week in Saverne where it was drizzling. Look at that fog!
As you would expect, there are locks along the way and they’ve been entertaining to say the least. The first one we tackled was in the rain so luckily we didn’t have an audience.
If you’re not familiar with locks, basically the canals are at different levels so you need to either raise the boat up or down to head into the next stretch of canal. You pull your boat in, shut the doors and then let the water in or out. To do this requires several people if you’re beginners. One to guide the boat in and then ideally two others to handle the lines to keep the boat steady as the water level changes. We haven’t encountered any lock keepers to help.
There will be LOTS more to come on the locks. We will have done about 30 or 40 by the end of the trip. At first, we were overthinking it, but once you do one, you get the hang of them pretty quickly.
OK, leaving it here for now but will have more canal cruise in France posts for you soon.
Hi! I’ve been a reader here for quite awhile, ever since I moved to Aix-en-Provence in the south of France. Love your posts but especially intrigued by this one. As you may know, the first school break is fast approaching and we were just talking this morning about what we might do for this one. This sounds like so much fun and I’ve been wanting to go to Alsace too! Do you have a link you can send me to where I might get more information? Thanks so much and keep up the good work!! 🙂
Hi there, Heather! Thanks for your comment! I just got in from a long day of driving but wanted to get you the info. This is the cruise we did starting in Saverne and ending in Harskirchen: http://www.nicols.com/croisiere-fluviale/france/location-bateau-alsace/canal-marne-rhin
When we returned the boat today, they gave me a paper with a discount for a friend so let me know if you do book and I will get that to you. I’ll be writing a lot more (hopefully can do a post for next week) on the canal boating experience (overall tips, things to know, etc.) but if you have any specific questions in the meantime, feel free to email, ouiinfrance@gmail.com and I will do my best to answer. The Nicols team was also really helpful (they speak English, German, French as well and have guests from all over) and I’d 100% recommend the experience.
Thank you!! I’m showing my husband your post today and will definitely get back to you with any questions (and for the discount if we decide to book!) I’m looking forward to future posts!!
Being into all things nautical, this would be a trip right up my alley! Can’t think of a better way to see the countryside. What I noticed is the significant amount of German influence in the eastern part of France. Not surprising given the proximity to border. Looking forward to additional segments and your usual excellent photography. One tip I would add is that when you are piloting a boat in tight quarters involving locks and narrow canals make sure you do everything slowly. This gives you more time to react to current and wind conditions and plan your moves.
Compliments to Capt. Dagny. She is doing a great job….
Hey Captain! I think it would be a great trip for you and we could have used your expertise a few times! The slow speed tip is very important because sometimes in the moment you think faster is better but it’s not. We did notice that we had less precise steering control at slower speeds. I’ll let Dagny know. 😉 Thanks for checking out the post!
Sounds like a fabulous trip Diane and even if the weather wasn’t great…the scenery was! I encountered a boat in a lock a couple of weeks ago and found it interesting to watch… the guys in question had it down to a fine art. I see the boats are built at Cholet, I always thought boatbuilders were located at ports!
Hey there, the weather was a bit rainy/drizzly the first day but made for great fog-covered pics. The rest of the week we really lucked out with a bit of sun! Yes, the locks are quite an attraction and we had a few bystanders watching as we maneuvered through several times. Stay tuned for a video of that. Yup, Nicols is based in Cholet/Puy St Bonnet and also Benneteau sailboats are in Cholet and then STX France who makes the big cruise ships is not too far over in St. Nazaire on the coast. Have a good rest of your weekend!
Wow, this looks like a fun trip. Not something one would normally think of doing. Your photos are great and I look forward to reading the upcoming posts. Love Captain Dagny at the helm!! She looks very intent on piloting through the rain.
Thanks very much and yes it was a blast! I think it would be a great trip for families w/kids, couples, etc. Lots of possibilities. I will let Dagny know you appreciate her skills 😉
I like the sound of this cruise, it does sound like a great fun trip
It was awesome!
Sounds like a great canal cruise. I’ve done 8 European River Cruises and enjoyed those very much. Maybe I’ll try a canal cruise soon.
J. Christina
Hello Diane,
I am a very big fan of your vlogs and blog postings, it made things way easier for me now that I am moving to France next year.
I wanted to ask you since none of your vlogs talk about the price of Nicols.
Can you please clarify further on that?
Hi there, the most up-to-date pricing will be on their site but generally you get the best deal if you book well in advance or last minute and definitely outside of the peak season in the summer months and school vacations.
On our trips, the costs were split between Tom’s parents, my parents and us which makes it much more affordable when you have a larger group.
It’s not a super cheap trip but it really helps when you go with a bigger group.
Keep in mind you can cook on the boat and are not obligated to eat out at restaurants every night, thus spending money.
Different routes, trip lengths and boats will all have different pricing so definitely take a look. My whole family loves the canal trips!