Barges

[sjde]

I wasn't sure where a post about barges should go.

I would really like to do a French Barge cruise (not a self-driving one) but really don't want to spend $600pp/nt.  This year in January I got word of a sale from CroisieEurope for April sailings at $300/pp/nt. I'm assuming they were trying to fill unsold cabins. I wasn't able to go due to other plans but am hoping they do the same next year. Is anyone aware of other companies that do this?

[texasstar]

We used French Country Waterways, 20 years ago.  We really enjoyed it.  The cabins are very small.  There were only 11 people on our trip.  The food was exceptional, the staff was a delight.  It went so slow that you could walk between locks or bike if you wanted to.  I am sure it is expensive though.  Less people, more cost.

[terry&mike]

I use boatbiketours.com for barge cruises in Europe. Have done a couple of these, they mostly are more "comfort" level than luxury level, so you cannot compare them to river cruises by companies like AMA, etc (I also enjoy luxury river cruises, but they are an entirely different product). They are also a bit more active, as you can see by the itineraries. 

We are actually repeating a Dutch "tulip tour" itinerary, with a group of friends, in April 2024 that we did several years ago because we enjoyed it so much. 

[sjde]

I didn’t realize they were more ‘comfort’ level than ‘ luxury’. Because of the high cost I assumed the opposite. The price must be because there are so many fewer guests on board then. 

[sjde]

Terry and Mike- this company looks interesting but are they all guided bike tours as well? In other words, if you aren't interested in biking, is this not for you?

[gnome12]

4 hours ago, sjde said:

Terry and Mike- this company looks interesting but are they all guided bike tours as well? In other words, if you aren't interested in biking, is this not for you?

I haven't used this company, but dealt with tripsite.com. The logistics should be similar. If you aren't interested in biking (at least on most days) on a bike and barge you are mostly out of luck. The bike generally takes you from one place to the next while the barge sails. If you stay on board, you can enjoy the view, but not that much more. The barge has to deal with locks, and sometimes to pick up people part way through the day, but if you stay on board you won't get too much chance to do anything until mid to late afternoon when you dock in the new location. (Because the small crew does everything - sail the boat and look after breakfast and dinner - the barge sails during the day and docks at night.)

 

In terms of the level of luxury, Tripsite grades their barges by level, from standard class through comfort level, premium and deluxe, with prices generally commensurate. (I travelled on a deluxe barge, the Quo Vadis, which was very nice, but not at the Ama or Uniworld level.) They also have some small ship cruises, without biking, although I'm not sure what activities they do.

[sjde]

Maybe we'd do it, if the biking is leisurely....Do you know about how many miles the barge goes each day?

[Gourmet Gal]

Not sure how the pricing compares but Belmond has wonderful barge cruises that include excursions most days.  The accommodations are better than “comfort class” and I would say similar to their hotels.  The food, in general on barges, tends to be quite superior to river cruises though the selection is limited.  The barges are small so the ideal would be to charter the entire barge with extended family and friends.

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, sjde said:

Maybe we'd do it, if the biking is leisurely....Do you know about how many miles the barge goes each day?

I think it varies a lot based on the itinerary you choose. Tripsite rates their bike and boat trips easy, easy-moderate, moderate, moderate-difficult, difficult and very difficult. It isn't necessarily how far the barge goes, as it is how far and over what terrain you are biking. I did the Moselle which is generally pretty easy, biking from 22 miles to 34 miles per day.

[Canal archive]

Look at CroisiEurope they have barge cruises. We did our own last year but self drive really good fun.

[terry&mike]

For Boat Bike Tours, all of their barge trips feature biking as part of the trip, and most have the option for regular or electric bikes. You can opt to stay onboard and just relax, but you will not have much in the way of activities, you can entertain yourself with reading, napping, watching the scenery. Some will pull over to the side and allow you to get off and take a walk for however long you wish on the tow paths, and then get back on by flagging them down (they sail at about the speed a person walks), or when waiting for a lock. 

 

I was referring to Boat Bike Tours (not all barge companies) in saying that they are more comfort level than river cruise ships of AMA, Viking, Scenic which are larger, more polished, ships with a higher level of finish outs. There are other barge companies that have very high end barges that could certainly be considered luxury, but are still small in size, having the feeling of a high end boutique hotel. Boat Bike Tours has a range of categories from their basic level up to their deluxe level, but even their deluxe level is more along the lines of a small inn in the English countryside type of thing, not polished and high end. In the past, we have traveled on their more basic options, and they are fine, but you will need to adjust your expectations as they may have bunk beds, and possibly a diesel fume smell, and thin towels, tiny spaces, casual family style meals, etc - they work fine, but more like a rustic feel. We now only travel on Premium or Deluxe level ships, which offer more creature comforts and keep my husband from getting too complain-ey. 

 

The itineraries give the approximate distances of the days' biking, and sometimes there are options of taking the shorter or longer biking route. There usually is biking for 18-32 miles per day, approximately, spread out during the day. For example, you will bike for 40 minutes through some tulip fields and end at a flower market, where you will stroll through. You will then bike for 45 minutes to a little town and have a walking tour. Then maybe a 30 minute bike to a picnic spot for lunch. Then maybe a 45 minute bike to meet the ship where it is now parked. That is an example, but different tours have different distances, and some are easy and flat, and some are hilly and difficult; when you click through to the itinerary you can see the details. 

 

We have also traveled with tripsite.com on a couple of occassions, going back some 20 years. Tripsite and Boat Bike rep several of the same barge operators, so you can find some of the same tours on them. We've also done an inn to inn bike tour with tripsite (in Wales), so they don't just rep barges. If you are not into biking, tripsite may be a better option than Boat Bike, as I believe they have some small boats and barges that offer itineraries that are not all bike-centric. Although they do still tend to be on the active side. 

 

If you are looking for luxury barges, that are more akin to a tiny floating luxury hotel experience, then yes, these tend to be quite high priced, always running over $5000 pp, but usually closer to $6500-$8000pp. bargeladycruises.com has been around for many years, as has a good reputation in the industry; I've made inquiries with them over the years, but have never actually booked with them. I've seen many of the ships they rep while on other barges and river cruise ships, and they are delightfully beautiful. 

 

Barges are a completely different animal to river cruise ships in size, activities, style, comfort, finish outs, and so on. Barges tend to be 6-32 passengers, and more like a boat that has been outfitted for guests to stay onboard; the staff is more casual, and the guy who leads the bike tour may also be cleaning the kitchen, and the person who cooks the dinner may be the person who cleans the cabin. Nightly entertainment may be board games, or story telling, or watching a movie on a shared TV in the common room.  River cruise ships tend to be 75-160 passengers, and more like a hotel that has been built to float on the river. Nightly entertainment may be a piano player or local singers/dancers brought onboard, or your own TV in your cabin. I have sailed barges in The Netherlands, Belgium, and France, and thoroughly enjoyed the casual, active vibe of barge life. I have sailed river cruises in many places around the world, and have been on AMA, Scenic, Uniworld, Viking, and have enjoyed their more put together and polished offerings. Both are great, and are very different from each other. 

 

 

 

[sjde]

Terry and Mike- thank you so much for all that helpful information ! It sounds wonderful to me and especially if it’s $300 per person/ nt  instead of $700+.

we have done an inn -to- inn hiking trip in France and that is something I wouldn’t mind doing again.