7/7    +33 3 85 53 76 74
Last-minute August & Indian Summer
Up to 30% off
7/7    +33 3 85 53 76 74

Houseboat license-free rental

Up to 30% dis­count* on your booking

Explore France’s waterways in total freedom with our no-licence boats

A unique, environmentally-friendly adventure that’s accessible to all budgets !

*dis­counts are auto­mat­i­cal­ly applied to your booking

EARLY BOOKING

Depar­ture in 2025
up to
30%
DISCOUNT

Find and book your tailor-made cruise !

Where are you leaving from ?

When are you leaving ?

Your crew

Crew 

> 60 < 18

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Why hire a licence-free houseboat for your holidays ?

No licence needed
Intro­duc­tion to pilot­ing guaranteed
Pets friend­ly
Capac­i­ty from 2 to 12 people
Choice of over 400 boats

Les Canalous reduce their emissions by 92% thanks to a biofuel

After launch­ing our first hydro­gen boat last year, we’re tak­ing our eco­log­i­cal tran­si­tion even fur­ther.

We are now using hydrotreat­ed veg­etable oil to replace diesel on our entire fleet of 300 boats.

This oil, sup­plied by Total­En­er­gies and pro­duced from used fry­ing oil and veg­etable mat­ter, has the advan­tage of being very low in pollution.

By replac­ing diesel with this bio­fu­el, we will be cut­ting our CO2 emis­sions by 92%.

FAQs

Riv­er boat hire does not require a licence.

In France, leg­is­la­tion does not require a licence for plea­sure boats up to 15 metres in length and whose engine pow­er does not exceed a ratio pro­por­tion­al to their size.

The engines on our house­boats are throt­tled, which in no way hin­ders sail­ing, giv­en that speed is often lim­it­ed to 6 or 8 km/​h, and our fleet of plea­sure boats is no longer than 15 metres.

Leg­is­la­tion dif­fers in oth­er coun­tries, but all our riv­er boats are suit­able for hire with­out a licence.

Water­ways are nav­i­gat­ed in the cen­tre, but when you come across a plea­sure boat, you must turn right and fol­low the bank.

When cross­ing a canal bridge or in a nar­row nav­i­ga­tion zone, remem­ber that pri­or­i­ty goes to the largest boat, so com­mer­cial barges always have priority.

You should also be vig­i­lant and look behind you to make sure that anoth­er plea­sure boat, faster than you, is not try­ing to over­take you.

Dogs and oth­er pets are wel­come aboard our fleet of house­boats. Make sure you bring all the nec­es­sary equip­ment for your pet (includ­ing a blan­ket and bas­ket), as you won’t find any­thing pro­vid­ed at the base or on board.

Don’t for­get to look after your pet’s safe­ty too, espe­cial­ly when pass­ing through locks. A sup­ple­ment of €50 will be charged for sail­ing with your pet.

Customer Reviews

YOUR FEEDBACK COUNTS, AND WE’RE PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO IT !
We spent a 3‑day week­end on 2 boats with our chil­dren and 7 grand­chil­dren and it was a great time of hap­pi­ness, dis­cov­ery and relax­ation. It was great, every­one (young and old) loved it so much that they all want to do it again. Well done, Canalous !
Mr Vin­cent G, cruise from Digoin
Review left on 24/​05/​2024
Tar­pon 37
An excel­lent route from Colom­biers to Homps, with a detour via the locks at Fon­ser­anes and the canal bridge over the Orb. The vari­ety of the route (land­scapes, restau­rants, lock-keep­ers, etc.) made us for­get the rather unfavourable weather !
Mr Georges P, cruise depart­ing from Colom­biers
Review left on 06/​05/​2024
Espade Con­cept Fly

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