Le Boat Rideau

Le Boat is one of the biggest boat rental companies in Europe. They have recently opened their services on the UNESCO World Heritage Rideau Canal in Ontario. The company has 950 boats stationed at a newtwork of over 37 different departure bases across 8 European countries. This company arrived in Canada in 2018 and, at this moment, it has a local fleet of 24 boats available for rental.

Le boat offers its clients the best (and accessible) vacation plans on the Rideau Canal, which is not only a World Heritage location but also a place that is worth visiting at least once in a lifetime. With more than 50 years of experience behind this company, they are committed to keeping their good name as high as possible by fulfilling all your “best possible vacations” expectations. From the very start, you will be the captain of your own houseboat adventure accompanied by Le Boat’s team of experts.

You won’t need any previous experience driving houseboats, so, stop worrying about that and start thinking when you will go visit Le Boat at the Rideau Canal. From the beginning, you will enjoy a very easy training session that will help you become the boat captain that we know is inside you. If you know how to ride a bicycle or drive a car, you can easily drive a boat.

Le Boat’s staff members will be pleased to answer any of your questions before starting your wonderful vacation, they would even be there for you when you have to face the difficult task of choosing which is the boat of your dreams. If you have further questions once your vacations have officially started, be calm, as their staff members are just a quick phone call away.

Our only recommendation is that you be careful with time. You should always book early and don’t wait until the last minute to decide to go on a wonderful adventure or the best vacation possible. Additionally, if you want to travel even further away, this company offers its services in the following countries: France, Italy, England, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Scotland, and Germany.

Right now, Le Boat offers 13 different and unique travel routes, each of them represents an itinerary suggestion to give you an idea of what places you could easily visit depending on your vacation time and on a 2 to 4 hours of daily boating.

The Tay Canal Short Break: 22km of travel, 6 hours of cruising, and can be completed in 3 days.

The Taste of Canada Short Break:  42km of travel, 10 hours of cruising, and can be completed in 4 nights.

The Victorian Short Break: 42km of travel, 13 hours of cruising, and can be completed in 4 nights.

The Kingston Food and Culture Short Break: 74km of travel, 17 hours of cruising, and can be completed in 4 nights.

The Heart of the Rideau Big Lake Short Break: 83km of travel, 17 hours of cruising, and can be completed in 4 nights.

The Southern Rideau Cruise: 126km of travel, 27 hours of cruising, and can be completed in 7 nights.

The Northern Rideau Cruise: 136km of travel, 34 hours of cruising, and can be completed in 7 nights.

The Seeley’s Cruise: 166km of travel, 33 hours of cruising, and can be completed in 7 nights.

The Southern Rideau and Military History Cruise: 166km of travel, 34 hours of cruising, and can be completed in 7 nights.

The Food Scene and Wine Discovery Cruise: 144km of travel, 144 hours of cruising, and can be completed in 7 nights.

The Fishing Heaven Long Break: 240km of travel, 50 hours of cruising, and can be completed in 14 nights.

The Nature Lovers Long Break: 190km of travel, 43 hours of cruising, and can be completed in 10 nights.

The Canada’s Capital and Local Favorites Long Break: 273km of travel, 60 hours of cruising, and can be completed in 14 nights.

As previously mentioned, Le Boat counts with a medium fleet of Boats (24) in Canada. On their website, you can see all their boats according to a five-star ranking; additionally, each boat is under one of the following categories:

Premier: represents the newest models of the fleet. These models are equipped with up-to-date engineering and an array of modern and specially considered features and fittings.

Comfort Plus and Comfort: These boats are the representation of good-quality and well-equipped boats. The boats in this category have different ages, designs, and styles.

Budget: These are Le Boat’s loved “classics” perfects for those who seek for a more “vintage” approach to houseboating.

Each houseboat includes:

• One to five bedrooms (up to 12 people)
• Five models to choose from
  • Sleeping from 2-12 people
  • Each cabin has private bathrooms with showers and electric-flush toilets.
• A fully equipped kitchen that includes an oven, a stove, a large electric refrigerator, a microwave, dishes, pots & pans and utensils.
• Air cooling in the saloon & cabins + USB ports charging stations in each cabin.
• Large dining area with 360 windows
• Heating System.
• Deck Chairs
• Bimini tops (sun shade) on all boats.
• MP3 entertainment system
• Bow and Stern Thrusters
• Following all new health regulation safety procedures and addittional cleaning on all high touch surfaces, curtains and seating
• Sanitizer and hand soap on all boats
• All Safety Equipment.

Additionally, you must know that in order to bet up-to-date with the newest Ontario’s Health and Safety Guidelines, Le Boat’s assures its clients that all of their boats are thoroughly cleaned at the end of each use and, the company has also implemented additional cleaning and social distancing measures to guarantee full protection of their clients.

• 3 to 5 nights (short boating break)
• 7 to 10 (or more) nights.

You won’t need any previous boating experience to captain a Le Boat luxury houseboat. According to Le Boat, driving a houseboat is very easy, it’s just like driving a car, so, if you can do that, you have all the experience that you need already, and, you won’t need a boating license either.

Le Boat’s staff members will give you an in-depth training and briefing will show and teach you everything you need to know and will even accompany you for a short distance to make sure you adapt completely to the boat’s controls. Feel free to ask their staff members any questions if you are not sure about a certain topic. They will provide you with a temporary license that is good for your trip. Remember to always keep the boat’s documents at hand as they can be requested by officials at any given time.

Finally, you can always check their “Learn More About Boating” section where you can find useful tools that will help you have a better understanding of boating and it also comes with a downloadable PDF guide regarding safety measures for you and your family and friends, plus several instructive videos that show you the basics of boating.

NO PREVIOUS BOATING EXPERIENCE OR BOAT LICENSE REQUIRED

A boating license permit is not required in all of the destinations where Le Boat is available (except Germany).

You can always check their “Learn More About Boating” section where you can find useful tools that will help you have a better understanding of boating and it also comes with a downloadable PDF guide regarding safety measures for you and your family and friends, plus several instructive videos that show you the basics of boating.

The electrical Outlets vary depending on the country. In the case of Canada, all houseboats are equipped with 110V and 12V outlets. However, each boat also counts with its own electrical specifications that must be checked directly on the boat’s list.  Le Boat's Canadian fleet also come with USB ports.

According to Le Boat’s FAQ, you should bring some form of non-slipping footwear (like boat shoes or white sole running shoes), bathing suit, swim towel, groceries,, gloves, maask.

For a complete list of suggested items to bring check out the checklist

What to Bring

All bedding, pillows and shower towels are included in all Le Boat’s houseboats. However, you can always bring your own ones if you wish.

Dogs are totally welcome at the boats (other pets, like cats, for example, are not specified). The only thing that you must know is that there will be an additional supplement per dog for cleaning and Le Boat recommends that you shouldn’t take more than two dogs per boat.

There are several additional costs that you should budget for during your vacation, the cost of this “extras'' will depend on the duration of your trip and the distance traveled. Additional costs are included: engine hours, boat damage protection, lock fees, one-way supplement, and mooring fees. If you want to have even more extra features, you can check their Silver and Gold bundle extra packages at “Vacation Extras'' on Le Boat’s website.  Le Boat also offer two different size grocery packs that can be put in the boats for when you arrive.

• Bikes
• Paddle Boards
• Kayaks

• Swimming
• Fishing
• Biking (inside towns)