Good quality vessel with extensive inventory. Good service from and communication with base manager. We added the all-in package to the contract which was after all worth the extra money. We asked onc... See more
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We had a marvelous time. The boat was great, and although several things went wrong, emergency care was quick. Unfortunately there was an error where the taxi that was booked by locoboat in Argens f... See more
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Terrific boat,plenty of room on board,very clean and good equipment. We were originally booked Argens Minervois to Negra. We were informed a month before that there was a building with potential to c... See more
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We loved our adventure but definitely did not have clear route instructions- and most towns were basically closed down. Still a fun trip and would do it again - but a different route
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4.3
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We Are Old Friends with LocaBoat
We nave navigated with LocaBoat four times in Europe. Staff is aways helpful. The boats always have functioned perfectly - never any mechanical issues. Of course, the canals themselves are scenic and the lock-keepers are alert and friendly.
15 October 2025
Reply from Riverly
Hello,
What a pleasure to read your message ! Four cruises together already, that truly makes us old friends indeed.
We’re so happy to know that every journey has gone smoothly and that you’ve enjoyed both our boats and the friendly spirit of the waterways. Thank you for your trust and loyalty, we can’t wait to welcome you back on board for the next adventure.
We had a marvelous time
We had a marvelous time. The boat was great, and although several things went wrong, emergency care was quick. Unfortunately there was an error where the taxi that was booked by locoboat in Argens for taking us back to Toulouse Airport from Bram, failed to arrive as it was misbooked to come to a different venue ....we had reconfirmed the booking twice with Bram but the locoboat personnel checked that a booking had been made, but not the pickup point! So we just barely made our flight, not a joyous ending to a delightful holiday!
6 October 2025
Reply from Riverly
Hello,
Thank you so much for your detailed feedback. We’re delighted to hear that you had a wonderful time on board and that our emergency assistance was quick and helpful when needed.
We’re truly sorry about the taxi issue at the end of your trip, that must have been stressful, especially when heading to the airport. We’ve already passed on your comments to the base team to review what happened and make sure future transfers are handled with extra care.
We really appreciate your understanding and are glad that, despite this hiccup, you still enjoyed your holiday on the Canal du Midi.
Reply from Riverly
Hello,
We’re really sorry to read that you experienced unpleasant smells on board.
Our technical teams check and service these systems regularly to avoid such inconveniences, and your feedback will help us strengthen these controls even further.
If you’d like to share a few more details, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@locaboat.com
so we can look into it closely and make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Reply from Riverly
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We’re truly sorry to hear that you encountered some mechanical issues during your cruise, that’s not the experience we want for our guests.
Our technical teams carefully review all reports after each trip to ensure everything is resolved before the next departure. If you’d like to tell us more about what happened, please don’t hesitate to contact our sales team directly, they’ll be happy to discuss this with you and make sure your concerns are fully addressed.
Good rental agency
Good quality vessel with extensive inventory. Good service from and communication with base manager. We added the all-in package to the contract which was after all worth the extra money. We asked once for clearing a technical issue. Locaboat sent a very skilled and helpful technician who did not solve the issue but checked the whole electrical system and made clear there was nothing to worry about. Boat was running well and smoothly.
29 September 2025
Reply from Riverly
Hello,
Thank you so much for your review. We’re delighted that you enjoyed the boat, the friendly service, and the easy communication with our base team.
We know that little technical surprises can happen from time to time ! We’re glad our technician was there quickly to check things over and make sure you could keep cruising without worry.
It’s wonderful to read that everything ran smoothly afterwards. We’d love to see you back on board soon for another relaxed adventure on the water.
Communication
Communication and the website ate not customer oriented, at least not towards us who do not speak or read french.
I hate to get confirmation emails which cannot be answered. If there is faults, what can you do? Especially when the phone number on the website is not working.
26 September 2025
Reply from Riverly
Hello,
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback. We’re truly sorry that communication felt difficult, we completely understand how frustrating that can be, especially when you’re preparing for your trip.
Our website is also available in English, and booking confirmations are sent in English for all our international guests. The phone number listed online is active, but you can also reach us anytime at info@locaboat.com, we’ll be very happy to help and better understand what went wrong, so we can keep improving for the future.
We really appreciate your message, and we hope your time on the water still brought you some lovely moments of peace and discovery.
Great week on the Canal du midi
We were met by very friendly and attentive staff who spoke good English.
They were at pains to explain the canal and boat functions. We were taken for a test drive and off we went. If at any time we needed help, advice or assistance, the Locaboat team were there to help.
We had a fabulous week on the du Midi.
The boat was older and therefore a little tired, showing signs of many seasons use. However, everything worked. We were comfortable and warm when it was cold. We lazed or drive the boat from the flying bridge when hot.
Driving these boats is a learning curve but anyone with a little experience will find it quite manageable, quite quickly. That said, the boats are surrounded with strong fendering like a dodgem. Speeds are kept sensibly slow. Any collision should therefore be manageable!
Hire from Locaboat, we had a great week on the canal du MIDI…
4 October 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Riverly
Hello,
Thank you so much for your wonderful and detailed 5⭐ review. We’re delighted that you had such a great week on the Canal du Midi and that our team made you feel well supported from start to finish.
We love your sense of humour — you’ve perfectly captured the spirit of canal cruising: a bit of learning, a lot of patience, and plenty of fun along the way.
We’re glad the boat kept you both comfortable and warm, and we hope to welcome you back soon for another easygoing adventure on the water.
We made a good choice
Before our cruise, the scheduled boat had a serious mechanical problem that took it out of service. After an email discussion, Locaboat provided a larger boat for the original route. The bigger boat was more challenging to maneuver but it allowed us to keep all our travel arrangements and cruise plans. The boat was in good shape when we arrived and the checkout cruise, though brief, was thorough and we headed off. The boat came with the needed bits and supplies and we did some local shopping to fill any gaps. We did a one-way week on the Canal du Nivernais and the Yonne, and it was a lovely, restful trip. We had several quiet nights on the penichette balanced with nights in towns along the way. We had to contact Locaboat when the oven would not light, and they talked us through the safety valve.
29 September 2025
Reply from Riverly
Hello,
Thank you so much for your great review — and for taking the unexpected boat swap with such good spirit! We’re really glad the larger boat let you keep your travel plans and fully enjoy your week on the water.
It sounds like you found the perfect balance between quiet nights on board and lively stops along the Canal du Nivernais — exactly what canal cruising is all about! And we’re pleased our team could help you sort things out quickly when the oven acted up.
We’d love to welcome you back soon for another smooth and relaxing adventure.
Trip went smoothly to plan.
Everything happened fairly much as planned. Geronimo was very helpful during check-in. He also provided us with a cart to bring back our groceries for the boat. The boat functioned properly except the heater made a buzzing noise one evening. Turning off and on the next day seems to have fixed. The itinerary was good but the times are optimistic, allow 2 extra hours each day. Some overnights were crowded even for our September trip.
6 October 2025
Reply from Riverly
Hello,
Thank you so much for your detailed and positive 5⭐ review. We’re delighted that everything went smoothly and that your cruise unfolded just as planned — that’s always wonderful to hear!
A special thank you for mentioning Jeronimo; he’ll be thrilled to know his warm welcome and helpfulness made a difference. We’re also glad that the boat performed well overall and that the little heater glitch quickly resolved itself.
Your feedback about navigation times and overnight stops is very valuable — we know how helpful those insights can be for future travellers, and we’ll make sure to pass them along to our teams.
It’s a real pleasure to read that your journey was both smooth and enjoyable. We hope to see you again soon for another adventure on the water — with just as much serenity (and maybe a little less crowding) ✨.
Reply from Riverly
Hello,
Nice boat, nice people… and a very nice review. Thank you so much! We’re thrilled that you enjoyed both the boat and our team, and we hope to see you again soon for another smooth cruise on the water .
We loved our adventure but definitely…
We loved our adventure but definitely did not have clear route instructions- and most towns were basically closed down. Still a fun trip and would do it again - but a different route
29 September 2025
Reply from Riverly
Hello,
Thank you so much for your honest review. We’re really glad that you enjoyed the adventure and still had fun on your cruise — even if some parts of the route felt a bit too quiet this time. At least you could relax !
You’re right, some towns along the canals can be very peaceful depending on the season, and we’ll make sure to clarify route information even more clearly for future travellers.
We’d love to welcome you back for a new journey — same spirit of adventure, just a different route.
Glamping on a boat - bring your groceries!
Once we got on to our base site our experience was great. However we had a great deal of difficulty navigating the web site and difficulty finding out the details of our reservation. There was not a spot on the website dedicated to our particular reservation with all of our details. We were traveling from a long distance (USA) and we had a lot of difficulty figuring out exactly where the base was and how to get to the base. There were many cruise routes available on the site and we didn't have a clear understanding of where we were going until we actually got to our base. Once we arrived at the base we realized that there was only one route available because the canal had been emptied north of the base due to a leak.
The good news was that the staff at the base at St. Leger were very helpful and had prepared materials to help us on our journey. Because of a breach in the canal we were only able to go south. Unfortunately it was a very economically depressed area and we didn't understand that most towns did not have restaurants or facilities that would be open. Fortunately we had done some grocery shopping at the base of St. Leger so we did have food on board the boat. We also didn't understand that we would be negotiating over 70 locks in our one week visit! We did need assistance on day three when we had a skylight that leaked and we got help right away.
Yes, it rained. We had a week of rain..... so I think a suggestion to bring rain pants as well as a rain coat in the event of inclement weather would have been helpful.
From the promotional materials we envisioned a week of gliding down a canal, stopping at local restaurants and wineries and riding bikes to local points of historical interests. What we got was more like a week of camping in the rain (except we had a very nice boat and good sleeping accommodations) and preparing our food on board in between navigating many many locks.
Nonetheless, it was an adventure and we had a great time hanging out with our friends despite the inclement weather. My major feedback would be to revamp the website to make it more user friendly and more accurate in terms of the potential experience. We were woefully unprepared for what was in store....
3 October 2025
Reply from Riverly
Hello,
Thank you so much for your detailed and thoughtful review. We’re really happy to hear that you enjoyed your trip overall, appreciated the support from our Saint-Léger team, and found the boat comfortable and well-equipped.
We’re truly sorry that the start of your journey felt confusing. Our team is always available by phone or email to help guests prepare or clarify any questions about routes or bases, and the Captain’s Handbook — sent digitally with your booking confirmation — includes all the key information to plan your cruise.
The canal restriction north of Saint-Léger was indeed an exceptional situation, and all our guests were informed by email ahead of time. We completely understand how this, along with the rainy week, made your experience different from what you had imagined.
We truly value your feedback and will keep improving the clarity of our website and pre-departure communication. We’d love to welcome you back under sunnier skies for another adventure at your own pace.
We had planned to go between Joigny and…
We had planned to go between Joigny and Corbigny but the canal authorities had closed a lock for 2 weeks halfway between the two Locaboat bases and we could only do a half trip.
When we arrived at Joigny we found the groceries we orderded 3 weeks prior had not been supplied, the base was understaffed and we could not get assistance to go to the local supermarket to get them.
We ended up taking a marina trolley and walking the 20 minutes to the local supermarket and carting the 70Kg load back to the boat on foot.
On the plus side the office assistant, Jeromino was as helpful as he could be under the circumstances but was hampered by the lack of resources. The boat provided was in good condition and very clean and presentable, all the facillities on board worked properly.
To be fair the canal authorities had closed a lock for 2 weeks halfway between the two Locaboat bases which put extra load on the Joigny base although they had plenty of notice to prepare for that.
Despite a difficult start we had an enjoyable trip
22 September 2025
Reply from Riverly
Hello,
Thank you for sharing your experience so openly. We’re delighted that, despite a complicated start, you enjoyed your trip, found the boat in excellent condition and appreciated Jeromino’s support.
We are sincerely sorry for the frustrations with the grocery order and the lack of assistance on arrival. We’ve taken your comments very seriously, and we are already investigating internally to put an action plan in place so that such situations are better anticipated in the future.
Your feedback is very valuable to us, and we hope to welcome you back soon for a smoother start and the same pleasure on the water.
Nice people, nice boats
The people we dealt with, from the concierge who helped us arrange the trip and the accounting people who squared things away and all the staff at the bases, were very friendly and helpful. Although I am not sure I would recommend that route to anyone, with 69 locks in essentially 6 days, it was very pleasant and until we reach the industrial area near the base in Dompierre sur Besbre, quite pretty countryside. We think a little more printed troubleshooting guide would be helpful, such as how to address the bow thruster that shut itself off intermittently and the inverter that alarmed after about 10 hours when it was not plugged in or the engine run (usually at 5 am). Overall a very nice pleasant experience.
22 September 2025
Reply from Riverly
Hello,
Thank you so much for your detailed 5⭐ review. We’re delighted that our teams — from booking to the bases — made your experience smooth and friendly, and that you enjoyed the countryside along your route.
And yes… 69 locks in 6 days is quite an adventure in itself. We’ve taken good note of all your remarks, from the troubleshooting guide to the small technical points, and we’ll share them with our teams to keep improving the experience.
We’d love to welcome you back soon for another cruise — maybe with fewer locks and just as many smiles ✨.
It was as expected
It was as expected, we hav done this before, and it worked as we thought it shouls
29 September 2025
Reply from Riverly
Hello,
Thank you so much for your 5⭐ review. It’s always a pleasure to welcome back experienced crews — and we’re delighted that everything went just as you expected.
The beauty of cruising is that, even when everything feels familiar, there’s always a new landscape, a new lock or a new encounter waiting along the way.
It was our best trip ever. It was our eighth trip with Locaboat…
It was our eighth trip with Locaboat fourth on the midi canal. It’s an amazing place where we always find new things to do and do the things that we loved in the past. Locaboat about makes it so easy. I can’t wait to do another trip next year.
22 September 2025
Reply from Riverly
Hello,
Wow — your 8th trip with us already ! We can’t thank you enough for your loyalty and for sharing such wonderful words. It’s fantastic to hear that the Canal du Midi still has surprises in store, even after so many adventures.
We’ll be ready to welcome you again next year… who knows, maybe the 9th trip will be the best one yet !
Must do activity if you like boating
An incredible experience on a large and beautiful E400 boat. We were greeted and instructed by very kind and helpful staff. We spent a wonderful weekend enjoying the landscapes along the river. My husband has a motorboat license and handled it well; however, in my opinion, it’s important to have at least some basic boating skills, since passing through the locks can be quite challenging — they are very narrow.
7 July 2025
Reply from Riverly
Hello,
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback. We’re delighted you enjoyed the comfort of the E400, the beautiful landscapes and, of course, the warm welcome from our team.
You’re right — locks can seem a little tricky at first glance. That’s why we always provide a detailed briefing before departure and stay available all along the journey. After a few tries, most crews find their rhythm… and sometimes even become pros faster than expected !
We’d love to welcome you back soon for another unforgettable adventure with Locaboat.
Fantastic experience locaboat…trip of a Lifetime
Fantastic experience locaboat was only a phone call away with any questions we called several times and they were always pleasant ready to help. And they did.... Immediately. Quite refreshing
Excellent advice on where to travel and what to anticipate
19 September 2025
Reply from Riverly
Hello,
Thank you so much for your amazing feedback. We’re thrilled to hear that our team could answer your calls so quickly and with a smile — it’s always a pleasure to be your crew on shore !
Hearing that your cruise felt like a ‘trip of a lifetime’ makes us really proud… and makes us want to welcome you back even more for the next adventure.
All was perfect and very well prepared.
All was perfect and very well prepared.
And the people of Saint Martin are beautiful people.
2 September 2025
Reply from Riverly
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback! We’re delighted everything was perfectly prepared for your trip, and we truly appreciate your kind words about our team in Saint Martin. We hope to welcome you back on board soon !
Staff & boat great, excitement to disappointment due to conditions
The staff at St Leger were great and the boat comfortable & well equipped (1 week mid-July). There were two disappointments though:
1) The canal towards Chagny was closed due to flood damage cutting out the vineyards and most interesting areas (we were advised of the closure but had no idea of the implications)
2) We were advised by staff that swimming in the canal was prohibited. The water quality seemed poor. Nowhere were we advised of this in the information provided.
Had we been fully informed of these conditions, we would not have done this trip.
18 July 2025
Reply from Riverly
Thank you for your feedback and for your kind words about our team in St Léger and the comfort of the boat.
We’re truly sorry that your trip was impacted by the canal closure and by the lack of clarity regarding swimming. While the flooding was unfortunately beyond our control, we understand how disappointing it must have been to miss out on certain areas of the route. Your comments on the information provided will help us improve the way we communicate these important details to our guests.
We appreciate your constructive feedback and hope to have the opportunity to welcome you again under better conditions.
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