Norfolk Broads Direct Reviews 2,642

Was very disappointed I paid £195 for a day boat on 04/05/26 had to cancel boat due to my dad being rushed in hospital so cancelled on the 03/05/26 phone up on Tuesday 05/05/26 to see if I could get a refund and a very rude man on the phone saying I have to email and attach medical forms what a joke I spent thousands of pounds on weeks holidays on there cruiser boats in the past never will I book anything with them again so disappointed they wouldn’t get 1 star got with barns brink craft much nicer staff

We have been using NBD for several years now, the boats are always lovely and well equipped , the handover is quick and professional especially Becky who is an absolute star, she always greets us with a big smile and remembers things about us from previous visits, she is a total asset to NBD and one of the main reasons we keep coming back.

We have just returned from another excellent few days on the Norfolk Broads this time on a boat hired from NBD, Fair Royale 1. A lovely boat perfect for two, easy to handle with the Bow Thruster and an excellent high level steering position which provides panoramic views of the boards as you travel around. Just bring plenty of warm clothes as you are a little exposed to the elements! NBD provide an excellent little starting/welcome pack that provides a few basics and some excellent flapjack to get started but also includes a Map and a handy guide book, including a suggested itinerary. All the staff from the office to the handover and return could not be friendlier or more welcoming and helpful. From arrival at the boatyard and leaving on your holiday it is an easy process with as much help as you need to get you on your way. On this trip we were lucky to spot an Otter, getting more common apparently and plenty of King Fishers both on Ranworth and in the How Hill area. We also stopped at the Hoverton Great Broad Nature Reserve and a first for me spotted a Great White Egret. I recommend to eat both at the Lion at Thurne and the White Horse at Neatishead (if you can get into the staithe. Mooring for up to 6-8 boats stern in but it is popular so arrive early). The Fair Royale’s kitchen area has recently been refitted and was excellent, everything needed for meals on board was provided (except the food of course!). In the rear cabin you could walk around both sides of the bed, handy for those of us who need to get up in the night! If I have one negative it was the mattress which was obviously quite old and not very comfortable, I could certainly feel a few springs at times and will need replacing shortly but overall the boat was excellent and definitely one I would hire again. If not on this boat I would definitely hire another boat again from NBD, the staff were excellent especially Becky and also Ali who completed our handover but all the staff were very helpful and friendly. See you next year!

We've been on 3 boating holidays with Norfolk Broads Direct. All the boats have been comfortable, well-equipped, clean and well maintained. The staff are friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. Highly recommended.

2nd year we’ve been back and can’t say more about how much we love the place,
We come for the fishing and love the fact the water is right on our doorstep.
Will be booking for our 3rd trip next year
Thank you

Great service before we set off. Friendly staff. Everything covered in the briefing. Great boat. Had a wonderful week.

I would definitely recommend NBD. The staff are very friendly, the check in was excellent and the boat was fantastic. The gift bag way very much appreciated.

Had a very relaxing few days also fishing.
Staff very helpful when we had a parcel delivered but not to the office a gentleman went to where it was dropped and picked it up for us.This is a suggestion,would it be possible for an outside light at the back of the property as some of the evenings it would have been nice to sit outside.

We really enjoyed the cruising aspect, but found the mooring process quite stressful at times. Getting on and off the boat was also challenging — the drop from the side was quite high, so it always felt like taking a leap of faith. Unfortunately, the boat was absolutely freezing at night and the beds were terribly uncomfortable. In hindsight, I wish we had just hired a day boat and stayed in a cottage instead, as the lack of comfort really affected the experience. We actually dreaded going to bed, knowing we wouldn’t get any real sleep because of the cold and the poor bedding. In our opinion the office staff were amazing, Dylan was exceptional at explaining the boats inner workings. Unfortunately the woman who greeted us at the boat should not be customer facing, she was rude, aggressive and everything we were asking for appeared to be a chore to her.

First time hiring with NBD , certainly won’t be the last . Fast efficient check in (nice goody bag as well .) Friendly staff . Boat clean and well appointed (Fair Duchess 2) and great value £600 for 4 nights . Well done NBD

Always a very efficient service from NBD. Boat was ready a few hours early which was a nice suprise. Clean, well stocked kitchen, all bed linen and towels provided. Friendly staff, no complaints.

We have been on the Broads for years and this was the first time with NBD, great experience all round. To start with the handover was completed very swiftly, the trial run was very quick but I think we must have come across as knowing what we were doing. Fair Entrepeneur is a big boat but handled very well even getting it into the moorings on the side at Ranworth without any difficulty.
The fenders were set too high given the flooding and didnt touch the mooring, I would have thought these would have been adjusted to protect the boat, The only minor niggle was the electric mud weight wouldn't lower but a quick call and the Engineer was with us within the hour. Turned out there was a safety catch that wasn't mentioned in the instruction video. Also on a windy night the life buoy banged about in its cage and was very load in the rear cabin, wedged something in there soon fixed. Will definately have NBD on top of my list for next year.

Thankyou for a lovely week on the Marquess boat. It was lovely and warm everything we dreamed of. We shall be booking again next year.

Great holiday. Fun instructor showed us the controls and took us out to get us confident with handling. He gave us many recommendations of things to do and places to visit. The boat was comfy and warm.

The boat was ready on time, it was good for us to get away early as it is now dark early.
The boat was nice and clean and well presented.
The staff as ever we pleasant and helpful.

This is our 2nd visit this year and once again an enjoyable experience. All staff friendly and helpful. The property was spotlessly clean inside, as it always has been on previous visits. Keep up the good work.

We hired Fair Executive 2 for a week in October, quite a few pluses but unfortunatley a few minuses also.
The pluses, the arrival and handove/pick up of the boat was very quick and easy as we wanted to get underway as soon as possible. we were given a very nice welcome pack, much appreciated. The boat looked great nicley set out, it was very easy to pilot and fairly manouverable, the 1st minus, the bow thruster was not the most responsive we have had on a Broads craft and almost useless in high winds.
Once we got settled we discovered the boat wasnt as clean as we would have expected we ended up buying some microfiber cloths to give the boat a quick going over.
The other minus was the rear Fenders were not big enough when moored stern on, with the movement of the boat over night and the tides rise and fall the Fenders compressed too much and the boat bumped hard in to the mooring often disturbing us at night.
The heating on the boat was excellent and the water for showering heated up in practically no time.
The Galley is also very well equiped.
Barring the minor issues above we had a very relaxing and satisfying holiday which in our opinion is what the Broads are about.
We will be hiring from NBD again in the future.

Incredible overall thoroughly enjoyed my holiday with you very nice boat with all immunities catered for although the bed wasn’t as comfortable as it could have been but that’s was down to booking the wrong boat We started from a great location Wroxham I’ll certainly be doing it again every year I’ll suggest it to all my friends and family in the future staff were great I would say broad tours are the best

Whole experience was first class from ease of booking, payment, communication, responsiveness, boat, collection, welcome pack, return, call out response, friendliness of all staff. Excellent. Highly recommend

Another fantastic holiday with NBD... we've been hiring their boats for the last 15 years and they keep getting better!

We arrived late on the 1st day and they left our boat ready for us to sleep on board with the handover taking place early the following morning - we were delighted to find a bag of goodies for us - and 1 for the dog too!

Looking forward to next year already!