Rent a boat to go on a cruise with your dog
Go on vacation with your dog is not always easy. I share with you today a great plan: take to the open sea and rent a boat for a holiday on the water. Le Boat offers dozens of cruises throughout France: in the Loire Valley, in Burgundy, in Brittany… but also in the Camargue and, as we did, on the Canal du Midi. From Toulouse to Sète: there is plenty to have fun and have a good time with all your family AND your dog.
Last weekend, the entire EmmèneTonChien.com team boarded a license-free boat for a cruise on the Canal du Midi. A Wow experience Although Musher has of course to share with us. Let me tell you about our adventure...
The cruise has fun
On arrival we were looked after by a member of the Le Boat team. She explained to us how the boat works and gave some navigation rules: priorities on the water, how the ports work, how the locks work... In less than an hour, we were off for 3 days/2 nights on board a “caprice” on the Canal du Midi (Homps-Le Somail-Homps in the Aude).
The boat is equipped like a bungalow: crockery, sheets... It's like a bungalow except that there are no neighbors and the landscapes change from minute to minute...
Step One: Get Musher on board. If it's easy for us to jump from the dock to the boat, for Musher, it was the great adventure! We put a walkway between the two but it was very narrow…. Musher was very afraid to step over it and face the void below (barely a meter… but she's a coward). Despite the promise of several sweets and our encouragement (we looked like 3 morons in the port!), Musher had a hard time getting through.
I didn't want to wear it because she absolutely had to understand that it was safe. When we stop along the banks, there's no question of carrying her to get her out of the boat… it's a shot to finish in the water, both wedged between the shore and the boat.
So we took the time to show her that it was THE only way to get in and out of the boat for her. For a small dog, just take it under the arm, for a big dog, you have to teach it to use the footbridge 😉
The first few minutes were quite impressive for Musher; lots of noise and vibration. Very quickly, she found her place in her cushion that I had taken care to bring. Among our belongings, she felt like home.
Life on board the boat
I hadn't imagined to what extent going on a cruise was a “special” vacation. The boat, gliding along the water, taking the time to look at the landscape, making gourmet or cultural stops, meeting boatmen who always have a “good morning” for you, going through locks, … It’s quite unique . And what pride to pilot a big boat. We were 3 girls on board and a dog. Armelle, our boat captain received a lot of surprised looks from the other boats… A little impressed the first hour, she ended up parking in reverse between 2 boats on the last day of the cruise. And without touching a single one! A real pro! This WE was a very nice parenthesis: between nature and calm. I draw your attention to a point of vigilance: the floor of the exterior of the boat is made of plastic (a material that looks like it): it is very slippery for our doggies. Musher wanted to get on the bench at the back of the boat to sunbathe but she was surprised and slipped.
Fortunately, I had sensed things and I caught up with her. If during your cruise, the rain comes along, it's even more slippery and for you too. Musher is a big fan of water, I always had an eye on her to make sure she didn't dive into the water...
We began our descent of the canal through a series of locks. Impressive at first and then finally, once you get the hang of it, it's not rocket science... On the other hand, there is a fundamental safety rule: during the passage through the locks, your dog must be locked in the boat.
Talking to a lock keeper, he told me that sometimes the dogs fall in the lock… I can tell you that after that, Musher was locked up at each lock and before each landing. No question of him wanting to jump ashore before the boat is perfectly moored to the pontoon and stable.
Navigation on the Canal du Midi
For the trip to go well, remember to take breaks along the water so that your dog can stretch his legs. The advantage of boating without a license is that you can stop wherever you want and enjoy nature. On the Canal du Midi, you won't get seasick, it's very calm.
When booking, choose a boat with your dog in mind. We navigated on a whim… To climb on the small terrace at the top, access was via a ladder. It was therefore impossible to hoist Musher with us up there… We passed other Le Boat boats with stairs to access the floor. It's much more practical for our doggies!
We were on the water all weekend. A hell for Musher: water everywhere and formal prohibition to bathe there, the water of the Canal was not clean enough. If you choose another river cruise destination, you may be in for a treat. Musher would have loved to jump off the boat. If I do another cruise of this type one day, it is clear that I will choose a place where we can both swim.
A final recommendation for your dog? We made the choice, in the evening, to stop outside the ports (paying parking lots). We were alone in the world: the best! Fortunately, I had thought of taking a headlamp and equipping Musher with a luminous collar. Otherwise, we would have found ourselves in the dark both for the evening pee. Don't forget your doggie's collar with its medal (in case your doggie escapes). Grab your dog's first aid kit: channel edges are "wild". In summer, you are not immune to a spikelet or a tick...
This cruise was good for all 4 of us: we took the time to live, discuss, get to know each other, … It's a great adventure to live, a nice parenthesis in the middle of nature.
I therefore recommend that you boating with a dog ! Are you looking for a rental company? direction The Boat to know more 😉