French Waterways - Luxury Hotel Barges, River & Hire Boats - Abingdon

Clare D.

Ponders Travel are proud to work with French Waterways. We have found the passion and drive from the team at French Waterways has always been faultless. When creating a website there is so much work involved to ensure that information provided is accurate, informative and in many cases unique. I can safely say that I have never met a team more committed and driven to ensure that their company provides all of these things to the highest standard. The personal research and depth of their research is second to none. Having been in travel for over 34 years, I can safely say that no other company I have worked with is as committed at French Waterways in delivering excellent results for their customers. At Ponders Travel, we work closely with the team to help all the clients that would like to travel along any of the French Rivers. Having just won the River Cruise Ambassadors Agency Award you can see that our drive and passion matches that of French Waterways.

We all look forward to helping you have the most wonderful holiday

Randy B.

Fantastic cruise aboard Savannah in the Canal du Midi

Two couples and my wife and I booked Savannah for a week on the Canal du Midi in late September of 2022. It was expensive but worth every penny. The experience far exceeded our expectations in every category. This is luxury at a slow pace with an attentive and very friendly crew. I’m always careful with superlatives but this did qualify as a trip of a lifetime.

First of all, the food was unbelievably good. Valerie is an accomplished chef and it showed in every dish. Each evening was a complete four course dinner with aperitifs, wine, and after dinner drinks. Everything was sourced locally and exceeding fresh. On one of our outings we visited the market in Narbonne and went shopping with the captain. All the wines were from local winemakers and all were exceptionally good. Lunch was equally as good with several dishes served family style. Breakfast was all anyone could want.

Each day we cruised the canal for a few hours and we also had some type of outing. Frankly we hadn’t paid much attention to the excursions ahead of time, but everyone of them was interesting and a surprise. The Captain was always willing to adjust according to our desires but we happily enjoyed the planned activities.

Perhaps what made the trip so very enjoyable was the crew. I already mentioned Valerie’s talents in the galley. Noura was a delight, she filled a lot of roles – charming hostess, crew, and jack of all trades – even spelling the captain at the helm. The captain was an exceptional surprise, extremely well educated, well-travelled, and conversant in the history of the regions. He was with us on all our outings and we all had time with him to ask questions a gain a deeper understanding of the region. Savannah is his barge and he is always the captain. The crew is well trained and has been with him a long time. This is a bit different from corporate owned barges where captain and crew constantly change out. The consistency of service and camaraderie of the crew was a pleasure. We all laughed, told stories, and enjoyed the crew as if they were old friends.

Sue P.

We went on a locaboat up the Canal du Midi to Beziers, including the stunning aquaduct across the River Orb. Having no experience of France we struggled with translating a lot of the other websites on the Canal du Midi! But this was clearly written and ideal for UK tourists. We booked the whole trip starting from this website and it was a big help in our planning. Thank you!

Skye B.

Fantastic service from the moment we looked at the website, through booking, to our fabulous trip. Highly recommend to anyone wanting a memorable experience on the water.

steve T.

Superb web site, so informative, everything you need is there. Great service too, we received exactly what we wanted and had a fabulous trip. Will be back for more!

Patricia B.

The most detailed and user friendly website to access up to date information for great holidays on the inland waterways of France

Pompey S.