Houseboat Vacation in Europe: The Most Beautiful Places for Water Travel

Imagine waking up in the morning on a boat surrounded by nature or in a small harbor with historic houses. You look out at romantic heather landscapes or deep green, shady avenues while enjoying your first coffee or doing a round of yoga on deck - sounds like the perfect vacation, right?

The best part: You can take your floating vacation home with you, become the captain, master locks, drawbridges, harbor entrances, or simply relax on the water and enjoy a refreshing swim in between. The travel bettercities.net introduces you to seven houseboat spots that are most worth it for such an extraordinary vacation.

The Emerald Isle is crisscrossed by numerous waterways. These include, in addition to the River Barrow and the River Shannon, the Shannon-Erne Canal. One of the most modern waterways in Ireland, which you can also explore by houseboat.

To operate the locks, so-called Waterways Ireland Smartcards are used. They also give you access to the service blocks and allow you to use the 'pump-outs' along the waterway to empty the wastewater tank.

The waterway consists of picturesque lakes, rivers, and canals and connects the Shannon and the Erne. Over a stretch of about 60 kilometers through Ireland's scenic landscape, you'll pass more than 30 stone bridges and 16 locks, so it will be exciting.

Your houseboat tour starts in the village of Leitrim in the county of the same name. It takes you past the town of Kilclare and through Loughscur Lake. You pass the Keshcarrigan Marina, then continue through the picturesque Irish lake landscape to Upper Lough Erne in County Fermanagh. The tour takes about 13 hours.

If you want to experience La Dolce Vita and the beauty of Venice from the water, you should rent a houseboat in Chioggia in Italy. The harbor town, also called 'Little Venice', is located on an island between the Adriatic Sea and the 550-square-kilometer Laguna Veneta.

From Chioggia, you can reach Venice in about four hours with the houseboat. Due to the busy harbor traffic, the spot is only for you if you have a little driving experience. Houseboats are sometimes a bit sluggish, and parking and turning maneuvers in heavy traffic require strong nerves and a steady hand.

The Grande Lago in the south of Portugal is the largest reservoir in Europe, with an area of 250 square kilometers and a length of 83 kilometers. It's a great houseboat area for those who want to take it easy and/or really cover some miles.

The lake has no locks, is calm, and thus guarantees easy navigation and stress-free travel on your floating home.

The houseboat base for a weekend trip, several days, or even a whole week is the village of Amieira. From there, you can take an 88-kilometer round tour with a stop in the fortress town of Mourão. If you want to travel longer, you can cover about 160 kilometers via Monsaraz - a picturesque historic town with white houses - and back.

Longer stopovers are worthwhile: You can swim, dive, or explore the flora and fauna along the shore or the various small towns around by bike at your leisure.

For the very sporty, there's a 280-kilometer round tour via Juromenha. The fortress of the town sits directly above the water. However, you should plan a week for the long distance.

Perhaps the most famous houseboat area in France is the Canal du Midi. It connects Toulouse with the Mediterranean at Sète over 240 kilometers.

Highlights along the way include Toulouse, the 'red city', the fortified city of Carcassonne, and numerous wineries like Château de Paraza or Domaine de l'Herbe Sainte.

The canal also crosses aqueducts, such as the Ayguesvives Aqueduct, where the canal crosses the small river Amadou. You pass picturesque shady alleys and exciting lock staircases, such as the Écluses de Fonserannes near Béziers.

There are eight locks and nine basins lined up directly one after the other, allowing you to overcome a height difference of over 20 meters with your boat. You will also have some spectators on the shore who watch the spectacle.

There are many great tours you can take on your floating accommodation. From Homps across Carcassonne and back, you cover about 80 kilometers and pass 26 locks. This route takes about 21 hours of travel time.

Numerous waterways pass by tulip rocks and windmills as well as picturesque small towns: The Netherlands are predestined for houseboat trips and a dream for culture fans and water lovers alike.

You can start your 'floating vacation home' trip in South Holland from the houseboat base in Alphen aan den Rijn. The location is on the Oude Rijn, as well as on the canalized Gouwe River and the Aarkanal.

On your way through the wildly romantic canal landscape, you will come across Rotterdam, The Hague, or the community of Lisse with the Keukenhof Botanical Garden, famous for its tulip blossoms.

If you start your houseboat tour from the village of Loosdrecht in North Holland, you can head north towards Amsterdam or navigate your floating accommodation south towards Utrecht.

It's worth bringing a bicycle to explore the green landscape away from the water on a small cycling tour.

In Germany, you can also travel by houseboat. For a relaxing vacation on the water, the Mecklenburg Lake District is a great choice. Known as the 'Land of a Thousand Lakes', it's a true paradise for nature lovers and can be explored starting from Fürstenberg or from Fleesensee.

The advantage: There are few locks, but many bathing lakes and coves for a relaxing break, such as the Klink bathing beach, Rechlin swimming area, or Buchholz beach at Müritz Lake in Priborn or at Mirower Lake.

From the vacation spot Fleesensee, you can sail along the Müritz and visit the historic spa town of Waren. From the so-called water town Fürstenberg, you can explore the Kleinseenplatte and Schloss Rheinsberg or the town of Mirow with its thatched cottages on stilts, or go in the other direction and explore the Upper Havel.

For the route Fürstenberg - Rheinsberg - Müritz - Röbel and Waren - Fürstenberg, you should plan about a week. For a weekend trip, the Fürstenberg - Himmelpfort - Lychen - Fürstenberg tour is a good option.

During a longer stopover, you can also explore the bike paths through the Müritz National Park by bicycle.

Not only by bike can you explore the Masurian region in northern Poland, but also with a chartered houseboat. The contiguous lake region of about 1700 square kilometers is a great playground for water lovers and aspiring captains.

The lakes are partially connected by canals, and there are only two locks in the southern part of the lake district. You can explore, for example, the northern Masurian Lake District around Mamry Lake (Lake Mauer) with the town of Angerburg (Węgorzewo), or navigate the southern part near Lötzen (Giżycko). From there, you can paddle along the 'Five Lakes Route' to Nikolaiken or take a trip to Ryn.

If you're not interested in traveling much, you can rent a stationary houseboat, which is permanently anchored, for example in a bay at Mamry Lake. From there, you have the opportunity to take bike trips to the Rominten Heath Forest, kayak tours, or plan an excursion to the bison reserve, the Borkener Forest, all directly from the water.

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Travel Reporter