Bike & Boat
2 trips in 1!
Along rivers, canals and coasts: it's a bike trip and a cruise, an outdoor experience and cultural exploration.
Your boat is your hotel; it docks at idyllic towns and villages along the way; it usually sets sails while you pedal, meeting you at the next port. The boat also travels sometimes in the evenings or during the night. So you cover a great distance and enjoy a wide range of landscapes. Your stages are divided between a day on the bike and an evening on board or visiting a town.
Ideal for groups of friends, families and couples, this package offers something for everyone, thanks to its travel style and its combination of nature, outdoor recreation and culture.
What type of boat?
It all depends on the voyage: river cruiser, converted barge, yacht or sailboat on the seas. The boat can have from 10 to 80 cabins, depending on the voyage!
Difficulty
You stay in a cabin for 2, sometimes 1 or 3 people. Often, the boat has different decks, so cabin categories vary. As with hotels, boats come in a range of standards: some are quite simple, others downright luxurious. For the same route, you can sometimes choose between several boats, from simple comfort to premium comfort.
Niveau
River itineraries are fairly easy (cruise ships and barges), but there's nothing to stop you making a few variations.
Trips aboard sailing boats are, for some, more challenging, with the option of an E-bike to make itineraries easier.
As for those who want to treat themselves to a day on the water, they can skip a stage by staying on board and enjoying the scenery.
Self-guided or guided?
Your boat is often 100% or mostly dedicated to cycling. Travelers come from all over the world, so there are plenty of opportunities to meet new people. Friendly get-togethers and visits ashore are regularly organized during tours. A guide is often on hand to supervise the outings (free of charge, so you're free to follow them or not), and there are daily checkpoints. The guide generally speaks English and German, rarely French. But the documents provided by Grand Angle are enough for you to manage on your own if you prefer that option.
The trip can therefore be experienced as a self-guided trip, or as an alternation of solo and group travel, as you wish.
Full board food is provided, and you choose each day between a picnic along the path or lunch on board, if you decide not to cycle.
Bike Rental
All our tours offer rental bikes for an extra fee, "touring/all-terrain" or electric. Of course, you're welcome to bring your own bike if you prefer that option.
FAQ
Of course, it'll be sleeping on the deck, not necessarily under cover, and it will be stored with the other bikes, so it might get a little snagged. We advise against taking your super high-end carbon bike because of these possibilities for minor damage while on board the boat.
Some boats have a small capacity, and then it is usually possible. We can charter the boat for you... if you book at least a year in advance! Please contact us for specific requests.
Not always, but very often it does mean more comfort. However, more and more small-capacity boats are being fitted out for Premium comfort.
If you or Grand Angle can't find a cabin partner to share the room, then you'll have to take a cabin on your own and pay the extra single supplement fee.
If the cabin you want is still available, then you can choose it.
We'll give you all the explanations and directions you need in your travel packet docuements, and often we can also offer an additional transfer package to make logistics even easier for you.
