Travelling To Your Barge
Pickup at the Hotel Westminster in Central Paris
Getting There Can Often Be Half The Fun!
By Train
On every hotel barge cruise, wherever it may be, we aim to give our guests authentic and immersive experiences. As your barge sedately makes its away along one of the waterways of France, Scotland, Holland, or perhaps Italy, you will have the opportunity to visit hidden places and meet local people from all walks of life.
Rail services in Europe, and particularly in France, are excellent. The high speed TGV trains operate from Paris to all regions and link up with the Eurostar trains from London. Transfer from local station to meeting point is usually very easy, or a direct hotel barge pick up can often be arranged from the platform. In addition, there are some first-rate rail services into France from cities in neighbouring countries, such as Barcelona in Northern Spain and Zurich in Switzerland which give access to our Midi and Alsace cruising regions.
Hotels
By Plane
Our designated meeting points mostly have a hotel option that we have carefully selected to offer a comfortable stay for one or more nights in the cruise region. Meeting times are predominantly on a Sunday afternoon, with return transfers on the following Saturday morning. For Burgundy cruises, return transfers are from a meeting point in central Paris such as the Hotel Westminster. Charter parties can be met at any hotel or other meeting point of their choice within a 30 minute drive of the hotel barge.
As well as the major hubs such as Paris, London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Brussels, there are many well served regional airports near our cruise routes such as Lyon, Montpellier, Carcassonne, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Venice, Verona and Inverness. Flying to or from airports in adjoining countries such as Barcelona, Zurich or Geneva is also an attractive option if you wish to spend some time in another destination before or after your barge cruise.
By Car Driving to the hotel barge through rural countryside at your own pace in your own or a hired car can be a very enjoyable “top and tail” to a cruise. For passengers travelling from the UK, there are many cross-channel routes, including the Eurotunnel which takes only 35 minutes. Parking is available at the meeting point hotel or at another convenient location. We can also provide clear directions, or a direct pick-up can often be arranged. Please note that parking is at your own risk and expense. If you prefer to arrange your own private car transfer from an airport or railway station, even from outside France, driving times are very acceptable, ranging from around one hour from Toulouse to a Canal du Midi barge, to 4 hours from Geneva to one of our Burgundy barges.
We Can Help Although we cannot package your tour, we can recommend a number of partner travel companies with a deep understanding of our business and who can help you with your individual requirements for booking flights, trains, ferries, hotels, car hire and even chauffeured limousines. We can also advise regarding your choice of travel, accommodation and timings. Please ask our experienced reservations staff.
Excellent air, rail, road links; Convenient meeting and transfer arrangements 104 104
