Renting a Boat on a Budget: No License Required
Nicols, the specialist in boat holidays par excellence! Visit the most beautiful rivers and canals in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Hungary.
With more than 30 years of experience, Nicols today offers you a selection of the best houseboats.
Over the years, Nicols has designed more than 25 different boat models.
These are divided into 4 different series. Barges can be rented without a license.
No prior knowledge is required. If you are looking for a boating vacation, you have come to the right place!
Nicols specializes in this sector and each boat is 100% made in France.
Enjoy an unforgettable vacation aboard your license-free river boat, which offers maximum comfort for 2 to 12 people.
Do you want to spend a special holiday and spend pleasant hours with family or friends?
Your dreams come true! Why not rent a river boat that can be piloted without a license?
Be your own captain! As the captain of your own riverboat, you decide where you want to stop and what you want to see.
“Let’s go” for a fantastic boating vacation! Cast off!
Renting a barge is a unique opportunity to discover France and Europe in an unusual way. All of our river cruise destinations are suitable for novices as well as more experienced boaters.
Choose from over 150 loop, one-way or round-trip itineraries , using the engine below to help you select your cruise destination!
Rent a barge in France to take advantage of the largest network of waterways in Europe.
France has the second largest maritime domain in the world, which is in fact a real playground for boating enthusiasts.
Before setting out to storm the islands of French Polynesia, discover the vast network of navigable canals in France and take advantage of a few days of vacation to get your hands dirty aboard a license-free barge.
Discover Germany differently by renting a boat in the heart of the great lakes of Mecklenburg, or at the gates of Berlin in Brandenburg.
Germany offers exceptional landscapes and discovering them aboard a barge is an opportunity to make new memories if you have been there before, or to discover Germany in an original way if this is your first trip to our German neighbors.
Enjoy a NICOLS exclusivity on the Grande Lago d’Alqueva: the only license-free river tourism destination in Portugal!
The ideal place to completely disconnect from city life, the Grande Lago in Portugal is a huge lake that allows you to navigate all year round.
Under the southern sun, on crystal clear waters of exceptional quality, choose the destination Portugal for an extraordinary river cruise
Embark aboard your boat without a license to navigate Holland, the land of canals par excellence! Between mills and tulip fields, the network of waterways of the Netherlands winds you from village to historic town.
The sandy beaches invite you to swim, while the towpaths encourage you to take a few bicycle rides… It’s your turn to explore Gouda, Amsterdam, Utrecht or the European city of Maastricht, aboard your Nicols boat!
Rent a boat without a license to discover the waterways of Hungary!
Embark on a river cruise from the base of Tokaj and its internationally renowned wine; or cast off from Kisköre on the Tisza river, in the heart of unspoiled nature: swimming, fishing, and exploring national natural parks are on the program …
Whatever destination you choose, your cruise will take you from lock to lock and from village to village, for an unforgettable stay: aboard your license-free river boat, equipped to accommodate from 2 to 12 people in the greatest comfort, you will quickly become a fan of river holidays !
HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR RIVER CRUISE
Novice or experienced? As a family with children or teenagers? As a couple, fans of historical heritage or oenology?
These are all criteria that can help us guide you towards the best river cruise for you and your crew.
CRUISE WITH OR WITHOUT LOCKS?
The number of locks in a region, or their type (manual or automatic, with lock keeper or to operate independently) can influence your choice.
For regions with manual locks (such as the Charente, the Lot valley, etc.) you will have to turn the crank yourself: it’s rather sporty, think about it!
If you don’t want any locks, opt for a region with a “flat” landscape like the Camargue in France, the Netherlands, or like Hungary.
Others will appreciate the locks which liven up the rhythm of the river cruise and are conducive to exchanges with lock keepers or other boaters: for super fans of locks,
The lock ladders in southern Burgundy (Ouche valley from Venarey)
The locks of the Canal du Nivernais (Sardy sector accessible from Plagny or Brienon on a 2-week cruise)
Or the locks in the Blavet valley (in Brittany, if you have chosen a minimum of 2 weeks cruising from Glénac) should meet your wishes!
CRUISE WITH FAMILY OR TEENAGERS:
How to convince your young people to take a river cruise? Reassure them: some boats are equipped with TVs, and all the bases offer boxes to rent for a WIFI solution on board.
But more than anything, river navigation in itself is a dynamic activity: piloting the boat is authorized from the age of 16 , under the responsibility of the captain on board; your teenagers will therefore be able to learn how to pilot your Nicols star!
Jumping on the bank, retrieving the ropes, mooring, passing the locks (and turning the crank, if they are manual!) Are all activities in which young sailors can participate.
And if it finds the time long on board, they can also follow you on the towpath, by bike or by jogging, to join you at the next lock!
Also explain to them that the navigation in itself will occupy 4 to 5 hours a day on average , and that the rest of the time, you will be doing multiple tourist or recreational activities.
Example with swimming in the sea if you are sailing in the Camargue, in the river if you have chosen a cruise in Charente or in the Lot, or swimming on the equipped beaches or in the lakes as in the Netherlands, Portugal or Hungary … There are many possibilities for river cruises combining the pleasures of swimming!
A RIVER CRUISE TO NAVIGATE… BUT NOT ONLY!
Houseboat holidays can be seen as an original mode of locomotion, a pretext to discover a region from another angle.
However, they retain all the advantages of the usual vacation, where you can combine navigation and various and varied tourist visits: historical and religious heritage, gastronomy and oenology, natural parks, fishing, swimming or hiking or cycling … or why not associate your passion for river boating and golf, with the courses located in the immediate vicinity of your waterway?
Take advantage of promotions offered by Nicols! Offers can be combined with each other up to 10% for short stays, 15% for stays of one week
