Captain your own river cruise

You've done the Med on a mega-liner and explored the Rhine on a river cruiser but have you been your own captain on the Canal du Midi?

It's the next wave of holidays on the water; hiring a motor cruiser and seeing Europe "from the inside" under your own steam.

And with no boating experience required, more and more Australians are enjoying river holidays with groups such as Le Boat, which offers packages in nine European countries, from Ireland, Scotland and England in the west, through France, Belgium and Holland to northern Italy and northern Germany. Poland is new for the 2014 season, which runs from about Easter to October.

Le Boat is part of the TUI Marine group and its head of distribution for Australia & Asia/Pacific, David Reid, says Aussies are taking to motor-cruiser holidays like the proverbial ducks to water.

"Most of our travellers are heading to Europe for four to six weeks to visit family and taking a boating holiday as maybe one week of that," Mr Reid says.

"We're up about 26 per cent over the year for bookings from Australia and New Zealand and that's on the back of river cruising, which is just massive at the moment. I think the Australian is a very independent traveller, we all know about the Grey Nomads, and Le Boat can be seen as a campervan on water, albeit a luxurious one."

Independence is exactly what you get on a Le Boat package - it's all about choice and a fair amount of freedom in where you stop along the river and for how long.

Your cruise could be a one-week Grand Highland Fling along the Caledonian Canal from Laggan to Inverness or a two-week Jewels of Italy along the River Sile into the Venetian Lagoon.

Mr Reid says the 800-strong fleet is the youngest on the water.

Boats sleep three to 10 people (Mr Reid recommends up to eight people with a spare room for luggage) and are rated from one to five stars. All are comfortable - expect cooking facilities, toilets, electricity, heating and air cooling on a one-star boat while top-end vessels such as The Vision will have air-conditioning, electric toilets, satellite TV, a DVD player and an alfresco area with sunshade. And with two, three or four couples cruising together, costs are reasonable. Depending on the area and length of cruise and the time of year, The Vision, which comfortably sleeps eight, costs from $4000-$10,000 - on a seven-night Canal du Midi cruise with eight people, it costs less than $75 per person, per night.

Le Boat organises airport or train transfers to the mooring, where there's a lesson of about an hour on how to operate the boat, going through locks, and information about fuel stops, villages and landmarks along the river.

Travellers need no skipper's licence to drive the motor cruisers, which have a top-speed of 7km/h, and 24-hour assistance is available. And the boats are stable and the rivers relatively placid so seasickness is not an issue. Le Boat supplies insurance but travellers can arrange their own.

"If you can drive a car, you can drive one of these boats. When you're only travelling at 7km/h, you're never too far from help and there's rubber everywhere," Mr Reid laughs.

On each boat, there are pre- ordered food starter packs and comprehensive maps and information about the river and the small towns along the route - from the flora and fauna of the area to the history, landmarks, and what to do and where to eat.

Onboard bicycles allow travellers to explore and on some waterways such as the Norfolk Broads, boats will have kayaks and inflatable stand-up paddleboards.

Mr Reid says it's the flexibility of a houseboat holiday that makes it so rewarding, with travellers able to set their own pace and move along when they want on waterways that pass through towns and villages bypassed by major roads.

"Some of the canals are 400-odd years old, so you'd be travelling through very sedate, quaint areas," he says.

"These are the old 'freeways' of years gone by so it's where the old market towns are, and if people want to go into a village or visit the markets, they can go on their bike.

"In the morning, you can go and get your baguette and your cheese and ham and have breakfast, then you can enjoy a long lunch in the village or come back to the boat and relax, or cruise up the river - we recommend that travellers spend at least a week but 10-14 days is the average."

Wi-fi allows travellers to keep in touch and with internet access it's easy to research more obscure areas along the route.

But one of the best sources of knowledge is on the river itself - titbits of information gleaned from other travellers when passing through the locks.

"People start off quite unsure about the locks but they become one of the highlights of the trip," Mr Reid says. "Most of the locks are manned by a keeper and most are electronic, and once you've done one you're fine.

"There could be up to three boats in a lock and they become great meeting places; someone could be coming downriver and tell you about a great restaurant up ahead or about something they enjoyed. By the end of a cruise, people love the locks."

Australian travellers are keen on France and, in particular, the Canal du Midi, Mr Reid says.

"We're noticing that many people are travelling as groups, because the boats can sleep up to eight," he says.

"Most are heading for Southern France and the Canal du Midi, and that would make up 95 per cent of business from Australia. Most people will travel from Port Cassafieres to Castelnaudary, which would take about two weeks. In the Camargue region, there are beautiful beaches, castles and it's a fantastic wine and food region with great weather."

Cruises in Burgundy, Ireland and the Thames and Scotland are also popular, especially with travellers returning to Europe to visit family.

• fact file *

·As an indication, a seven-night cruise on the Canal du Midi from Homps to Castelnaudary taken in September would cost from $1556 for the one-star Tamaris boat which sleeps six, from $2771 for the four-star Calypso boat which sleeps up to eight and from $4150 for the new five-star Vision 3 SL which comfortably sleeps eight with a spare room for storage.

·Le Boat has a reservations office in Sydney, phone 1800 118 940. The website at leboat.com.au has all the itinerary and fleet details for each country. Many Perth travellers who've enjoyed a Le Boat package have done so through Bicton Travel. bictontravel.com.au or

9339 0277.