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Revised February 2019
Postwar Europe discovered kayaks as a great way to explore the rivers that flow across the continent and the canals that have been built to link those rivers; the more adventurous have discovered the excitement of whitewater in the rivers that drain the Alps. Many Europeans spend summer days on the calm lowland rivers enjoying the beauty and invigoration that comes with a pleasant paddle in the countryside. The leisurely pace of a kayak trip down a river may be the best way to meet the people of Europe and learn about their communities and culture.
Kayaking Areas in Europe
- Belgium - kayaking is a popular sport in Belgium with rentals near many of the most popular tourist sites. One possible choice is to kayak outside the walls of the beautiful town of Ghent
- Croatia provides many opportunities to kayak off its shores. Dubrovnik is a beautiful place to kayak, with many tours starting beneath the walls of the fortified city. But there are rental agencies in many of the coastal towns, even those in the north, like Rovinj, where Huck Finn Adventures will arrange a spectacular trip through the turquoise waters of the Adriatic to some of the prettiest islands in Croatia.
- Czechia is a wonderful place to kayak or canoe. It is a popular activity throughout the country, with the Vltava River hosting some of well-paddled stretches. We were able to enjoy a delightful ride around the city of Cesky Krumlov and out to a large park where cold Czech beer and sausages were abundant; we will never forget the city-sponsored surprise that waited for kayakers as they sailed underneath the first bridge out of town...it made us laugh and appreciate our hosts even more.
- France is filled with rivers, lakes and coastal shores where you can kayak or canoe. If you want, the wide beaches of Brittany even provide opportunities to "land kayak" across the sand. There are kayak or canoe rentals near many of the canals that connect the rivers of France into a navigable network. In the north, the season runs concurrently with the summer tourist time; to the south, rental companies open earlier and close in mid-September, letting tourists paddle the Dordogne, the Gard, or the Ardeche rivers in the late spring or early fall after crowds have thinned. On any sunny summer day on the Dordogne, there are thousands of folks traveling beneath the hilltop castles used to fight the Hundred Years War, with vans shuttling crowds to put in spots near Domme with varied length trips ending near the town of Vezac. Similarly, many rental companies in Vallons Pont d'Arc offer kayaks to paddle under the dramatic stone arch of the Ardeche. The arch is a few hours north of the Provence region and, along with the Cave at Chauvet where the work of ancient cave painters is on display, it's a rewarding and unforgettable way to spend a summer day in France. Throughout southern France, on the Lot, the Canal du Midi, the Tarn and other rivers, there a stretches of slow water inviting families to kayak; for the more adventurous, there are companies organizing whitewater trips in the foothills of the Alps
- Spain
Getting a Boat in Europe
You may wonder, as I did, whether it makes sense to ship your own kayak to Europe. The first question you should ask is how much kayaking you will do in Europe. If you pnly plan to spend a day on a river looking at hilltop castles from a distance, you need do nothing more than rent a kayak for the trip. But if you plan to do a long trip, more than a couple weeks, you may prefer bringing your own kayak or making some type of lease arrangement with a kayak company. Our experience is that we spent $30 to $40 a day to rent a boat for 2, so that we would have to spend a fair portion of our trip on the water to justify the expense.
The cost of shipping a 15-foot kayak to Europe is about $400 and takes about 3 weeks; double the amount to get the kayak back from Europe, and you'll realize that it is probably best to buy, lease or rent while in Europe.