Hire Boat Holiday Italy/Venice

[Dino]

Anyone ever been on a hire boat holiday to Italy with someone like Le Boat? I see they have two bases near Venice and Treviso. I’m looking to book a week away with the other half and it looks like it could be a good option.
I read that you can’t moor on the island of Venice but you can moor on other islands nearby and get a water taxi over.

I would be very interested to hear anyones experiences..

 

[YellowPeril]

I've done Venice with Le Boat and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a wonderful and surprisingly cost effective way of seeing Venice - not limited to just the usual tourist destinations over a long weekend. We started in Casale sul Sile and made our way into the lagoon, stopping at Burano, Murano, Chioggia etc. for overnight stops. The centre of Venice was easily within reach from the odd overnight mooring but we only caught a water bus once to visit St Marks Square / central Venice as the rest of the lagoon and surrounding area have so much to offer.
Cruising up the Grand Canal was interesting - all the local boats are much faster and it gets quite busy and rough, but if you're confident at the helm it is all fine. Exploring round some of the islands after 5.30pm once the water buses start to leave with all the tourists does make it special. I thoroughly recommend it.

I've also done Le Lot and Canal du Midi in France with Le Boat and both trips were good. Canal du Midi was lovely, but we'd do Venice again in a flash.

 

[Dino]

Thanks for the info. Yes it looks like a great way to see Venice and the lagoon. I’m very tempted to book for the end of April, early May.

 

[John100156]

That sounds like fun - its been quite a few years since we last visited Venice...

YP: What were the approx. costs for an overnight visitors berth? Did you book them in advance? I would expect them to be crowded in high-season?

 

[YellowPeril]

I've just looked back at our 2018 invoice from Le Boat and they included a cost of £70 for moorings for the week - this was for dedicated Le Boat moorings although I don't think booking ahead was possible.
It was mid-September so the weather was very pleasant but it was not necessarily the height of tourist season. We always found space, but of course it may be busier at different times of the year. I guess there are a fixed number of rental boats available and Le Boat may have catered for moorings for their full fleet. Perhaps Le Boat can give better advice...
We tended to move on each morning, get settled at a new location and then go exploring and this worked well.