Which river to choose for your future canoe trip ?kayak

Depending on your expectations, the choice is vast: sunbathing on board your canoe or kayak on peaceful water, letting yourself go downstream, breathing the pure air of a wild nature, admiring the majestic sites or villages that all our beautiful rivers can offer and why not take advantage of some sensational passages!

Let us guide you in your choice. And don't hesitate to ask for advice from the professional hirer present on each river, he will be your best guide in making your choice.

Canoeing the Pont du Gard

Admire castles and picturesque villages from my canoe

To join the useful to the pleasant during your hike is the only word of order because from your canoe or kayak, each river will propose you an impregnable view on a unique heritage:

The Drôme

Nature watching on wild rivers

Are you more into nature hiking and bird watching from your canoe or kayak ?

Then let yourself be tempted by theALLIER one of the last wild rivers of Europe and its volcanic cliffs, the DROME and its unique water color where you go down to the rhythm of cicadas, theAVEYRON and its limestone cliffs dominating a wild and green nature. Sail in a preserved natural setting on the VIENNE and GARTEMPEor the mythical river the ARDECHE gorges and its arch bridge.

The canoe, means of soft mobility, will also allow you to cross Natura 2000 zones like the GARDON and its famous bridge of the Gard and the High ALLIER

Family canoeing on the Vienne
On the Vienne and the Gartempe

Canoeing with young children

On most of the rivers, you can enjoy a calm and quiet canoe tripkayak with young children, as long as the age of the children is respected according to the navigation conditions on the different sites.
All the rivers of the canoe network in France offer programs with young children.

The Loire by canoe

Go on a long canoeing tripkayak

Would you like your vacation to become a Canoe Week?
From 4 days onwards, we talk more about long-distance canoeingkayak . There are 4-day programs on theAVEYRON,ALLIER, DORDOGNE and LOIRE, for a trip with even more days between 5 and 7 days, theALLIER offers 105 km of distance, 120 km on the DORDOGNE and up to 149 km in 8 days for the LOIRE.

Gorges du Tarn in canoe
The Gorges du Tarn in canoe

Canoeing down the gorgeskayak

Some rivers also offer canoeing tourskayak in the heart of the gorges.

Either you start in the gorges and finish your trip in the valleys, like on theALLIER with its 44 km of gorges and 61 km in the heart of the ALLIER valley, or on theARDECHE with 24 km in the gorges on a 60 km route.

The totality of the courses can also be entirely spent in gorges as on the TARN and its 47 km , 61 km in the gorges of theAVEYRON or the gorges of the GARDON with 30 km of preserved nature.

The landscape when you are navigating in gorges is steeper, the river is tighter. Once in the valleys, the rivers widen and the landscape becomes more hilly.

In contrast to the above rivers, some rivers identify themselves entirely as a valley. It is the case of the DORDOGNEDROME, VEZERE, VIENNE- GARTEMPE. Two particular rivers: the LOIRE which is a river, one of the last wild rivers of Europe, and theORB which is a coastal river, hence the name of Mediterranean river.

About the author : Stéphane P. (Canoe-val-dallier)

Canoeingkayak is a family story, I have been in it since I was a child! I have been a state qualified canoeist for more than 20 years and have always worked in the gorges and valley of theALLIER river, first as an instructor, then as a base manager, and since 2020 as the manager of my own structure with the purchase of Canoë Val d'ALLIER.