598 guides · page 8/29

Boat rental guides

Real prices, licenses, skippers, platforms, itineraries: concrete answers before you book.

• Smoking aboard a rental boat: what you need to knowFire risk near the fuel, damage to cushions and teak, what to do with butts: the common-sense rules to know before lighting a cigarette on a rented boat.
• Hourly or daily boat rental: how the pricing actually worksTime blocks, what counts as a full day, overtime fees, weekly charter: how platforms slice up rental time and how to pick the right format.
• Renting a boat in Six-Fours and Saint-Mandrier: Toulon Bay's quieter capesCap Sicié, the Saint-Mandrier peninsula, the Embiez islands off Le Brusc: a calmer alternative to Toulon Bay's packed summer anchorages.
• Renting a boat in Noirmoutier: the Passage du Gois, salt marshes and the Bois de la ChaiseAn island linked to the mainland by a bridge and, at low tide, by a submersible causeway; salt marshes, oyster beds, the pine woods of the Bois de la Chaise: what to know before renting a boat in Noirmoutier.
• Third-party liability insurance for a rental boat: who pays if you hit someone else?Unlike the security deposit, which protects the rented boat itself, liability insurance covers an injured swimmer, a damaged pontoon, or another boat you hit. What's mandatory, what the operator provides, and what to check before you leave.
• Kos or Rhodes: which base to choose in the Dodecanese?Two great gateway islands of the Dodecanese compared: central-crossroads Kos and its marina, Rhodes further south and more remote. Meltemi, itineraries and level to choose.
• Malaga or Marbella: where to rent a boat on the Costa del Sol?The big city and its urban port or the chic resort of Marbella: two Costa del Sol bases compared, with the Levante and Poniente winds to know before booking.
• Olbia or Cagliari: renting a boat in the north or south of Sardinia?The Costa Smeralda and the Maddalena archipelago from Olbia, or the coves of Villasimius and the south from Cagliari: two very different Sardinias, and how to choose your base.
• Lagos or Albufeira: which base to rent a boat in the Algarve?The Algarve's two main gateways compared: Lagos and its golden cliffs towards Ponta da Piedade, Albufeira and access to the Benagil caves. Atlantic sea, mood, how to choose.
• Bodrum or Marmaris: which base to rent from in Turkey?Two great gateways to the Turkish coast face off: lively Bodrum and its gulets, sheltered Marmaris and its green bays. Weather, mood, itineraries — how to choose.
• The real causes of boating accidents: human errorSpeeding, poor lookout, ignored weather, alcohol: what studies reveal about the origin of boating accidents, and why prevention plays out mostly in the skipper's head.
• The most common onboard injuries (and how to avoid them)Bruises, hand cuts, trapped fingers, falls, sunburn, propellers: what the studies say about real boat-rental injuries, and the simple habits that prevent them.
• Caught in fog on a boat rental: the right reflexesSlow down, switch on your lights, make noise, trust the GPS without relying on it alone: what to do when fog rolls in during a rental, and how to anticipate it.
• The Abers by boat: Aber Wrac'h, Aber Benoît and the Île Vierge lighthouseThe wild rias of north Finistère, their tidal currents and one of Europe's tallest lighthouses: how to approach the Abers by boat, and which rental base to set off from.
• The Etel river by boat: Saint-Cado, the bar and the upper reachesA small inland sea between Lorient and Quiberon, its notorious sandbar and the islet of Saint-Cado: how to sail the Etel ria, and which base to reach it from.
• Renting a boat in the Canary Islands: Tenerife, Lanzarote, Gran CanariaSteady trade winds, warm water year-round, and a resident pod of pilot whales off Tenerife: why the Canaries charter almost as well in February as in August.
• Gifting a boat rental: Boataround, SamBoat and Click&Boat gift cards comparedBirthday, retirement, wedding: how to gift a day at sea without getting it wrong — platform gift cards, amounts, validity, and pitfalls to check before buying.
• Renting an efoil: what France’s new 2026 regulation changesElectric hydrofoil boards are showing up more and more as an add-on with boat rentals. France has just given them a proper legal status — licence, speed, distance from shore, explained.
• Renting a Boat at Port-Barcarès and Port-Leucate: The Lagoon Built by the Mission RacineBetween Narbonne and Perpignan, two seaside resorts built from scratch in the 1960s, a beached liner turned museum, and the second-largest lagoon on the coast after Thau: the guide to boating between Port-Barcarès and Port-Leucate.
• Mal de Débarquement: When the Rocking Continues on LandA sensation of the ground swaying for hours after leaving the boat: this real syndrome, distinct from seasickness, mostly follows a longer stint at sea.
• Swell vs Chop: Understanding Sea State Before You Go Out"Fair sea, 1-metre swell": two words that change the whole comfort level of an outing. The difference between swell and chop, and why it matters more than wind force alone.