The Nymphea is the ideal vessel for navigating the beautiful sandy beaches of the River Cher in the Loire Valley. Very few other vessels are able to cruise this magical waterway. You will even get to cruise through the arches of probably the most-photographed château in the Loire Valley, Château de Chenonceau – not once, but twice – a rare privilege afforded to very few boats!
Highlights
Visit the Century-old Chateaus in Central France
Experience their locally-produced wine at Touraine
Visit Leonardo Da Vinci's home at Chateau du Clos Luce
Involves minimal physical effort and is typically associated with leisurely activities. Activities are low-intensity or last less than a few hours each day.
Guests are met near Tours and transferred by private chauffeured minibus to hotel barge Nymphea where the crew and a Champagne Welcome await you at your mooring opposite the 17th century Moulin de Nitray.
A morning cruise through two locks takes you to the quaint town of Larcay where you moor under the weeping willows for lunch. In the afternoon, enjoy an excursion to Château de Villandry, the last of the great Renaissance châteaux to be built on the banks of the Loire. The château is world-renowned for its amazing array of ornamental, water, vegetable and herb gardens.
After a morning cruise past no less than six private châteaux, you tie up opposite the hamlet of Vallet, a cluster of classic Tourangeau architecture grouped around its 18th century mill. From there you drive to Amboise on the banks of the Loire, where you visit the Royal Château d’Amboise, a royal residence of the Kings of France for 200 years. You also get to visit Château du Clos Lucé nearby, Leonardo Da Vinci’s home for the last 3 years of his life.
Whilst cruising in the morning you may pull in to the tiny landing stage next to Domaine de Fontenay. A two-minute walk brings you to the courtyard where you can taste their range of Touraine wines as an aperitif before lunch. In the afternoon you cruise under the 5-arch bridge of the impressive Château de Chenonceau and moor at Chisseaux. From there you take a short drive in the air-conditioned minibus to visit Chenonceau, often called ‘the ladies château’, after those such as Henry II’s mistress, Diane de Poitiers, who added the bridge over the River Cher and the beautiful gardens. Upon your return, you cruise upstream to Chissay-en-Touraine and have dinner in one of the local restaurants specializing in Loire regional cooking.
A morning cruise takes you towards the troglodyte village of Bourré and we moor near one of the more unusual dwellings, La Magnaneraie. The Coquillat family have grown up in this hillside troglodyte habitation, which has been in turn a wine cellar, a quarry for the tuffeau stone, and lastly, a silkworm nursery. After lunch drive to Valencay, one of the most splendid châteaux of the Loire. We then cruise to Montrichard where we moor for the night.
Following breakfast, a short stroll takes you to the heart of Montrichard and into one of the largest street markets in Touraine. You also explore the 11th century château overlooking the medieval town square. Before lunch you can visit the local vineyard of the Meriau family, to taste the regional Touraine vintages. In the afternoon, you can enjoy another passage under Chenonceau and arrive at the hamlet of Nitray in time to visit the château and rose garden. Enjoy an aperitif from their vineyards before the Captain’s Farewell.
Day 7: Moulin de Nitray | Disembark
1 Breakfast
After breakfast, guests are transferred by private chauffeured minibus to the drop-off point near Tours.
Apologies for the inconvenience. Prices for not yet published. Below per person rate based on previous season. Contact us to confirm upcoming season pricing.
Prices for are estimated based on inflation. Contact us to confirm pricing and availability for your desired departure date.
$5,790
Rates are subject to change without notice. Book early to get the best rate.
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Stateroom
Nymphea has three compact, but comfortable cabins, two twin staterooms and one twin or double stateroom, all with air conditioning and en-suite facilities.
Notes
Cruise under the famed Château de Chenonceau
Visit a Troglodyte cave dwelling and see the silkworm nursery
Excursion to the Château d’Amboise and Château du Clos Lucé
Private wine tastings at Montrichard and the Domaine de Fontenay
Visit to Château de Villandry and its magnificent gardens
Initial deposit is 25%, and most travelers will call our office and pay the deposit with a credit card.
Final payment is due 100 days prior to departure by Credit card, check, and bank transfer. All final payments by credit card subject to a surcharge of 2.5% and maximum of $20,000 charge
I could not be happier with my Adventure Life experience, from beginning to end. I travel a lot, and I think your company and personnel do an outstanding job. I truly appreciate your professionalism, attentiveness, and flexibility. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend your company and would be happy to serve as a reference.
Constance Block
TrustScore 4.8 | 175 reviews
TrustScore 4.8 of 5
Based on 175 reviews on
7 hours ago
The response from Adventure Life to my first inquiry was prompt and promising. I worked with Jamie Broeckel, Trip Planner, via text, email, and phone calls- always extremely responsive and thorough with information and explaining the process to arrange a private tour for me to Malaysia Borneo. Within about week, the booking was complete and I made decisions because of Jamie's great customer service , friendly manner, and overall competence on behalf of the company's travel expertise. Now I have an itinerary, additional Trip Planner Assistants, several links for vital information for traveling to Maylasia, etc. Still many details for Sept. trip, but now the heavy lifting is done and I can enjoy the rest of the anticipation and research!! Thanks Jamie- you are amazing!!!!
Susan Campo
2 days ago
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
3 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.
