boating on shannon late march/early april

tweenie

Thinking of hiring a cruiser on the shannon for 3 days in late march /early april. But wondering if it will be very cold on the cruiser at night etc.? . Also any advice on who is best to hire cruiser from? Thanks for any advice

orlaithd

tweenie wrote: »

Thinking of hiring a cruiser on the shannon for 3 days in late march /early april. But wondering if it will be very cold on the cruiser at night etc.? . Also any advice on who is best to hire cruiser from? Thanks for any advice

I've only done it during the summer- but I've been very unlucky with weather and haven't had a weekend on them where it hasn't been rainy.
The cruisers aren't cold but they can get stuffy- to be honest I always describe them as a caravan on the Shannon as its kind of a similar level of comfort

We have used Athlone Cruisers one year (avoid them they are woeful) and the other two years Emerald Star - Once for the Shannon from Portuma and once on the Shannon Erne waterways from Belturbet. If you haven't cruised before do the Shannon as apposed to the Erne as the Erne you need more naviagation on.

Emerald Star are good enough cruisers. But the blinging boats on the shannon to go for are the Silverline cruises- I haven't tried these though- only got a look around them.

Remember though get the biggest boat you can get/afford for ulitmate comfort for the few days.

Orlaith

Tabnabs

Most boats will have heaters on them and you'll be snug and warm at night. Ask/check beforehand.

We have had the opposite luck with weather and have had the most fantastic blue skies and calm waters, avoid the river between Portumna and Athlone as it's flat, featureless and utterly boring.

Paulj

I've rented twice with a Emerald Star and found them quite good. First year we headed south from Portumna and stopped in at lots of villages along the way. Was great craic and would highly recommend it.

Second year we went south from Carrick-on-shannon. This was good also but there were a number of locks which slowed down our progress a bit.

Thinking of heading into lock erne this year from Belturbet. Anyone ever done this route? Would we make Enniskillen and back in a long weekend (friday-monday).

Both years we went may bank holiday and got quite lucky with the weather.

P. Breathnach

You can make it to Enniskillen in a day if you want to.

It's nice cruising water, but most of the jetties are away from villages. There are some pubs and restaurants reachable from the water, but you won't be spoiled for choice.

orlaithd

Paulj wrote: »

Thinking of heading into lock erne this year from Belturbet. Anyone ever done this route? Would we make Enniskillen and back in a long weekend (friday-monday).

Hey Paul
Yea you would well make Enniskillen on a long weekend.
Nice enough docks there too.

To be honest this route is a lot trickier than the routes you have done before (I've done both routes you've done before) Lots more naviagation up the Erne compared to the Shannon route.

We liked Enniskillen when we stopped there (was the August bank hol) found a few nice little pubs etc- but we were warned to mind ourselves in the evenings after closing time- can get rough and people tend not to like accents from the south- wasn't a warning we were expecting but something to consider I suppose.

elWizard

Hi all - first post!
We went for 4 days/3 nights last Easter (which was early April afaik).
Rented a nice 3 cabin boat from Emerald Star out of Carrick and it was brilliant.
Weather was OK - some sunshine, some rain. I'd say the only downside was that it was quite cold and damp at night. The heating system on our boat involved warm air being blown into the galley/seating area, so that's where we spent most of our time, but the warmth never quite reached the cabins. Hot water bottles and extra layers and blankets were all needed. The condensation can get bad by the early morning too - it's a bit weird waking up and seeing it all on the ceiling above you. Anyway, it was all bearable, made it more of an adventure, and it was only three nights, if I was going for any longer I'd probably want it to be summer though.
As long as you prepare yourself for cold nights and accept that it's not 5-star accommodation (and it doesn't rain 100% of the time ) it's all deadly fun.

Paulj

orlaithd wrote: »

Hey Paul
Yea you would well make Enniskillen on a long weekend.
Nice enough docks there too.

To be honest this route is a lot trickier than the routes you have done before (I've done both routes you've done before) Lots more naviagation up the Erne compared to the Shannon route.

We liked Enniskillen when we stopped there (was the August bank hol) found a few nice little pubs etc- but we were warned to mind ourselves in the evenings after closing time- can get rough and people tend not to like accents from the south- wasn't a warning we were expecting but something to consider I suppose.

That's worrying when i hear warnings like that. It would turn me off going there somewhat. Having said that though we've had trouble in Scariff before when we parked our cruiser there. A few lads wanted to join the party on our boat but we wouldn't let them, so they smashed a window on the boat and unmoored us. Fecking scumbags!! That was the only bad experience though in 2 years doing it so i'd still highly recommend it!