European Inland Waterways

Welcome to the European Inland Waterways Section

There are almost 30,000kms of rivers and canals in mainland Europe. Cruising Association (CA) members have been enjoying them safely for decades, using the wealth of free information and advice available through the CA’s European Inland Waterways Section (EIWS) as well as the opportunity membership provides of networking with others with long experience of travelling the European waterways.

The inland waterways of Europe are a great cruising area, both for newcomers to boating and for seasoned sailors seeking more tranquil waters - and of course those taking a short cut to or from the Med or the Baltic. Waterways often pass through some of the most picturesque regions in Europe, such as the Ardennes in Belgium, the Champagne region of France, the lovely Friesian lakes in The Netherlands or the half-timbered towns and steeply sloping vineyards of the River Mosel in Germany. Often one can moor right in the heart of great historic cities like Gent, Leiden or Cologne for little more than the cost of daily car parking.

Cruising Guides

We in the EIWS are also the biggest publishers of inland waterways cruising guides in English, with a total of 25 guides to the inland waterways of France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands – all of which are free for members to download (or for non-members to purchase). These include eight major guides: a 107-page 'start up' guide entitled An Introduction to the European Inland Waterways; a long-established Cruising the Inland Waterways of France and Belgium; a 256-page guide to 50 Great Inland Cruising Routes in The Netherlands; a 66-page guide to Through the Netherlands via the Standing Mast Routes, a 136-page guide Through France via the Inland Waterways; a 52-page guide on Cruising the River Moselle/Mosel; a 92-page guide to Cruising the Dutch Islands of the Waddenzee and a 20-page guide to The German Rhine.

Additionally, we have 17 smaller illustrated guides to moorings on the French inland waterways covering:

• Canal du Centre
• Canal du Loing and Canal de Briare
• Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne
• Canal Latéral à la Loire
• Canal Latéral à la Marne
• The River Marne
• The Upper Moselle
• Canal du Rhône au Rhin
• Canal du Rhône au Rhin (Nord) and Canal de Colmar
• Canal de la Marne au Rhin (Est)
• Canal de la Marne au Rhin (Ouest)
• Petite Saône
• Canal de la Sarre and River Saar
• Canal de l’Aisne à la Marne
• Canal de l’Oise à l’Aisne
• Canal Latéral à l’Aisne and River Aisne
• Canal de la Sambre à l'Oise and River Sambre

All guides are in full colour, regularly updated (usually annually) with the help of EIWS members actively cruising the waterways. They are available in both A4 printed and PDF versions for use on a mobile phone or tablet. The PDF versions incorporate numerous hyperlinks to a wealth of additional information when online. CA members benefit additionally from cross-references to the CA's highly successful app, CAptain's Mate, to obtain the most up-to-date information on mooring locations and navigation restrictions as it is posted.

Non-members may also purchase the guides - either in downloadable PDF form from the CA's digital store Shopify or in print form from the print-on-demand publishers Lulu. For further details of all the guides see the CA Shop.

In addition to the invaluable information these publications provide, purchasers of any of the guides who subsequently decide to join the CA online can benefit from a 15% discount offer on their first year's membership subscription!

Finally, the Section has its own quarterly and informative Newsletter and a dedicated European Inland Waterways Forum where members regularly exchange information or seek helpful advice on every conceivable topic related to inland waterway cruising.

Meanwhile, click on this link for a free 'taster' of the Cruising the Inland Waterways of France and Belgium guide (which includes moorings and other details of the Canal du Centre).

FREE Guidance Notes

As a further introduction to what the EIWS has to offer, you can also download completely free of charge a series of invaluable Guidance Notes on a range of key subjects relating to cruising on the European inland waterways.

Trip planning on the European Inland Waterways

Sources of information on the European inland waterways

Planning for long-term cruising

Wintering in the European Inland Waterways

VHF and ATIS (Automatic Transmitter Identification System)

CEVNI rules

Sources of Information on the Netherlands Standing Mast Routes (SMR)

Amsterdam vignette for pleasure craft

Using the Waterkaarten Nederlands app

Tips for cruising the French inland waterways

Transiting the Kiel Canal

To take advantage of this offer, just click on the relevant subject and you can download the Guidance Note on the subject of your choice.

Further member benefits

Underlying this comprehensive suite of publications are several further member benefits.

The CA's award-winning CAptain's Mate app not only links with all the Section publications so that members can post updates as they travel throughout the European inland waterways, but also incorporates a Find My Friend feature to locate and contact fellow members in one's cruising area.

It also contains details of possible Layup locations on the European inland waterways, an invaluable service when seeking places to leave a boat safely to return home for family commitments or for the winter months. Currently there are around 80 locations in Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands where boats may be left both in and out of the water.

Finally, members are also kept in touch with Section affairs (and one another!) through an Annual Seminar and Lunch at CA House in London, usually in March, where both new and old members can meet to exchange information and advice, pass on experience of cruising the inland waterways and generally socialise with like-minded cruisers.

Download the EIWS flyer for a summary of the benefits of joining the CA's European Inland Waterways Section.