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We're going to look at inflatable kayaka this weekend with a view to buying either 2 singloes or a double. Both of us have kayaked before but not considerd it in France.

We're going to look at the Sevylor inflatable; Colorado, Riviera or similar

Hard shells are out of the question, and we only wanto to do it for a bit of fun but know we need to be looking at the RRP £300 upwards.

Any views  

The Gorge de Verdon is calling me, and next year there's Lac Lacanau as its back to Aquitiane, unless we find some gems in Provence.

I would rather paddle in lacs than rivers, although I'dd sdo the hard shell singles on rivers at home with a splash deck on...its a few years since I did any water activity but I think ist a bout time to revive the need to get out on the water.

We have an inflatable (Gumotex), but we prefer rivers to lakes.  We've used the canoe (kayak?) on the Tarn,  Dourbie,  Ardeche, Ceze,  Chassezac, Beaume, Orb, Aude, the Dordogne and on the Verdon but at the bottom end of the Gorge or the more open area near the campsites outside Castellane..  Some stretches in the middle are too narrow, with huge boulders, so we'd find them a bit scary.  We've done the Lac d'Issarles in the Ardeche, and Salagou in the Aveyron too but these days prefer rivers. 

This year we pootled on the Tarn as it was rather too windy for any serious trips.  We're planning another trip shortly and Provence may be on the cards!  The Sorge and the Vaucluse are supposed to be good for canoeing, but somehow we've never got around to it, apart from a very short 'dip' near Fontaine de Vaucluse one year.

Kelper does a lot more 'serious' canoeing than we do, so may have more ideas.

Oh good.

We have friends in the choir that take it seriously and compete, they're in a club that goes up to Thrush Cross/ West End.

We are thingking about an inflatable, which model have you got Val ?  

We've got the Gumotex Sunny - the new model is the Solar.  We've had it for years now, with no problems.  The valves all still work, there has been no damage from rocks, sticks, etc (and we do some white water stretches and some shallow draught stretches too).  With an inflatable, in very low water, you may well have to get out and carry it through very shallow stretches, as you have more 'resistance' than a hard shell.  We bought it at the Caravan Show, as a very end of show offer, when the stand was packing up and I think he was very glad to make just one last (very cheap) sale!  We even got lifejackets thrown in with the price.  It packs up into a heavy drysack, which OH can carry on his back, which means we can go downriver, and catch the local bus back again.

We love it - it's our favourite thing about holidays in France and almost every site we visit has to have a river running past it!  We've never been 'swamped' though on our trip down the Tarn his year we did take on quite a lot of water whilst we were 'showing off' to a party of youngsters.  They were obviously on a school trip, and several of their boats capsized at a tricky section on the Tarn.  We'd just carried out boat upstream through that section, and as they were all hauled out on the bank just below the waterfall we thought we would go back down (it's somewhere we've done many times before so we know how the flow of the water 'works').  We managed to get through with no capsize, I think to their amazement as two 'oldies' waved as they skimmed past!

No chance of seeing us at Thruscross, even though it's just over the hill from us.  The water is too cold!

I had Lac Lacanau in mind, I know its windy beacuse they have a wiondsurfing school just round form the campsite we go to.

Every few years we like to go to e Tedey which is beautiful, we've been going there since 1999, in fact it was out second trip to France when we discovered this place. Unless Provence shows us something very special we'll be going back next summer.

I thought it would be easier than kayaking in a river, but Val A prefers rivers, I suppose you have the current to assist you, buty I am a bit scared of shallow water and rocks, this is only as a result of a bad experinece when I was in my teens in Wales.

I like the look of the Gumotex models. 

Quote: Originally posted by latecamper on 11/8/2014I do not enjoy rivers,the ones we have been on have been either too shallow and one is constantly bottoming out and having to carry across slippery rocks or are like the Ardeche which I am anxious about cos dread capsizing in a strong currency with rocks about . Instead we canoe miles round the coast of the Med and visit beautiful deserted coves and nearby villages like Saint Tropez and glided round the waterways of Port Grimaud. Another jaunt was from Tour Fondue to Les Illes d'Or. Always watching the weather obviously but it's the most wonderful thing I have ever done and next May can't come soon enough.

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We too have a Gumotex Sunny fantastic boat.

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This is us, some years ago, in the Tarn - we have lifejackets, but they're tucked away somewhere.  We've 'done' the Tarn lots of time, including in May this year, and will perhaps be back again in August!

We've holidayed lots of times in Cavalaire, and know the Gigaro beach well - our friend lives just up the hill from there and we used to walk down every day from his house!