France

Yacht charter in Anjou

54 yachts available in Anjou. Departing from 2 marinas. Prices from €961 per week.

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54

Yachts available
€961

From / week
2

Marinas & bases

Practical info

Chartering from Anjou: the basics

Charter week: Friday to Friday
Departure marinas: 2
Licence needed?: Yes, for bareboat

On the water

Sailing conditions in Anjou

Two rivers, one network: Sarthe and Mayenne
What you are chartering: Motor cruisers
Price ceiling: Tops out at €2,979 a week
Rivers, not canals: Wider, greener, slower
Hand-worked locks: On parts of both rivers
Season: April – October

Worth the detour

Where to drop anchor in Anjou

1

Angers

Where both rivers meet the Maine: a black-slate château behind a moat, holding the Apocalypse tapestry — seventy metres of 14th-century weaving and the largest medieval tapestry anywhere.
2

Sablé-sur-Sarthe

Thirty-one of our boats, below a large château on the river, with the Solesmes abbey a short way upstream — the abbey where Gregorian chant was revived in the 19th century.
3

Grez-Neuville

A small village on the Mayenne with 23 boats on the quay and a horse-drawn barge still working the river. The quieter of the two bases.
4

Château-Gontier

Upstream on the Mayenne: a terraced town above the river with a Romanesque church. The usual far point from Grez-Neuville.
5

The Mayenne locks

Hand-operated in places, with lock-keepers' cottages and gardens beside them. The most sociable stretch of water in this guide.
6

Malicorne and the Sarthe valley

Downstream from Sablé: a faience-making village with its quay in the middle of it, and a river that widens as it goes.
7

The Loire confluence

Below Angers the Maine joins the Loire. Navigation onto the Loire itself is limited and sandbanked, so most crews treat Angers as the end of the route.
8

Troglodyte villages

The tufa cliffs toward Saumur hold cave dwellings, mushroom farms and wine cellars cut into the rock. Reachable by bicycle from the lower Maine.

Suggested routes

A week out of Anjou

The Mayenne from Grez-Neuville

7 days

The quieter river, with hand-worked locks and lock-keepers' gardens. Short days, and the current is with you going south.

1

Grez-Neuville

Handover and briefing; a short run and a first lock.
2

Chenillé-Changé

A fortified mill on the river bank — one of the prettiest stops on the network.
3

Château-Gontier

Upstream to the terraced town; the far point for most crews.
4

Back south — Montreuil-Juigné

Downstream with the current, which is quicker.
5

Angers

Into the Maine; the château and the tapestry.
6

Back up the Mayenne

Against the current — allow the whole day.
7

Grez-Neuville

Final locks for the morning handover.

Find a boat for this route

The Sarthe from Sablé

7 days

A wider river with more villages on it, running down toward Angers. Straightforward enough for a first inland charter.

1

Sablé-sur-Sarthe

Handover below the château; short run downstream.
2

Malicorne

The faience village with its quay in the centre.
3

Le Mans direction or turn downstream

Upstream is possible; most crews go the other way.
4

Châteauneuf-sur-Sarthe

Downstream toward the Maine; the river widens.
5

Angers

The confluence and the city.
6

Back upstream

Against the current; a long day.
7

Sablé

Final leg for handover.

Find a boat for this route

Before you book

Local rules and paperwork in Anjou

Licence: Not required on hire boats. French exemption for boats limited to 15 km/h and under 15 metres. The handover briefing is the training — signage, steering, mooring and a first lock.
Expect to work the locks: Several are hand-operated. The lock-keeper will show you. It slows the day down and it is most of the pleasure of these two rivers.
Current matters: These are rivers, not canals. Downstream is noticeably quicker. Plan the return leg into the middle of the week rather than the last morning.
Lock hours: Seasonal, with lunch breaks. Check the day's openings before casting off. On a river with a current, missing the last lock is a longer problem than on a canal.
The Loire is not navigable here: Treat Angers as the end. Below the confluence the Loire is shallow and sandbanked with limited navigation. Charter boats stay on the Maine, Mayenne and Sarthe.
Crossing between the two rivers: Possible via Angers. Both bases connect through the Maine, so a one-way or a crossing is realistic. Ask about the repositioning arrangement when you enquire.

Checked October 2026. Rules change — confirm the detail that matters for your trip when you book.

What is here

The Anjou fleet at a glance

The fleet in Anjou is made up of 51 motor yachts and 3 houseboats.

Most boats here are motor yachts, averaging 11.1 metres.

Weekly prices start in the under €1,500 range, where 16 boats are listed.

Boats sleep between 2 and 12 guests, with cabins up to 5.

The most common size band is 10 – 13 m, with 21 boats.

The fullest month on the calendar right now is May 2027: 56% of the fleet already has at least one booking, while 24 boats are still completely open.

Budget

Charter prices in Anjou

Weekly rate, set by the operator. No booking fee.

Space on board

Boat sizes

Sleeping 2–12 guests

under 10 m 16
10 – 13 m 21
13 – 16 m 17

Availability

How full is the calendar in Anjou?

Share of the Anjou fleet that already holds at least one reservation, for each of the next twelve months. Taken from the operators' own calendars and refreshed daily — a boat with one week booked can still be chartered in the others.

Months further out look emptier simply because they are further away — most charters are booked a few months ahead, not a year.

Most booked month

May 2027

56% of the fleet already booked

Most still open

Sep 2027

48 boats with no booking yet

Pick a month to see what is still open that week.

Quiet
Picking up
Busy
Peak

Most common models in Anjou

Counted from our live catalogue.

Nicols Yacht Nicols Confort 1100

6 available · from €1.605

Nicols Yacht Nicols Confort 1350

6 available · from €2.409

Nicols Yacht Nicols Sedan 1170

4 available · from €1.915

Nicols Yacht Nicols Estivale Duo

4 available · from €1.276

Nicols Yacht Nicols Octo Fly 12

4 available · from €2.979

Nicols Yacht Nicols Sedan Primo

4 available · from €1.063

Yachts in Anjou

View all

2023

Cruiser Premium 8/12 Pers.

Sablé-sur-Sarthe

14.95 m 4 cabins 8 guests

From €437 / day €3.060 / week

2023

Octave

Sablé-sur-Sarthe

14.83 m 4 cabins 12 guests

From €471 / day €3.296 / week

2022

Orchestra

Grez-Neuville

14.83 m 4 cabins 12 guests

From €426 / day €2.979 / week

2022

Cruiser Premium 8/12 Pers.

Grez-Neuville

14.95 m 4 cabins 8 guests

From €426 / day €2.979 / week

About the destination

Why charter from Anjou

Anjou is the quiet end of French inland boating: two rivers, two bases, 54 boats and almost nobody else on the water. Thirty-one are at Sablé-sur-Sarthe on the Sarthe and 23 at Grez-Neuville on the Mayenne. Both rivers run south to join the Maine at Angers and then the Loire, so they are two branches of one network rather than separate waterways — a one-way route between them, or a crossing from one to the other, is a realistic option.

The fleet is the oldest we list anywhere, averaging a 2004 build year, and that is worth reading correctly. These are simple, slow, durable boats doing a job that does not change: 51 motor cruisers and three houseboats, averaging 11.1 metres. Prices top out at €2,979 a week, among the lowest ceilings in the catalogue, because there is no luxury end of this market at all.

What you get is rivers rather than canals — wider, greener and slower, with hand-worked locks in places, millhouses on the bank, and troglodyte villages cut into the tufa cliffs further down toward the Loire. Angers has a moated château with the Apocalypse tapestries in it, and the Loire valley vineyards begin where the Maine meets the river.

The pace is set by locks and by the lock-keepers' hours, and on these rivers several locks are still operated by hand. Expect to help. The season runs April to October and the current, though gentle, is real: downstream is quicker than up.

No licence is needed — hire boats limited to 15 km/h and under 15 metres are exempt under French rules — and the handover briefing is the training.