France

Yacht charter in Charente

23 yachts available in Charente. Departing from 2 marinas. Prices from €574 per week.

Browse 23 yachts See sample routes

23

Yachts available
€574

From / week
2

Marinas & bases

Practical info

Chartering from Charente: the basics

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

On the water

Sailing conditions in Charente

The cheapest week we list: From €501
What you are chartering: Motor cruisers and houseboats
Two bases: Sireuil 14, Saintes 9
Changeover day: Monday leads
Traffic: Almost none
Season: April – October

Worth the detour

Where to drop anchor in Charente

1

Cognac

The town the brandy is named after, with the great houses — Hennessy, Martell, Rémy Martin — set along the river because the barrels once travelled by water. Tours and tastings are a short walk from the quay.
2

Jarnac

Upstream of Cognac, another cognac town on the water with Courvoisier beside the bridge. Smaller, quieter and the better mooring of the two.
3

Saintes

Nine of our boats, and the most substantial town on the river: a Roman arch on the bank, an amphitheatre cut into the hillside and an abbey church. The downstream base.
4

Angoulême

The upstream limit of navigation, on a plateau above the river, and France's comic-book capital with a museum and painted walls across the old town.
5

Saint-Simeux and the river cliffs

Between Sireuil and Jarnac the Charente runs below low limestone bluffs with cave dwellings cut into them. The prettiest stretch.
6

Bassac and Châtres abbeys

Two Romanesque abbeys within reach of the river between Jarnac and Angoulême. The region is full of them and most have nobody in them.
7

Port d'Envaux and the sculpture quarries

Downstream of Saintes: old stone quarries carved into figures and reliefs by sculptors over the last few decades, a short walk from the river.
8

Rochefort and the Corderie Royale

At the river mouth, beyond the navigable limit for most hire boats: Louis XIV's rope factory, 374 metres long. Reachable by road from Saintes rather than by boat.

Suggested routes

A week out of Charente

Cognac country from Sireuil

7 days

Short days on a slow river, with a cognac town every few hours and almost no other boats. The gentlest week in France along with the Camargue.

1

Sireuil

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

Saint-Simeux or Châteauneuf

Downstream below the limestone bluffs and cave dwellings.
3

Jarnac

The first cognac town; Courvoisier beside the bridge.
4

Cognac

The great houses on the river bank; a tour and a tasting.
5

Saintes

Downstream to the Roman town — the far point.
6

Back upstream — Jarnac or Bourg-Charente

Against the current, so allow longer.
7

Sireuil

Final locks for the morning handover.

Find a boat for this route

Upstream to Angoulême from Sireuil

7 days

The other direction: fewer towns, more abbeys, and the navigable limit at Angoulême. A short enough route that most crews combine both.

1

Sireuil

Handover; upstream through the first locks.
2

Angoulême

The navigable limit; the old town on the plateau above.
3

Back downstream — Saint-Simeux

With the current; the cliff stretch.
4

Bassac

The Romanesque abbey a short walk from the bank.
5

Jarnac

Cognac house and a good quay.
6

Cognac

The town itself; the far point if you went upstream first.
7

Sireuil

Back upstream for handover.

Find a boat for this route

Before you book

Local rules and paperwork in Charente

Licence: Not required on hire boats. French exemption for boats limited to 15 km/h and under 15 metres. The handover briefing covers signage, steering, mooring and a lock.
Current: Gentle but real. Downstream is quicker than up. On a river this short the difference is manageable, but plan the return rather than leaving it to the last morning.
Locks: A mix of automated and hand-worked. Seasonal hours with a lunch closure in places. Expect to handle gates and paddles yourself at some of them.
Navigable limits: Angoulême above, Saintes to the estuary below. Hire boats generally stay between them. The tidal lower river toward Rochefort is normally outside the permitted area — check your agreement.
Mooring: Town quays and free bank. Stakes come with the boat. The cognac towns have proper quays; between them you tie to the bank.
Short breaks: Monday changeovers lead here. Ten of the 23 boats hand over on a Monday. Three- and four-night bookings are normal rather than exceptional.

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

What is here

The Charente fleet at a glance

The fleet in Charente is made up of 15 motor yachts and 8 houseboats.

Most boats here are motor yachts, averaging 10.7 metres.

Weekly prices start in the under €1,500 range, where 9 boats are listed.

Boats sleep between 3 and 12 guests, with cabins up to 4.

The most common size band is 10 – 13 m, with 11 boats.

The fullest month on the calendar right now is May 2027: 30% of the fleet already has at least one booking, while 16 boats are still completely open.

Budget

Charter prices in Charente

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

Space on board

Boat sizes

Sleeping 3–12 guests

under 10 m 7
10 – 13 m 11
13 – 16 m 5

Availability

How full is the calendar in Charente?

Share of the Charente 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

30% of the fleet already booked

Most still open

Jul 2027

21 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 Charente

Counted from our live catalogue.

Pénichette 1020

2 available · from €1.960

Nicols Yacht Nicols Confort 900 DP

2 available · from €1.247

Nicols Yacht Nicols Sedan 1000

2 available · from €1.247

Yachts in Charente

View all

2020

Cruiser Premium+ 8/10 Pers.

Sireuil

14.95 m 4 cabins 10 guests

From €734 / day €5.136 / week

2019

Pénichette Premium 2/4 Pers.

Saintes

9.5 m 1 cabins 4 guests

From €210 / day €1.469 / week

About the destination

Why charter from Charente

The Charente is the cheapest and quietest water in our catalogue. Twenty-three boats — 15 motor cruisers and eight houseboats — with weekly rates starting at €501, which is the lowest figure anywhere we list. Fourteen are based at Sireuil above Cognac and nine at Saintes downstream.

The reason to come is the river's relationship with what is on its banks. This is Cognac country, and the cognac houses are on the water because the barrels used to travel by river: Hennessy, Martell and Rémy Martin all have their chais within sight of the quay at Cognac, and the brandy's name comes from the town you moor in. Upstream the river runs through Angoulême; downstream it widens through Saintes, with its Roman arch and amphitheatre, toward Rochefort and the sea.

It is a working river rather than a canal — slow, wide, green, with locks at intervals and a current that is gentle but real. Several locks are automated and some are hand-worked. There is very little traffic: on a weekday in May you can go hours without passing another boat.

The changeover pattern tilts to weekdays: ten boats hand over on a Monday, nine on a Saturday and four on a Friday. Short breaks are easy to arrange.

No licence is required — hire boats limited to 15 km/h and under 15 metres are exempt — and the fleet averages a 2003 build year, which is what twenty years of undemanding river work looks like. Season April to October.