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Chic, sophisticated and romantic; three words that could very well sum up the city of Paris in any visitor’s eyes, and even with all the superlatives used to describe the city none have quite managed to capture the true beauty and majesty that emanates from this ‘city of dreams’. With more famous landmarks than any other city, it’s also a weighty revenue for glitzy nightlife, exquisite cuisine, and proud culture.

For those of romantic temperament, or offbeat personality, or simply those who want to experience the city a little bit differently, the Paris Boat Tour is a must take. It’s a chance to leisurely drift through the Seine River or the network of canals while taking in some of the city’s finest landmarks. A tour of the Seine will take you past sights such as the Eiffel Tower, Musee d’Orsay, Notre Dame, Musee du Louvre, Hotel des Invalides, Assemblee Nationale, Grand Palais, Pont Neuf, and Pont Alexandre III.

Sit back, relax and place your trust in one of the companies that have established tours through the Seine and other waterways throughout the year. These companies offer a variety of deals from lunch and/or dinner, to one or two day passes. Bateaux Mouches, Bateaux Parisiens, Batobus, Les Vedettes du Pont Neuf and Vedette de Paris are some of the tour company names that come with high recommendation. Each company has its different times and places from where the tour starts and different terms/requirements that must be complied with. They have different tour patterns and may not visit all of the places mentioned above or would take a different route, thereby giving you a wide choice in which to plan the tour around your schedule to suit your needs.

Looking for accommodation at a hotel in Paris, it’s always best to reflect upon creature comforts and tranquility. A Paris airport hotel that offers exactly such comforts along with a cozy atmosphere, exceptional service and above par leisure center is the Millennium Hotel Paris Charles de Gaulle. Built on the border of the village – Roissy-en-France, it’s perfectly situated for reaching the Paris city center.

If palm tree-lined beached with thatched rook watering holes is your idea of the perfect beach bar, you’ll never find a better collection of them then in the British Virgin Islands. Why? The sun the sand, the incredible water… and the access to them by boat.

The USVI has incredible beaches – think Magen’s Bay on St. Thomas, or Trunk Bay, Watermelon Cay, Caneel Bay on St John, but they lack the boating access and the bar location of being right on the beach, that the BVI beach bars have.

On a BVI boat tour, you can swing over to the next harbor and hang out at Foxy’s. Foxy’s is a much larger place than the Soggy Dollar. It still has the beach bar vibe, though and if Foxy is there (yes, he is a real person) he’s a lot of fun to talk with. Foxy’s also holds a not to be missed New years eve party every year that fills the bay with yachts, super-yachts, dinghy’s or whatever you can get thereon. By the way, Foxy’s also has some really good food – their chicken Roti with mango chutney is fantastic!

Again, on a Pirates Paradise Adventures BVI boat tour, you can swing around to the other side of Jost Van Dyke and head over to Foxy’s Taboo. Again, great drink and food on the patio overlooking the gorgeous water.

Time to hop back on the BVI boat tour and head over to Norman Island, to the infamous Willy T. While the Willy T is not exactly a beach bar – it’s a floating pirate ship – It is sitting in a gorgeous bay and serves great drinks and food. The Willy T’s fan-favorite ritual is for girls (and some guys) to earn free t-shirts by jumping off the top deck topless or naked. While not always wild, it can become racy quickly.

If you have small kids with you, you might prefer going to the Pirates’ Bight, across the bay. This place is on the beach and they even have a pirated themed museum/gift shop next door.

If you’re visiting the Virgin Islands, you owe it to yourself to get a BVI boat tour out to some -if not all of these iconic beach bars. It’s a fun hop from any island, including St.Thomas, so make sure you add a BVI boat tour to your “must-do” list.

The boat you take really does make a difference! Make sure you get one that’s comfortable and has plenty of creature comforts, such as a swim step for easy access to the water, upholstered seats, and maybe even a sun pad to maximize the fun on your next BVI boat tour.

Galapagos Island boat tours offered by the more than eighty licensed operators on the islands. A great way to experience your visit to the Galapagos Islands.

These fun-filled cruises last six to sixteen days with the most popular cruises being between six and eight days. The four-day cruises have been discontinued by most tour companies because many visitors felt that four days just wasn’t long enough time to take in the many spectacular sights offered by the islands.

Smaller boats carrying 10 to 20 people offer the best opportunity to visit more islands as your trips on land are limited to 20 people at a time to help preserve the wear and tear on the islands. Boats are limited to a maximum of 100 people in the area of the islands so smaller is better.

Boat-Based Tours v Land-Based Tours

You can visit more islands when you are boat-based because most of your traveling by boat is done between the islands at night when you are sleeping. If you are land-based you waste a lot of time getting ready at your hotel, traveling by bus to your boat and having to travel to whatever island you are visiting that day.

What To Expect

On your first day, you will be taken to one of the nearest islands. After a light lunch, you will visit this island where you will be taken on a tour by your guide and allowed ample time to take in natural beauty and view the many animals and plants that are unique to the area.

Be sure to take along a good pair of sneakers and hiking boots. Your guide will inform you what type of terrain you will be walking over during your trip ashore. You will also be told if you are making a wet landing or a dry landing. On a dry landing, your landing craft will go right up on the beach or lava rock. Be very careful, these rocks can be extremely slippery. On a wet landing, the landing craft cannot get directly onto the beach. You will have to take off your shoes and socks and wade to the beach in about a foot of water. Be sure to take a towel to dry your feet and remove any beach sand.

After your guided walk on the Island, you will be returned to the boat for a light lunch. After lunch, you will probably be offered a chance to do some snorkeling or swimming or just relax for a bit before going to the next island for another guided tour.

Following your afternoon hike, you will return to the boat where you can read or rest before your delicious evening meal, which is usually served around 7:30 P.M. Be sure you sample the many fresh fruits and vegetables and fish that you can probably get nowhere else.

While these boat cruises are not cheap to remember this is probably a once in a lifetime experience. So forget the expense and enjoy yourself to the fullest on your Galapagos Island boat tour.