FAQ

You can take your pick between single canoes or open Canadian canoes.

The single canoes, also known as kayaks, are suitable for one person. For these canoes we require a minimum age of 11-12. Navigating a kayak will be more difficult and more intensive than an open Canadian canoe, because it is easy to steer a canoe so it will take a bigger effort to keep the kayak upright.

Our open Canadian canoes are suitable for 2 to 4 people, depending on size and weight of those people. The canoes have seats in the front and back of the canoe and there’s also a bench in the middle of it for a potential 3^rd person. We allow a maximum weight of 180kg per Canadian canoe.

An open Canadian canoe is suitable for 2 adults, 2 adults and one or 2 small children (ages 4-6), or 3 young adults. We will give you 2 paddles to take along.

To be allowed to canoe independently there should be at least one person in the group over the age of 18. If children get into a canoe with supervising adults they have to be able to sit up by themselves during the entire tour. We have several different sizes of free safety vests available. These are mandatory for people who are not in possession of a swimming diploma.

We offer two different types of tours:

Canoeing tour starting in Borkel: this beautiful tour of about 8 kilometres which makes it about 2 to 2.5 hours long. Ideal for families or a nice afternoon on the water. After canoeing for about 20 minutes you will pass Restaurant “De Zwaan” in Borkel, where you can potentially go ashore for some food and drinks. After that you will come across two more picnic spots. If you would like to eat or drink something there you should bring this for yourself.

Canoeing tour starting in Neerpelt (Belgium): this tour is ideal for a more sporty canoer. With a length of about 16 kilometres this tour will provide you with 4 to 4.5 hours of fun canoeing. Is this your first time canoeing? Then it might be wise to try the shorter tour first. It is of course also possible to rent both kayaks and open Canadian canoes within your group and switch canoes among yourselves.

If you don’t get too crazy you will certainly not capsize! Of course there is a possibility of getting wet because you will paddle water into your boat, or because you will capsize by accident or on purpose.

Stay low and in the middle of the boat to be as stable as possible. This goes for getting in and out of the canoe, but also during the canoeing tour itself.

If you were to capsize while canoeing, don’t panic. “De Dommel” is a maximum of 1 to 1.5 metres deep which will allow you to stand almost everywhere. You should pull the boat onto land and turn it upside down so the water can flow out. After you have done that you should put the boat back in the water upright and slowly get back in it. Again, stay low and in the middle of the boat. This gives you the most stability. While getting out of the boat, one of you can get on land and then keep the boat straight for the rest of you.

We recommend you to bring an extra set of clothes. You can leave these in your car, or put them in the waterproof barrel. We rent these out.

During peak season between April and September you can leave on every full hour between 10 am and 3 pm for a short tour starting in Borkel. The longer tour starting in Neerpelt is possible every full hour between 10 am and 12 pm (starting in July you can also leave at 1 pm). During the week you can leave between 11 am and 2 pm for the tour starting in Borkel. For the tour starting in Neerpelt you can leave at 11 am.

Canoeing is also possible between October and April given that the water level allows this! Between these months we don’t leave on every full hour, but only at some given times.
For more information on this you should call 040 293 9078 or send an email to the following address: info@kanovarenvalkenswaard.nl

It is not mandatory to book in advance. You can also go canoeing with us without a reservation made ahead. There might however be a chance that the time at which you would like to leave will be booked up which will cause you having to wait for a little bit. By booking ahead you will be sure to b e able to leave at your desired time.

Click here to book a canoeing tour right now.

The assembling location for our canoeing tours is at “ ‘t Boothuys “ owned by Rofra on Molenstraat 203a in Valkenswaard. We request you be present 15 minutes before the set time. At the location you will be enrolled and you can complete your payment, given that you have not done so already.

Everyone gathers in Valkenswaard. From there we take you to the desired boarding spot in Borkel or Neerpelt by bus, on every full hour. At the boarding spot you will receive a short communal, yet clear explanation about the canoeing. Subsequently the instructor will help everyone onto the water and you will make the tour independently.

It is possible to reschedule a reservation you have already made, free of charge. But please note: you have to do so over the phone on the day of and will only be free of charge in case of bad weather on that same day (apart from exceptions). Cancelling based on a previous weather prediction is not possible.

We do allow dogs. Dogs are allowed to come with you in the canoe. For this you are mandated to rent an open Canadian canoe. On the bus (during transport to the desired boarding spot) the dog has to be on a leash, the dog does not have to be on a leash in the canoe.

Still have questions? Please contact us.