Boating holidays on the UK canals & inland watersways UK
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  • Drifters Standards

    All our canal boat hire operators uphold standards of excellence, find out more here

Welcome to Drifters

Drifters brings you Great British Boating

Drifters is made up of nine professional canal boat holiday operators, handpicked because they uphold the highest standards.

With over 500 narrowboats for hire from 40 bases across England, Scotland and Wales, Drifters offers the choice of hundreds of narrowboat holiday routes and destinations.

Our operators invest more in new canal boats each year than all the other UK operators put together, ensuring we offer high quality holidays afloat.  We are all independently assessed and accredited by the trade federation for the boating industry British Marine, so you can embark on your canal adventure with confidence.

We work with the Canal & River Trust for the good of Britain’s canal network – and to promote the enjoyment of canal boat holidays.

To find out more about Drifters Standards offering excellence afloat, please Click here

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Try out our Interactive map

Try out our canal boat holiday destinations Interactive map

Click here

Hire Boat Survey

The Canal & River Trust’s annual Hire Boat Survey is now live.

The national waterways charity wants to know about your experience of hiring a boat on the canals and rivers in its care, to help make the experience better.

If you take a canal boat holiday this year, please do share your feedback here

Drifters price promise

If you see the same holiday elsewhere at a lower price,
we will match it.

Sign-up for our free Newsletter

Drifters’ monthly e-newsletter offers subscribers updates on:

 offers, special events, competitions, destinations, boating tips and holiday reviews.

Click here for details

New to the

Canals?

If you’ve never been on a narrowboat and canal boating holiday before, it’s easy to learn how to drive a boat and all our operators include tuition in their holiday packages.

You don’t need a licence and it’s easy to learn how to drive a boat.

We’ve got lots of advice for beginners, including the best routes, what to pack and how to prepare for a holiday afloat.

Read More
Latest news from

The Blog

Family holiday on the Llangollen Canal

April 29, 2025
Read more
https://www.drifters.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Jennyeaves-Llangollen-press-trip-April-16-2025-2-landscape-web-res.jpg 1875 2500 Debbie Ludford https://www.drifters.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/logo-300x62.png Debbie Ludford2025-04-29 15:11:342025-04-29 15:12:05Family holiday on the Llangollen Canal

Canal anniversaries in 2026

April 28, 2025
Read more
https://www.drifters.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Leeds-Liverpool-Canal-low-res-credit-Canal-River-Trust.jpg 1223 1830 Debbie Ludford https://www.drifters.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/logo-300x62.png Debbie Ludford2025-04-28 14:08:082025-04-28 14:12:21Canal anniversaries in 2026

Best family canal boat holiday escapes this summer

April 27, 2025
Read more
https://www.drifters.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Summer-campaign-Tile-1.jpg 2048 2048 Debbie Ludford https://www.drifters.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/logo-300x62.png Debbie Ludford2025-04-27 14:01:582025-04-28 14:17:06Best family canal boat holiday escapes this summer
Drifters top 6 new narrowboats for 2025

Canal anniversaries in 2025

April 23, 2025
Read more
https://www.drifters.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Tardebigge-Top-Lock-web-res-scaled.jpg 1707 2560 Debbie Ludford https://www.drifters.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/logo-300x62.png Debbie Ludford2025-04-23 13:47:152025-04-24 07:50:23Canal anniversaries in 2025

Popular Pages

  • Day Boat Hire
  • Map of the Canals
  • Canal Boats

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