Last minute boating holidays

By Tom Keer

Dec 13, 2017

Keep your eyes open for cheap boat vacations.  Discounts make a dream trip incredibly affordable.

We boaters don't know the word quit, so we always try to squeeze in a few last minute boating holidays.  There are several different options from which to choose.

1. Boat Parades

Where to boat if you haven't winterized yet? Check out the boat parades offered in many communities.  Folks in Old Town Alexandria and Washington, DC turn out in droves for the Alexandria Holiday Boat Parade of Lights.  Dozens of boats are decorated in festive lights and cruise the Potomac River.  Tempe, Arizona's Festival of Lights is one western equivalent, with boats buzzing the shoreline of Tempe Town Lake.  Many of the best boating lakes and waterways have similar festivals, so check and see if there is one nearby.

2. Last minute Boating Holidays

Some folks combine travel and boating, and this time of year there are some boating holiday deals to be had.  Of course you can head to England and cruise one of the canals and save money.  One service is called hireboat.com and stops in small towns and villages while cruising through the English countryside.  Bangers and mash and a pint of Guinness never tasted so good.

3. When is the best time to go boating?

Not now for me, the ice will soon be on the lakes.  I've been thinking about combining a vacation with boating by heading to the Tropics.  A few ideas for my cheap boating holidays came by looking at boats for rent in the Virgin Islands.  The costs are a bit expensive, but if I can split the fares with my family or friends they're more than reasonable.

Deals on last minute boating holidays appear every day.  Maybe the best way to ring out 2017 and to ring in 2018 is on a boat.  The truth is a local, foreign or Tropical trip all sound good to me.

Tom Keer
Tom Keer
Tom Keer is an award-winning writer who lives on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.  He is a columnist for the Upland Almanac, a Contributing Writer for Covey Rise magazine, a Contributing Editor for both Fly Rod and Reel and Fly Fish America, and a blogger for the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation’s Take Me Fishing program.  Keer writes regularly for over a dozen outdoor magazines on topics related to fishing, hunting, boating, and other outdoor pursuits.  When they are not fishing, Keer and his family hunt upland birds over their three English setters.  His first book, a Fly Fishers Guide to the New England Coast was released in January 2011.  Visit him at www.tomkeer.com or at www.thekeergroup.com.