4 women cruising Brittany

[Susan G]

We are 4 "mature" women planning to rent from LeBoat to cruise Brittany for a week in May of 2023.  2 of us are experienced boaters, 2 are not.  1 of us has some experience with canal boating in France from about 10 years ago.

 

What I am thinking about at the moment is packing for this trip.  We are casual people with no interest in having a great assortment of clothing and accessories, and no need for things like hairdryers.  We hope to do the whole trip with one carry on each.  What would YOU say is the bare minimum a woman could get by with in May with maybe a visit to a laundrette and a some hand washing along the way?

[Bee]

Speaking as a bloke I reckon about a carload each. Seriously though my wife and I spend 3 months a year on our small boat in France and just take a weeks worth of jeans and T shirts that we wash as and when we can. For me I just have a couple of pairs of jeans for a week and a T shirt a day plus one decent pullover and an old anorak for rainy days. As for socks and things for me just a clean pair for every day. As for the ladies frilly things I have no idea whatsoever. You could probably reduce that even more with a bit of handwashing. Have a nice time, not many of us visit those canals as they are seperate from the main system.

[Susan G]

Thank you.  That sounds like my kind of packing!  We're not the "frilly things" types, so that will do.  It IS only a week, right?  lol

 

[Machpoint005]

3 hours ago, Bee said:

Speaking as a bloke I reckon about a carload each. Seriously though my wife and I spend 3 months a year on our small boat in France and just take a weeks worth of jeans and T shirts that we wash as and when we can. For me I just have a couple of pairs of jeans for a week and a T shirt a day plus one decent pullover and an old anorak for rainy days. As for socks and things for me just a clean pair for every day. As for the ladies frilly things I have no idea whatsoever. You could probably reduce that even more with a bit of handwashing. Have a nice time, not many of us visit those canals as they are separate from the main system.

 

If the weather was reliably hot you wouldn't even need all those socks!

 

 

[magnetman]

Another approach is to ship the clothes and other essentials via courier in advance and travel light. Obviously this does need a post restante address so may not be practical but it seems to be a useful way to separate the individual people responsibilities (you are each responsible for sending over what you personally need) while avoiding excessive baggage during the transit. 

 

I always like to travel light personally. Preferably with no bags. Luggage seems pointless to me. Unless you actually need it during the journey then just ship it over.

 

 

[Machpoint005]

If you were to ship it over, for a week's holiday, then it would probably get there just as you arrived back home...

[Stilllearning]

1 minute ago, Machpoint005 said:

If you were to ship it over, for a week's holiday, then it would probably get there just as you arrived back home...

Forget trying to ship anything over now, unless you want delays and customs duties and taxes.

 

[Machpoint005]

Well, they could always send it six months in advance (as well as coughing up the import taxes...)

[mrsmelly]

Hasnt it always been a fair bit expensive to shift stuff from the USA to Europe? Wait till you get to france and visit one of their budget stores for a few bits and make do.

[Stilllearning]

13 hours ago, Susan G said:

We are 4 "mature" women planning to rent from LeBoat to cruise Brittany for a week in May of 2023.  2 of us are experienced boaters, 2 are not.  1 of us has some experience with canal boating in France from about 10 years ago.

 

What I am thinking about at the moment is packing for this trip.  We are casual people with no interest in having a great assortment of clothing and accessories, and no need for things like hairdryers.  We hope to do the whole trip with one carry on each.  What would YOU say is the bare minimum a woman could get by with in May with maybe a visit to a laundrette and a some hand washing along the way?

On the subject of minimum clothing amounts, that really does have to be up to you, but do remember that Brittany is sometimes called ‘South Cornwall’ by friends of ours, and the climate can be changeable: I.e. it can rain even in mid summer, though it can also be very hot and dry. Whatever, the canal is lovely with some great sights to see.

[Susan G]

My husband and I used to visit Europe every winter for a month for more than 10 years.  I tried shipping things ahead ONE time.  NOT a good idea.  We didn't get our [severely damaged] package until halfway through our trip, and it went to several places we did not go!  From that experience, I learned that the Italians (and I am ½ Italian) are freakin' crazy, and they probably discuss visiting the w/c for a good half hour before they go, hands waving a loud voices all the way.

[gwidor]

I live in Brittany and I have some experience of traveling back and forth between France and the USA: I agree that shipping things is not recommended. You should not have to carry truckloads of stuff to the point that you cannot carry them with you. Besides, you will probably fly to Charles-de-Gaulle airport, and from there you can reach Brittany by train fairly easily, even if you have to drag your suitcase/bag along.
"As a bloke" I am not qualified to suggest what you should take with you, but my wife could easily help you. I cannot PM you as I have not the required number of posts, but I have written to the administrators and asked them to forward her email address to you. I hope they do it.
By the way, coming in May is a good idea... though it may rain, so you will need a raincoat of some kind. It should not deter you: we are used to say that if you're not happy because it rains, you just have to wait a bit, the sun will be shining shortly.

[Jo_]

My priority nowadays is skin moisturiser, stuff like bepanthen, indigestion remedies, savlon gel for insect bites, plasters, paracetamol ...... etc.! Don't use make-up but I do care how my skin feels when on the boat and outdoors in the sun and almost guaranteed to get bitten, graze bits of body and so on. As for clothes - one clean evening set (which is nice to change into), shoes for on the boat and for off the boat and the vague list up there from Bee seems about right!

[mrsmelly]

3 hours ago, Jo_ said:

My priority nowadays is skin moisturiser, stuff like bepanthen, indigestion remedies, savlon gel for insect bites, plasters, paracetamol ...... etc.! Don't use make-up but I do care how my skin feels when on the boat and outdoors in the sun and almost guaranteed to get bitten, graze bits of body and so on. As for clothes - one clean evening set (which is nice to change into), shoes for on the boat and for off the boat and the vague list up there from Bee seems about right!

Why do we get indegestion when we get older????? I never, ever got it whatever I did until I was about sixty, I get it lots of times these days!!

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

20 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Why do we get indegestion when we get older????? I never, ever got it whatever I did until I was about sixty, I get it lots of times these days!!

I’m just starting on the aches and pains in me bones matey please don’t tell me there’s worse to come. 

[LadyG]

On 09/11/2022 at 17:11, mrsmelly said:

Why do we get indegestion when we get older????? I never, ever got it whatever I did until I was about sixty, I get it lots of times these days!!

You probably have acid reflux, try omeprazole which is almost instant relief, it's found in a pharmacy. 

Edited December 5, 2022 by LadyG

[LadyG]

On 09/11/2022 at 17:34, Goliath said:

I’m just starting on the aches and pains in me bones matey please don’t tell me there’s worse to come. 

It's all downhill from the age of seventeen: i'm currently (five weeks), struggling with tiny torn ligament. My emergency first aid kit has its own locker these days. There is a second larger one for broken limbs, and a pair of crutches.

Two or three (essential) minerals and vitamins  for daily immune boosting. 

Edited December 5, 2022 by LadyG

[system 4-50]

Many years ago I visited Poland and sent my baggage separately.  It included a suitcase full of chocolate and toothpaste (yes, really) as these were highly prized by my hosts, and a suitcase full of the normal things.  The chocolate & toothpaste survived but all my jeans and suchlike clothing were half-inched on the way, and the remainder were delivered to the wrong place.