FLOAT YOUR BOAT
If you’re more the diminutive river cruise or barging type, we’ve got a throwback DIY idea for you: a houseboat – think Cary Grant and Sophia Loren’s floating film. Le Boat, a European-based self-driving boating company, is launching in our nation’s capital. “The Rideau Canal is the place to be this summer,” says Le Boat’s Cheryl Brown. The cruises start and finish in Smith’s Falls, halfway between Kingston and Ottawa, allow flexible itineraries, feature brand-new boats that sleep anywhere from two to 12 and come with a crash course on how to navigate the canal. And since there’s no licence or experience required and the boats travel at an average of six to eight kilometres an hour, it’s about as leisurely a cruise as it can get.