Staying on a Boat in London

Published 9 November 2026 · By the Guide to London editorial team · Editor: Terje Moy

There are three ways to sleep on the water in London: a hotel that is permanently moored in a dock, a narrowboat let to visitors from a fixed mooring on a canal, and a boat that moves around and is let wherever it happens to be. The first is a hotel that floats. The second is the real canal experience, with a small bed, limited water and a public footpath outside the window. The third we would not book, because the Canal & River Trust says a boat let to guests must be on a mooring it recognises.

Most people who search for this want the second kind: a painted narrowboat on the Regent's Canal, a stove, ducks in the morning. That exists, and for the right person it is a memorable few nights. The people who regret it are the ones who expected a hotel room that happened to be on water. This page explains each kind, then goes through what living in a boat 6ft 10in wide actually involves.

If you only want to see the canals, a walk or a waterbus trip does that for nothing or very little; our guide to Little Venice and the Regent's Canal covers both. For other kinds of short let, start with our guide to apartments and short lets.

The moored hotel: a hotel first, a boat second

The simplest way to stay on the water is a hotel built on, or in, a vessel that never moves. London has two in Royal Victoria Dock, the wide basin beside the Excel London exhibition centre in the Royal Docks. One is a hotel built on a floating structure; the other is a yacht. Both are on the Food Standards Agency register, rated 5, at E16 1FA and E16 1AA respectively.

Staying in one is much like staying in a hotel. There is a reception, en-suite bedrooms and a bar or restaurant. In an enclosed dock the movement is minimal. What makes it different is the view of water and the slightly odd experience of walking a gangway to bed. Accessibility varies, so ask about the gangway and any steps before you book.

The Royal Docks are a long way from the sights, and the evenings there are quiet. They make sense for a trade show at Excel or an early flight from London City Airport. Our guide to staying near Excel and Stratford explains the area and the journey into central London, which is a short ride on the Elizabeth line from Custom House.

A narrowboat on a fixed mooring

The canal stay most people imagine is a narrowboat let from a mooring that does not change: a marina, a basin such as Paddington Basin or Limehouse Basin, or a recognised berth along the Regent's Canal or the Lee. The owner lives elsewhere or on another boat, hands you the keys and explains the systems, and you stay put.

This is the kind the Canal & River Trust's rules are written for. Its guidance on what it calls static letting says that letting may mean a room on a boat, a whole boat or several rooms, and that "to let a boat out it must be on an existing mooring recognised by the Trust". The operator must hold a non-private boat safety certificate to hire-boat standards, a gas safety certificate and commercial insurance covering at least £2 million per claim, and must have a documented handover procedure. Those are useful questions to put to a host.

The location is the main thing you are buying. A mooring at Little Venice puts you on the quietest and prettiest stretch; one near Camden or Broadway Market puts you beside a crowd on summer weekends. Our pages on the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union, the Hertford Union Canal and the Limehouse Cut describe what each stretch of towpath is like.

Why we would not book a boat that moves

A continuous cruiser is a boat with no home mooring. The British Waterways Act 1995 requires such a boat to be engaged in "bona fide navigation", and the Canal & River Trust explains that this means a genuine journey around a fair range of the network, "not just moving backwards and forwards along one stretch of water". It must not stay anywhere longer than 14 days on most of the network, and popular visitor moorings are often limited to one, two or five days.

Two problems follow for a guest. The first is practical: the boat's address can change between your booking and your arrival, and its next stop may be a long walk from a station. The second is the rule itself: the Trust's letting guidance requires a recognised mooring, so a boat let from wherever it happens to be is not operating as the Trust says a letting business should. If a listing cannot tell you the name of the mooring and the date the boat will be there, treat that as the answer. Our page on booking safely and avoiding scams covers the wider checks.

Living in 6ft 10in

A narrowboat is 6ft 10in wide, about 2.08 m, because that is what fits the narrow locks of the English canals. Inside, after the hull, the insulation and the lining, the cabin is narrower still. Everything about a narrowboat stay follows from that number.

• The bed. A fixed double has to fit across or along a cabin that narrow. Some boats have a bed close to a British standard double; many have a smaller one, or a cross-bed that one person climbs over the other to leave. Ask for the width and length in centimetres, as you would at a hotel, and compare it with the sizes in our guide to what a London hotel room is like.
• Headroom. It varies from boat to boat. Tall guests should ask for the figure and expect to duck at the doors.
• Heating. Usually a solid-fuel stove, a diesel heater or both. A stove is lovely and needs tending; a cold boat on a February morning is very cold.
• Water. A boat carries its own tank, filled at a water point. A long hot shower each morning for two people can empty it faster than you expect, so ask how big it is and how often it is refilled.
• The toilet. Boats have either a cassette toilet, which is emptied by hand at a disposal point, or a pump-out tank. The host should explain which, and who empties it.
• Electricity. Some moorings have mains hook-up; many boats run on batteries charged by the engine or solar panels. Hairdryers and kettles may be off limits.
• Luggage. There is nowhere to put a large hard suitcase. Soft bags fold into corners.

Step-free access is effectively impossible

Getting onto a narrowboat means stepping down from the towpath onto a deck, then down steep steps into the cabin, often while holding a rail. The towpath itself may have cobbles, lock steps or a slope. We know of no way to make a standard narrowboat step-free, and anyone who uses a wheelchair or cannot manage steep steps should choose a hotel instead. Our guide to accessible hotels in London explains what to ask for.

The towpath at two in the morning

A canal towpath is a public path. Boats are moored along it with their windows a metre or two from people walking past, and in central London people walk past at all hours: commuters cycling home, runners at dawn, groups heading home from the pubs at closing time, and the occasional shout. You will hear footsteps and conversations through the hull, and on a bright night you may see torches and bike lights.

Light sleepers should take earplugs, and should ask whether the boat is moored on the towpath side or the far side, which is sometimes private. Some stretches of towpath are dark at night, so check the walk from the nearest station after dark before you book. Our guide to quiet hotels and street noise sets out the city's usual noise problems; on a boat, the noise comes from the other side of the window.

The Thames is a different kind of water

Houseboats also line parts of the tidal Thames, in places such as Chelsea Reach. Tidal moorings rise and fall twice a day, and some boats settle on the riverbed at low water, so the floor may not be quite level and the gangway changes angle. The river is managed by a different authority, the Port of London Authority, which our page on the Port of London Authority explains. If you book a Thames boat, ask what happens at low tide.

What it costs, and who it suits

We do not quote prices for individual boats. Our estimate for November 2026 is that a whole narrowboat let in central London is usually priced like a mid-range hotel double, sometimes more in summer, and not like a budget room. You are paying for the setting, not the space.

Ten questions to ask before you pay

1. What is the name of the mooring, and will the boat be there for my whole stay?
2. Is the boat licensed and the mooring recognised by the Canal & River Trust, or the Port of London Authority on the Thames?
3. Does it have a hire-standard boat safety certificate, a gas safety certificate and a working carbon monoxide alarm?
4. How wide and long is the bed, in centimetres?
5. What is the headroom?
6. How is it heated, and will I have to light or tend a stove?
7. How big is the water tank, and how is the toilet emptied?
8. Is there mains electricity, and can I use a hairdryer?
9. Which side of the canal is it on, and how far is the nearest station?
10. Who do I call at night if something goes wrong?

Frequently asked questions

Can you stay on a narrowboat in London?

Yes. Some owners let narrowboats from fixed moorings on the Regent's Canal and in basins such as Paddington and Limehouse, and two hotels are permanently moored in Royal Victoria Dock. The Canal & River Trust says a boat let to guests must be on a mooring it recognises.

Is it safe to sleep on a canal boat?

A properly run letting boat should hold a hire-standard boat safety certificate, a gas safety certificate and a working carbon monoxide alarm, all of which you can ask to see. The Boat Safety Scheme warns that carbon monoxide from stoves and heaters is the main hidden danger on boats.

How wide is a narrowboat?

Up to 6ft 10in, about 2.08 metres, so that it fits the narrow locks of the English canals. The cabin inside is narrower, which is why beds on narrowboats are often smaller than a standard British double.

Are canal boats in London noisy at night?

They can be. The towpath outside is a public path used at all hours by walkers, runners and cyclists, and the hull carries sound. Light sleepers should bring earplugs and ask whether the boat is moored on the towpath side.

Sources

• Canal & River Trust - Static letting (checked November 2026)
• Canal & River Trust - Continuous cruising (checked November 2026)
• Boat Safety Scheme - Carbon monoxide (checked November 2026)
• Boat Safety Scheme - Requirements, examinations and certification (checked November 2026)
• Food Standards Agency - Food hygiene ratings, Good Hotel London, E16 1FA, and MV Sunborn Yacht Hotel, E16 1AA (checked November 2026)