Book a fully inclusive narrowboat holiday with College Cruisers on the South Oxford Canal. Make yourself at home aboard one of our fleet of comfortable canal boats, then plot a leisurely course through the English countryside enjoying the pretty towns, villages and country pubs along the way. If after booking your holiday at any time during 2021 UK Government advice prevents travel from home or sleeping away from home we will refund you in full.
In the event of you or any member of the party becoming ill or having to isolate stopping you from traveling, we will happily re-arrange the holiday for you (subject to availability and any price increase due to change of date). There will be no administration charge for this. There are ten boats in the fleet ranging from 2 berth up to 12 berth, offering a range of facilities and each with a character of its own.
In the event of you or any member of the party becoming ill or having to isolate stopping you from traveling, we will happily re-arrange the holiday for you (subject to availability and any price increase due to change of date). There will be no administration charge for this. There are ten boats in the fleet ranging from 2 berth up to 12 berth, offering a range of facilities and each with a character of its own.
Services
College Cruisers is a long-established canal boat hire fleet based right in the centre of the romantic, historic City of Oxford. Our Oxford Canal boat holidays help you escape the rigours of modern living. Plot a leisurely course through the locks and bridges and enjoy the pretty towns, villages and country pubs along the way.
At College Cruisers we have all boated with our families and are very experienced in making sure you have one of the best holidays ever. Every day is a family adventure sharing happy memories, opening locks together, cooking together, in the evening playing games together in the evening, visiting the pub together.
We Brits love our pets, and most of us would like to be able to take them on a holiday that they will love. Well, with College Cruisers you can! A holiday on the Oxford Canal ticks every box in a doggy world - they can join in all the activities, meet new doggy friends, encounter new challenges such as walking over a lock gate, tell off the odd swan, and explore new walks with lots of exciting smells.
Our boats are well-equipped with most everyday utensils etc. We have tried to provide you with everything we think you will need for your canal holiday. If you have a special need please get in touch and we will see what we can do! The following is a list of all the things you will find on board your boat.
The Oxford Canal is probably the UK's most delightful boating holiday route, meandering southwards from the outskirts of Coventry down to our own dreaming spires of Oxford. The canal was originally built to transport coal from the Midlands to the South of England and was, for a time, one of the country's most important waterways.
Reviews (18)
Paul Cornick
Aug 26, 2021
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We hired Brasenose back in June and had a great 5 days on board. Even with 7 people and a dog we felt like we had plenty of space on board this lovely boat. The Oxford canal was very scenic and we stopped off at a couple of pubs for evening meals. On the way back one if the lift bridges had been damaged and College Cruisers called me and messaged me well in advance and gave us instructions on the detour route we would need to take to get back. We really couldn't have asked for any more from them. Highly recommend them!
Laura Hutt
Aug 20, 2021
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Stephen Barrett
Jul 28, 2021
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John Smith
Jul 09, 2021
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Steven Vacher
Jun 25, 2021
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This was the third time as a family we had hired a narrow boat, the first time was on the Norfolk Broads, second was on the Llangollen Canal, this time was the Oxford canal.
Hiring our boat ‘Exeter’ from College Cruisers was an easy experience, done through the website with a few follow up emails. The boat is a 65’ cruiser stern narrow boat, we went for the two double room setup, there are a couple of other setups unto one that sleeps 10. Exeter is well appointed and because there was only 4 of us we were able to leave the dining table up as well as leave the TV seating area, it must be
Hiring our boat ‘Exeter’ from College Cruisers was an easy experience, done through the website with a few follow up emails. The boat is a 65’ cruiser stern narrow boat, we went for the two double room setup, there are a couple of other setups unto one that sleeps 10. Exeter is well appointed and because there was only 4 of us we were able to leave the dining table up as well as leave the TV seating area, it must be
Callum M.
Jan 19, 2021
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Where can i really start with this other than to say thank you so much to college cruisers for an amazing week away. The tuition when we collected the boat was amazing. We had balliol for a week and it was absolutely spotless when we picked it up. Has everything you need on board except food which was brilliant as we had little space to travel. On board there was tonnnsss of space and the central heatong worked wonders! Despite the week of pouring rain we donned the waterproofs they kindly provide and off we went with little to no issues. We didnt manage to get as far as we would have liked due
Kate Montagu
Nov 29, 2020
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Returning to college cruisers for a break was a seriously good idea. They are great quality & well maintained boats on this beautiful stretch of water. The team are on hand and helpful from the first contact when booking until drop off at the end of the trip. Thank you for a relaxing time. (the perfect Covoid break, vertically no contact with other humans!)
Martin Vogwell
Nov 28, 2020
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We (rather urgently) needed a pump out facility and these guys were amazing - opening up on a day that they didn't really need to! So friendly and the wharf is really easy to get into. We've seen their hire boat fleet out and about and everyone on them seems to be having a good time - all round a really great company!
Ian A. Shrimpton
Aug 30, 2020
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James Mackie
Aug 26, 2020
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Just got back from a week's cruising on magdalena from collage cruises. Had a great week lovely boat nice and clean when we picked it up really friendly staff was given a video via wors app explaining everythink about the boat which was very helpful. Will certainly go back and do it again. We'll done collage cruises keep up the good work see you again for our next trip 👍
Dmitry Pushkarev
Nov 03, 2019
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Mary Abramtsev-Loose
Aug 22, 2019
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We are quite frequent renters and this was by far the best experience to-date. We had the Pembroke and as the advert says, you would never know it was a rental. Easy check in and check out, well maintained and great ammenities on board (large fridge by boat standards, two toilets, large kitchen and dining area, etc.). We would happily rent this boat (or one of the others) again.
Kate Kincaid
May 24, 2019
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Lisa Pickering
May 20, 2019
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Laura Fenton
Jul 25, 2017
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Qype User Brend
Feb 01, 2012
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Our family group was made up of 5 people aged from 10 to 81. We took Magdalen out in November. Mike was our 'instructor', he came with us through a lock and prepared us for anything we might meet along the canal. His firm but relaxed style included the children and gave us confidence. Although the weather was fair it was cold. The boat was however warm and the little stove made it very cosy. The kitchen was very well equipped, everything we needed to produce meals although we did also use the pubs along the canal. It was all so peaceful and relaxing, I would recommend this type of holiday
Wendy W.
Jul 07, 2011
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We just spent a week on board "Trinity" one of the narrow boats from College Cruisers. We were total beginners, and at first felt a little nervous having control of a 50 foot boat. We also traveled form California, so we were a little jet lagged when we started. The staff at College cruisers were wonderful, they explained the handling of the boat and made us feel comfortable. We were able to leave our luggage with them and go shop for provisions and have lunch in Oxford.
The holiday itself was fantastic we went the 27 miles and back to Banbury in a week --we were able to slow right down
The holiday itself was fantastic we went the 27 miles and back to Banbury in a week --we were able to slow right down
Qype User Sopwit
Sep 14, 2010
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Hi we hired from college cruisers in August 2010.
The "luxury" boat was like a scruffy old caravan. We were told that the propellor was mismatched with the new engine, they were right about that.
It had a pretend bathroom/toilet. You had to be a gymnast to use the toilet, and if the end result meant a shower to ensure cleanliness you could not but note the shower curtain hanging in the dirty water. The roller blind plastic operating chain hangs in the toilet. The bloke who showed us round showed the broken TV ariel as if it were amusing. The wet gear is not waterproof leaving me soaked
The "luxury" boat was like a scruffy old caravan. We were told that the propellor was mismatched with the new engine, they were right about that.
It had a pretend bathroom/toilet. You had to be a gymnast to use the toilet, and if the end result meant a shower to ensure cleanliness you could not but note the shower curtain hanging in the dirty water. The roller blind plastic operating chain hangs in the toilet. The bloke who showed us round showed the broken TV ariel as if it were amusing. The wet gear is not waterproof leaving me soaked
