SUNDAY, AUGUST 2 , 2020. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ EE E19
BY ELIZABETH HEATHIf you’re a would-be vacationer
looking to spend some time on the
water and maintain your social
distance, you just don’t have a lot of
options in this Pandemic Summer
— which is why it’s time to take
another look at houseboat rentals.
On lakes and waterways across the
United States, houseboat rentals —
we’re referring to self-piloted
boats, rather than moored vaca-
tion rentals — are a way to get far
from the crowds and enjoy the
water in the company of a group of
family or friends. And with house-
boat rentals available in at least 19
U.S. states, taking a houseboat va-
cation could mean you don’t have
to go too far from home to get away.
In national parks, state and na-
tional recreation areas, and along
some rivers, a houseboat vacation
begins as follows: Check in at the
marina and get a quick lesson on
piloting a houseboat. Load up all
the food, luggage and gear you’ll
need for the duration of your trip,
then head out into the watery wil-
derness.
You may see other boaters, but
it’ll be from a distance. Unless you
need fuel, food or other provisions
— unlikely if you’ve planned ahead
— you don’t need to see anyone
outside your boat for the duration
of your holiday. And that isolation
— being with a known group but
being far away from everyone else
— certainly has a newfound appeal
in 2020.
“We’re having one of best years
ever,” says Bill Dougherty, co-own-
er of Rainy Lake Houseboats in
International Falls, Minn. His fam-
ily has run tourism ventures on the
lake for 102 years and currently
rents 27 houseboats.
Dougherty is particularly
pleased that more families with
young children are renting, partly
as a result of summer sports and
camps being canceled. Instead, he
says, “families are out there having
the time of their life. They leave
everything behind, and no one
tells them where to go or what to
do.”
That freedom, according to oth-
er houseboat purveyors, is a big
part of the draw. Houseboating,
says Robert Knowlton, general
manager of Lake Powell Resorts &
Marinas in Arizona, allows you to
get out in nature and “find your
own private piece of paradise.” And
the charms of that solitude are not
just for families. Chad Taylor of
Lake Mead/Mohave Adventures,
says many a high-profile CEOs rent
houseboats from his Nevada mari-
na “because they like to get out on
the lake and hide out for a week.”
So what does a group actually do
while hiding out on a houseboat
for a week? Activities depend on
the whims of the body of water.
On Rainy Lake, a glacially
carved lake formed more than
10,000 years ago, houseboaters
can motor during the day, though
most choose to tie up at any of the
first-come, first-served moorings
on the U.S. side of the lake — Amer-
icans can’t currently cross into Ca-
nadian waters — and spend their
days exploring trails, playing on
sandy beaches, and fishing, float-
ing, swimming and birdwatching.
Most of Dougherty’s boats come
with waterslides, and guests can
rent or bring their own small mo-
torboats, canoes, kayaks and
stand-up paddleboards. He recom-
mends boaters pick a different
mooring every day, to see as many
of the lake’s bays, islands and rock
formations as possible.
On Lakes Powell and Mead, the
surreal desert and canyon land-
scapes of these dam-formed lakes
tempts houseboaters to anchor on
a sandy beach and use it as a base
for exploration. Lake Mead’s 550
miles of shoreline mean you can
easily have a beach all to yourself
and spend the week swimming or
riding Jet Skis, and skiing, tubing
and exploring with a smaller, tow-
behind motorboat.
On Lake Powell, 2,000 miles of
shoreline and the nearly 100 slot
canyons of Glen Canyon lure hik-
ers, while the lake allows motor-
ized and nonmotorized watercraft.
Kids, Knowlton says, are usually
content to be in the water all day,
tubing and “going up and down the
slides nonstop.” He says families
with older kids are wise to bring
along footballs, Frisbees or a corn-
hole game.
Broadcast journalist Kellie
Burns-Garvey recalls a trip on
Lake Powell with 14 family mem-
bers ages 2 to 75. The kids loved the
waterslide, and adults had time to
relax. In a week, she says, “we
swam, explored rock formations,
and never really saw anyone else.”
A more tropical experience
awaits on Florida’s St. Johns River.
Houseboaters who rent from Holly
Bluff Marina in DeLand, located
northeast of Orlando, can motor
within a 50-mile radius of the ma-
rina, and discover abundant wild-
life, clear springs suitable for
swimming and snorkeling, and
even some riverside restaurants.
Boaters usually anchor on the wa-
ter, as the river shoreline typically
has dense vegetation — as well as
the occasional alligator.
Other than on Florida’s reptile-
rich riverbanks, campfires on the
beach and stargazing are the
prime after-dark activity for
houseboaters. Las Vegas food styl-
ist Roni Fields-Moonen, who spent
a Thanksgiving houseboat vaca-
tion on Lake Mead, said most eve-nings consisted of “bonfires,
marshmallow roasts and singa-
longs.”
Though amenities vary from
vendor to vendor, houseboats gen-
erally come equipped with every-
thing you would find in a typical
vacation rental, including cooking
gear and all or most linens, plus
safety equipment and a ship-to-
shore radio with 24-hour emergen-
cy support. Fuel is charged based
on consumption — boats leave the
dock with a full tank and you only
pay for what you use. Towable
skiffs, Jet Skis (not legal on all
waterways), kayaks and other toys
are extra.
Boaters need to bring their food,
clothes and recreation gear. Food,
especially, requires planning, since
there are no grocery stores in the
middle of wilderness areas. Fields-
Moonen and her husband, Rick, a
professional chef, packed coolers
full of carefully labeled groceries,
including a whole turkey they
roasted in the boat’s ample kitch-
en. With 10 mouths to feed, meals
had to be planned down to the last
ingredient, and Fields-Moonen re-
calls a lot of cooking and cleaning
and that “food took up more space
than luggage.”
Houseboats can range from ba-
sic to luxury. Burns-Garvey says
their Lake Powell boat was “like a
camper — not luxurious but com-
fortable enough,” while Fields-
Moonen and her group rented a
deluxe model with a hot tub, five
bedrooms, satellite TV and room
on the top deck for morning yoga
and Pilates sessions.
Piloting the boats is straightfor-
ward and some marinas, like Lake
Powell, offer piloted service in and
out of the marina. “We rent all the
time to first-time boaters,” Knowl-
ton says. Apart from the rare after-
noon thunderstorm, weather isseldom a factor. Still, he says, boat-
ers should keep an eye on the fore-
cast — though the marina will ra-
dio if there are any serious weather
concerns. On both Lakes Powell
and Mead, purveyors advise that in
a week’s time, it makes sense to
move the houseboat no more than
two times, largely because anchor-
ing is labor-intensive and time-
consuming.
Prices for houseboats naturally
depend on the size, the season and
the number of bells and whistles.
At Rainy Lake, cozy two-person
“honeymooner” models rent for
$1,380 a week in peak summer
while deluxe 54-foot, 12-person
boats with hot tubs rent for $5,795
in the same period. A four-person
houseboat from Holly Bluff Mari-
na in Florida rents for $1,500 in
high season. The marina’s most
deluxe boat, a 60-foot model with
four bedrooms and two bath-
rooms, rents for up to $3,400 for a
week.
From Lake Mead/Mohave Ad-
ventures, a 59-foot, 10-person
houseboat rents for $5,269 in high
season, while a mammoth 70-foot
model with a wet bar, hot tub and
multiple satellite TVs is just over
$8,000 a week. Lake Powell Re-
sorts & Marinas rents 46-foot,
economy houseboats for up to six
guests for about $2,500 a week
from June through August. Its top-
of-the-line, 75-foot Odyssey model
sleeps up to 16 people in 2,400
square feet of cabin space across
three levels. In high season, it’s
$15,000 per week. Everything’s
bigger out west, after all, and
houseboats are no exception.
[email protected]Heath is a writer in Allerona, Italy. Her
website is elizabethfheath.com. Find
her on
Instagram: @myvillageinumbria.A jumping-off point for exploration
Houseboat rentals give vacationers variety, mobility and a socially distant home base for adventures on the water
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted travel domestically and around the world. You will find the latest developments on The Post’s live blog at http://www.washingtonpost.com/coronavirus/On Mondays at 2 p.m., the
Travel section staff hosts Talk
About Travel, an online forum
for reader questions and com-
ments. The following is an edited
excerpt from recent discussions.Q: My husband and I got D visas
from the French embassy in
Washington, D.C., and arrived in
France in February. We planned
to return in October. But having
spent six weeks or so locked
down here, I’m not anxious to
come back and do it again in the
United States. We would like to
extend our visas for another
couple of months. But I have no
idea how to do that. Advice?
A: You need to apply at your
local prefecture. You can find the
information on the French
government’s visa website. Or
message a French consulate forhelp. Note: The United States is
not under lockdown like France
was. We are free to move around,
as long as we adhere to local
public health regulations and
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention guidelines.
— Andrea SachsQ: I need to renew my child’s
passport. Since she is under 16, is
our only option to reapply in
person?
A: Yes, you, your spouse (or any
legal guardians) and your child
need to apply in person. You can
make an appointment at a local
post office. — Carol SottiliQ: I have a credit from a flight
that I have about eight more
months to use. I know that if the
airline files for Chapter 11
bankruptcy, that credit is mostlikely gone. But if I buy a ticket
now for travel around
Christmas, would the ticket also
be invalid in the case of Chapter
11?
A: The ticket and credit would
only be worthless if the airline
stops operating (Chapter 7). If
you have a ticket, another airline
may honor it as a courtesy. But
the credit would be gone if you
don’t have a ticket and the
airline goes Chapter 7.
— Christopher ElliottQ: We live in the D.C. a rea and
don’t have a car. We are getting
stir crazy and would love a little
getaway, day trips or overnight.
Where do you recommend we go
using public transit?
A: A mtrak is probably your
safest bet, because the company
is limiting capacity andrequiring masks. Places to
consider: Philadelphia,
Richmond, Charlottesville or
Williamsburg. If you want a
water or mountain retreat, such
as Deep Creek Lake or
Shenandoah National Park,
consider renting a car. Make
sure you know local and state
restrictions before you go. — A.S.Q: Once we can travel overseas, I
am off to somewhere. Where can
I travel and take local trains
from country to country the
easiest? I figure two trips for two
weeks each.
A: Europe is a great place for
train travel, as is Japan. Via Rail
offers a great rail network that
crisscrosses Canada. The routes
out west are especially stunning.
— A.S.
[email protected]How to stay in a French getaway for a little longer
TRAVEL TALKresolve itself shortly before
this story went to press. After
another appeal to her tour
operator, it offered a full
refund.
There’s a better chance than
ever that your airline, tour
operator or hotel will cancel
your vacation this summer. If
it does, you have the right to a
quick refund. How quick? Give
the company two weeks, then
send a friendly reminder. After
a month, consider a credit
card dispute. And if your
travel company is insolvent,
don’t delay. File a chargeback
now.Elliott is a consumer advocate,
journalist and co-founder of the
advocacy group Tr avelers United.
Email him at [email protected].hundred dollars or more. And
travelers who pay for their
tours by check don’t have the
option of a chargeback.
But there’s a way around
that. Some states have strict
regulations that require
refunds. For example, under
title 940 of the Code of
Massachusetts Regulations, a
tour operator must refund in
cash an amount equal to the
fair market retail value of any
undelivered travel service.
Many consumers have used
state laws to get refunds even
when contracts don’t allow it.
That might have been an
option for O’Sullivan, who
lives in Massachusetts. But
her problem appeared to
NAVIGATOR FROM E18
CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT
So your vacation is canceled.
What are your refund rights?
ARAMARK
TOP: A houseboat anchors near a beach on Lake Mead,
between Nevada and Arizona. ABOVE: With a desert and
canyon landscape as a backdrop, the Excursion houseboat
traverses Lake Powell, spanning Utah and Arizona.LAKE MEAD MOHAVE ADVENTURES