An article written by: Expatshaarlem.nl about Greenjoy Boat Rental
As we like to know what we are offering you, our dear reader, we decided to take a little test drive: Two parents, three children (a 2-year old, one of 3 and one who just turned 5 last week) and a boat.
LOOSDRECHT
Greenjoy offers four locations and since we liked to see something else than Haarlem for a change, we decided to go to Utrecht. Luckily we heard just in time about the rubberbootmissie there (something with a humongous amount of rubber boats clotting up the canals of Utrecht) so we switched to Loosdrechtse Plassen. Space, water, wind was what was in store for us.
HET ANKER
In about 45 minutes we drove to the little marina Het Anker, the starting point to our journey. Parking was free and the instructions (“go through the fence, over the bridge, keep to your right and the boat will be behind the picnic table”) were crystal clear. When everybody had entered the boat, we had disconnected the charging cable and plugged the rubber thingies to stop water from coming aboard all that was standing between us and a good day of nautical fun was texting Sloep18 AAN.
ROPES
From there it was ropes away and off we went. Well, after we had also taken off rope number 2 and 3. Handling the boat couldn’t have been easier: Putting the big handle in the forward position made the boat go forward, putting it in the middle switched it off and when we wanted to go backward it was just a matter of pulling the handle towards us. We felt quite the sailors.
For our little ones, who haven’t mastered the art of swimming yet, we had brought water wings, but underneath the benches of the boat there were little life jackets, so even little Mila looked like she was a character out of Deadliest Catch.
From Het Anker it took us about 10 minutes to get to the actual Plassen. The boat, though allowing a maximum of 6 adults, was very spacious with seats for at least 12 people, so plenty of room for us to lie down and enjoy the ride.
SPEED
The Greenjoy boats don’t go very fast; if you want to soar the canals, scare away the little sail boats on the water or impress sunbathing babes with your boat handling skills, this is not for you. If you just want to have a good time being on the water, being able to conversate without having to scream over the sound of a roaring engine, Greenjoy is highly recommended: apart from a tiny little motor buzz we heard nothing than water and wind and birds and …. well, things you might hear while being in the middle of a massive amount of water. Keyword: relaxation.
As all good things come to an end, after two hours our time was up and we had to go back to the marine. Just a little tip: when you come out of the little stream onto the big lake, make a picture (a mental one, or a real one, or a Google Maps pin, or whatever works for you) of where you came from. It turned out that for us, landlubbers as we are, finding our way back was a big challenge.
SLOEP UIT
We made it back to Het Anker though, parked the boat (or whatever parking a boat is called), pulled the plugs and fastened all ropes before we texted Sloep18 UIT to indicate we were done. Now that was fun!
expatsHaarlem says : thumbs up for Greenjoy.
If you’re in the market for a nice and relaxed trip by boat that’s as easy to arrange as taking the bus I suggest you take a look at what they have to offer.