Non-licensed boat rental in the Bilbao estuary

Service not available. We no longer offer unlicensed boat rentals in Bilbao.

Bilbao, that gray-colored industrial city we knew in the past, has been transformed to become one of the most attractive cities in the Cantabrian Sea. This transformation has taken as its main artery the Bilbao estuary, one of the city’s major connections for trade and leisure with the outside world. It is here, in the estuary of Bilbao, next to the Euskalduna Palace, where we found the mooring of River Cheer, a boat rental company without skipper with which we have known Bilbao from a different perspective and totally independent.

The River Cheer boats have a length of less than 5 meters, boats that are designed so that inexperienced people without a sailing license can enjoy them without any effort. If desired, River Cheer provides a monitor at no cost. This option is valid both for previous practices and for the whole trip.

Without dependencies of any kind, without a skipper, without schedules…in short, at our own pace! Do you want to know first hand what River Cheer offers to all its clients?

Do you want to rent a boat without a skipper and sail the Bilbao estuary with your friends or family? Now, thanks to River Cheer it is possible. Take the helm of your boat and know both banks of the estuary of Bilbao, you decide the course, you command, you are the skipper of the boat.

Bilbao from the estuary: A unique nautical experience in Bilbao. If you want to know Bilbao from another point of view, the estuary of Bilbao is an ideal waterway to know the most emblematic areas of the city without any effort, without traffic jams, without crowds. River Cheer allows us to move through their boats to any point that connects with the estuary of Bilbao, we decide what to see and when.

Training: It is not necessary to have any training. Before boarding, the River Cheer staff will give us a short talk with the basic notions of navigation. Where we must navigate, the navigation limits of the Bilbao estuary, the safety rules or the spaces where we can disembark are some of the tips we will hear in the 10-minute talk they give us before we take control of the boat. As they say in River Cheer, they are our cabin boys, they are there to obey the captain’s orders, that is, us!

Boating: River Cheer boats are light but stable. Its raw material, aluminum, its engine (13 hp) and its length (less than 5 meters), allow us a simple and quick learning navigability. The boats have a “fast boat” profile, small boats, to which cushions have been added to make navigation more comfortable.

Price: The most demanded experience, sailing the estuary without a skipper for 1 hour, has a cost of 35 €. A price, to which is added the surcharge of 5 € for every 15 minutes that we lengthen the activity. Also, River Cheer has other services and prices:

The above prices include taxes, all risk insurance and the fuel necessary for navigation. Prices valid for the winter season (until March 2017). The person in charge of River Cheer tells us that he foresees and wishes to maintain the prices for the summer season of 2017, making this way, that sailing the estuary of Bilbao by motor is an activity accessible to all budgets.

Capacity: River Cheer boats are approved to carry up to 597 kg of cargo, a weight that is reduced to 375 kg. According to River Cheer, these limits have been set with prudence and safety in order to achieve the greatest enjoyment of the boat. This weight usually translates into 5 passengers (4 adults maximum).

Safety: Taking control of these boats in the Bilbao estuary must be done according to the safety standards set by River Cheer.

Navigation limits: The Bilbao estuary is not navigable along its entire length. The tides and the shallow draft that the estuary has in some of its sections delimit the route. As a general rule, the limits for River Cheer vessels are the San Antón Bridge and the Arriluce dock in Getxo, in the Abra bay. The hours close to low tide the limitation of the upper part of the estuary, is set at the bridge of El Arenal.

We decide: We are the skipper, we must plan the route to follow. The routes, the stops and everything that concerns the boat that is rented is the skipper’s decision, now we are the captains, we govern the River Cheer motorboat.

Possible routes: Along the Bilbao estuary there are many emblematic points that we find, some spaces that we recommend to study before tracing the route to follow:

Taking these points as a reference and the aforementioned limits, there are two clear routes, up or down the estuary.

Rent a boat without a license and explore Bilbao from its estuary, a great nautical tourist experience for which we must take into account the recommendation of every sailor: A prudent navigator, a great captain.