Oxford Sightseeing River Cruise Along The University Regatta Course

Informative cruise

Brilliant cruise. Skipper Nick was very informative and knowledgeable, but made the tour fun. We got to see many sights and took some brilliant photos.

Perfect Morning on the River Thames

We saw rowing crews on the water and crews getting ready to launch. We saw ducks, geese, people picnicking and others walking or cycling on the tow path along the river. The ride was smooth, the view was beautiful, the boat pilot and our guide were fun and had interesting tales to tell. We saw the boat houses for many of the colleges and some private rowing teams. The small boat was perfect for our seven passengers. We enjoyed a cup of tea from The Folly restaurant on our cruise. We were fortunate that on our last day in Oxford, the day of our cruise, the sun came out and it was a beautiful day. The boat is covered which makes the ride most pleasant.

Very Nice

Very pleasant and entertaining. Wear sensible shoes. Dress in layers. Bring your own water. Across the street at The Head of the River is a good spot to be dropped off and picked up by a taxi.

Would give it more than 5 stars if we could.

A most warm welcome awaited us and the booking process was easy with lots of choice of the cruises we could take. We went for just the ride. There were only 4 others onboard apart from us and the Captain. The boats are small but comfy and electric so environmentally friendly. Our Captain was really interesting and knowledgeable. Kept us entertained and pointed out lots of points of interest. We had lovely weather for it but I would definitely go again.

Wonderful for learning about the area around river in Oxford

This is a wonderful way to see and learn about some Oxford history around the river. The staff were very friendly and interesting. As a first time visitor to Oxford it was a wonderful experience to do the boat tour and then go for a walk into town and see the famous historic buildings.

River cruise

Lovely scenery and quiet trip with great food. Skipper was friendly and we loved it. Can def recommend Remember to take some bread for all the ducks

Awesome experience!

The experience was delightful. I visited with my family, including my wife, 5-year-old, and 9-month-old child. We all thoroughly enjoyed the view of the River Thames. The guide was fantastic and provided an insightful explanation of the site's history and interesting facts and he was kind enough to explain us all the fantastic places to visit around Oxford. Highly recommended!

Highly recommend!

It was such a lovely experience! The boat was a perfect size, not too big. Our skipper was amazing, very well spoken and very knowledgeable. Even though it was raining, we had the best time! They were also very accommodating towards us with my granny who couldn’t walk very far. They allowed us to leave the wheelchair in the restaurant while we were on the boat

The best host!

Such a peaceful, pleasant outing with an excellent host. Sam was knowledgeable, friendly, smart, polite, and very patient when one of our party needed an emergency stop! Thank you for this little oasis in an otherwise busy week.

River trip

Excellent trip which coincided with regatta so could really get a feel for what it was like to race. Lovely little boats.

A lovely riverboat cruise experience

We had a brilliant tour today, at 4.30 it ended up just being me and my husband. The guy that took us on the tour (sorry didn't get his name) was great, he gave interesting facts and had quiet times, the perfect balance to take in the tour with stunning scenery and weather. Really recommended thank you

Leisure lovely cruise

Our captain was friendly helpful and full of knowledge. We had lovely weather and the ability to order drinks and bring with us on the cruise was an added delight. Highly recommend.

Lovely experience

My husband booked this to do for my birthday. We usually plan a trip to Oxford each year so have done all the museums and usual touristy things now so were pleased to find something new to do. Paul our skipper, was very friendly and knowledgeable. He pointed out lots of interesting things to see along the river as we bobbed along. There was just two other groups on with us so it was very peaceful and relaxing. I would happily book again and do the longer trip or one with the afternoon tea

Would recommend

Great river cruise, really enjoyed the fact that we were able to walk around and take pictures near the lock at the end of the river. Our guide had a lot of good anecdotes and was really pleasant! He even noticed I booked the cruise aiming to take some pictures and tried to point out the nicest photo areas of the cruise. We went on the cruise with our 2 yo daughter and she really enjoyed it as well, big boat, quite spacious.

Fabulous cruise!

Excellent cruise made all the better by the commentary by Jo the skipper. He had lots of information coupled with a great sense of humour.

Okay experience

The information about the Thames and the boats and houses right on a small part of the river was interesting but for seeing historic parts of Oxford this was disappointing. The course did not bypass any iconic building. Our guide was also a bit quite making what he said hard to hear.

Cute boat trip, not much sightseeing

The guide was very informative, friendly and punctual, and would deserve a 5/5. The experience itself of being on the boat is cute, however, there isn’t much to see in terms of notable buildings etc. The highlight for me was when we got a glimpse of a deer in a meadow.

Boat trip on the Irish.

A peaceful jaunt down the river with a small group and was just what was needed after a busy city tour.

Scenic cruise with very knowledgeable skipper, it was very informative and enjoyable.

Very knowledgeable skipper, we learned a lot about the area and the river, thoroughly enjoyed it. There were lots of titbits of information you wouldn’t read in a tour book too.

Family trip with nieces

It was a Lovely little trip - host was very knowledgeable about the river, houses and boats along the way.

Wonderful trip, despite the weather!

We hired a luxury private cruise on a rainy Sunday in October. Fortunately the boat had rain protection on the sides as well as a roof! There were also blankets thoughtfully provided. The cruise itself was a lovely experience for my father's 80th birthday - the driver (James) was charming and knowledgeable about the area and gave us just the right level of information to keep us interested without overloading us with facts. He was able to answer some of our more irrelevant questions! In return, we treated him to a singalong to the Sound of Music.

Wonderful and tranquil cruise

Loved every minute of this cruise! It was so peaceful and calm. Our guide Joe was great, very informative about the river and the life of the city. Would definitely recommend - I'd do it again!

Brilliant, well worth the money

The company seems to be a very small company operating from the Folly Bistro / Café. The staff are absolutely brilliant, the food etc superb, the whole operation is well rehearsed and ran like clockwork. Our 'skipper' wa s Rik who actually lives on the river, was very knowledgeable and very friendly. The Afternoon tea was a delight, the river ride superb and our host Rik the best. If you're visiting Oxford you should not miss a riverboat trip with these guys.

Great trip out in the river

We really enjoyed this boat trip, entertaining, good fun and really warm and friendly atmosphere throughout. Food and service at the restaurant were fab too! Would highly recommend.

Absolutely amazing

Not only was the weather perfect, the whole experience was absolutely lovely. The skipper knew everything, despite his young age, so we got a lot of new knowledge out of it as well. Can definitely recommend this cruise. Afterwards we had lunch at the Folly Restaurant, from where you begin the cruise, and that was extremely nice food. Going back very soon.

Relaxed

The skipper was a mind of information and put it over really well, well organised from start to finish which made it all very enjoyable and relaxing. Would recommend.

Lovely experience

Really enjoyed the trip. Captain was very informative and friendly. Lovely experience. Highly recommend 👍

Highly recommend!

I highly recommend! A fantastic river tour with an excellent guide (he also steered the boat) who pointed things out and engaged with everyone. The boat was so quiet and there was only seating for 12 so it felt very personal. My husband and I are locals and often walk the river path and it was nice to see the river from the boat and find out more about the area.

Great trip

Great way to see Oxford from a different angle. Very peaceful beautiful views. Friendly staff great commentary

Fantastic hour in Oxford

Delightful hour cruising down the river Isis learning about the regatta and rowing culture, as well as general Oxford history as told by our wonderful and very entertaining guide Will, wonderful

Lovely boat trip

Very good knew lots of history. Very pleasant bloke . Loved that there was blankets to cover your legs

A relaxing experience ..

A smooth registration and checking in process. Our guide, Will, was very informative and delivered a relaxing ride along, in the river boat, Bacchanalia.. The trip inspired my husband and I to visit the Oxford Museum where there were some super exhibits about the importance of swimming and enjoying the Oxford waterways. If there is a con to be expressed it would be that the seats on the boat should ideally be designed to sit facing one way, towards the front of the cruise, in order for all passengers to enjoy the broad views and inculcate a near panoramic experience. Overall, I lovely start to a day where we were celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary..and thankfully, the rain stayed away!! We will certainly revisit Oxford and take in another experience when the weather is warmer and sunnier.

perfect cruise

fantastic trip, gorgeous scenery/views, really helpful/informative guide. well worth it. would recommend. thank you

Sweet ride.

Listening to the stories about the river and the boats parked along it. The guide was interesting and funny.

Beautiful boat,Great Capten.

The Capten did the whole trip.Great character and could tell story's from the river.Thank you. Patricia and Emma-Sweden Ps.we changed time from 10.30 to 10,wery helpful staff.ds

River trip

The views were amazing and the tour guide was really knowledgeable and very funny! Lovely way to spend a sunny afternoon

Beautiful, relaxing way to see a different sid eof Oxford

Loved our beautiful, peaceful time on the river with Captain Nick who was very knowledgeable, informative, fun and went over and above helping people on the tour. Thoroughly recommend and will do it again if we come to Oxford. We booked online and we're very happy with the information provided and the ease of booking.

Relaxing river trip

A relaxing river trip. Small boat and Sean our guide was friendly and adapted commentary to his crew, both young and old.

An absolutely lovely, relaxing, boat ride - definitely recommended.

An absolutely lovely, relaxing, boat ride - definitely recommended. We traveled up and down parts of the Isis (Thames) and had an informative and relaxing journey on a sunny Sunday afternoon. All the staff from arrival at The Folly to the Skipper of the boat were fantastic. We'll be booking one of the picnic or meal deals they offer for family birthdays in the future.

Excellent

What a great way to spend time in Oxford. So relaxing and so well narrated during your trip. Highly recommended. Done this trip before. Excellent

Excellent boat cruise

Very interesting family boat cruise on August bank holiday for grandparents, parents and infant. Henry our captain and commentator was very knowledgeable and humourous. It would be good if there were speakers at the front of the boat as it was difficult to hear him from time to time.

Beautiful Cruise in Oxford!

Lovely trip. The host Shawn was so welcoming and shared really interesting facts which you will never find yourself. The boat was superb as well. Highly recommend booking in advance and reaching early as the reception area is by the river as well.

Great trip

Beautiful views interesting commentary, lovely way to see Oxford .loved seeing all the boathouse lots of water fowls.

A great fun trip

It was a lovely trip, the person in control of the boat was very friendly and had a lot of interesting points. The scenery was beautiful

Amazing trip

It was very wonderful tour and the guide tour is nice with a sense of humour which he makes the trip so enjoyable. I highly recommended this tour

Very interesting insights...

Very interesting insights to the river and university races. Funny anecdotes and even time for a walk to the lock.

Relaxing cruise

A relaxing,comfortable cruise ably skippered by Emily who gave a very knowledgeable commentary as we progressed along the river. Quiet & tranquil with electric motor power. On return leg some chilled music to take in the view.

The frustrated bit of our stay in Oxford...

Unfortunately a very disappointing experience with customer service. We were on our way to the meeting point, when we learned that the road the sat nav was taking us was shot. We had to take a detour which added extra 10min to our walk. I was trying to call the front desk multiple times- no answer. We got to the meeting point 5min late by which the boat has left without us. However, we believe that the headlining of the situation by customer service was terrible. First of all, there is only a few roads leading to the meeting point. If you know that one of the roads is shut- send out an email to your customers. When we asked why nobody picked up the phone, we were told "they were probably busy". We were then told that there are spaces on the next slot but we have to pay again to get on those. We of course had a picture of the road closure and screenshot of the phone calls I tried to make but there wasn't any understanding from the staff. I understand that we were late, but this was a very unfortunate situation that could have been handled by the operator much better. It would cost them nothing but it would make a huge difference.

Great!!

Our guide really made the trip what it was. He was very knowledgable and really entertaining, we really enjoyed the trip and he made it so much better! Unfortunately I didn’t get his name. The boat was clean, comfortable and very cute. The route was great, taking in lots of different sights. Would recommend to anyone! We were also lucky enough to see some of the races.

Great Cruise

This great cruise was a fantastic start to a girl’s day with my daughter, sister in law & niece. The guide was really friendly, informative & had a great sense of humour which made things very entertaining for my 10 month old daughter. He imparted lots of really interesting information about the water ways, boats & students who use them. He was also super helpful with our buggy, kindly storing it for us when we boarded. A brilliant cruise with great views that I’d highly recommend.