Dartmouth Boat Hire
Dartmouth Boat Hire
4.5
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Full view

About
Self - drive motor boats on the beautiful River Dart. Explore the river, moor outside a pub for lunch, pick up a mooring buoy for a picnic. 5 miles of beautiful river to explore. Fish from the boats or crab from a pontoon, visit one of the local villages, or a pub for lunch, pick up a mooring bouy boats available for 2hrs, 3hrs, 4hrs or 6hrs, first available boats is a 10am, and the last returning boat must be 4pm. We are situated in the middle of Dartmouth right on the Quayside by the bandstand, probably the best location to start your cruise from.
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Similar Experiences
Dartmouth Boat Hire
Booking unavailable on Tripadvisor
Want other options you can book now?
Show optionsTravellers talk about


Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
79 reviews
Excellent
60
Very good
10
Average
0
Poor
3
Terrible
6
Chocolate Bobbin
Wisbech, UK21 contributions
May 2023 • Family
What a lovely welcoming to Dartmouth on our first day. We met the lovely couple that own Dartmouth boat centre. We had such an enjoyable day. We came back the next day with friends. We were allowed to explore the whole bay, at our leisure, we had a health and safety briefing, and although boating is a serious thing we felt as though we had the flexibility to enjoy our day. Seven of us jumped on one boat for four hours and it was the best value for money excursion that we did for the duration of our holiday. I strongly recommend it as I believe it will fail to disappoint.
Written 28 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AlistairD
Ipplepen, UK8 contributions
Aug 2023
We have used Dartmouth Boat Hire three times now and each time it gets better!
The couple that run the business are so friendly and helpful - you start with a proper safety briefing, then they help with life jackets for all the family (and the dog) and then there is a briefing on how the boat works and where to go.
The boats are small but perfect for the river and ideal for a family and are clean and well maintained. You can use the boats between the Castles and Dittisham and there are literally thousands of boats to see, gorgeous houses to look at and the scenery is delightful.
You can moor up for a picnic or stop at Dittisham and enjoy the Ferry Boat Inn or the Anchorstone cafe - both are excellent.
The couple that run the business are so friendly and helpful - you start with a proper safety briefing, then they help with life jackets for all the family (and the dog) and then there is a briefing on how the boat works and where to go.
The boats are small but perfect for the river and ideal for a family and are clean and well maintained. You can use the boats between the Castles and Dittisham and there are literally thousands of boats to see, gorgeous houses to look at and the scenery is delightful.
You can moor up for a picnic or stop at Dittisham and enjoy the Ferry Boat Inn or the Anchorstone cafe - both are excellent.
Written 25 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Philip E
Bath, UK17 contributions
Aug 2020 • Family
James was our contact at DBH and he was excellent and very efficient. The boat was spot on and part covered so the children could shelter from the foul weather. Travelling up the Dart was superb which included the sighting of two seals. We trip to berth at Stoke Gabriel but the pontoon was full of sensible people staying at home in the warm and dry! All in all great fun and great value.
Written 27 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alan S
Derbyshire, UK58 contributions
Aug 2024 • Family
Booked 8 seater boat for two hours. On arrival filled out paperwork with contact details while rest of party put on life jackets. We were given a quick briefing on where we could and could not go, and hazards to be aware of. Then I put my life jacket on and caught toggle and life jacket inflated. Apparently this is a £30 charge to re gas despite no I structures and warnings on the use of life jackets. As for boats, they worked as boats, but slightly run down. River Dart was beautiful with one seal spotted. I did speak about my concerns with Steve who apologised for the lack of instructions on the use of life jackets, putting this down to new staff under training. But £30 fee still applied.
Written 15 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I am sorry you were dissatisfied with you experience.
I was present at the time and witnessed you inflating the life jacket after you had been wearing it for a few minutes. The people with you found it most amusing and were taking photographs of you.
Most of your party said they had enjoyed the day out immensely on return, and were most complimentary.
It costs us £30 to re gas the jacket, fortunately this is a rare experience.
We now make a point of emphasizing not to pull the toggle unless you are in the water, which I mistakenly thought was obvious.
My mistake and I apologize for any embarrassment this may have caused.
At least your party had a good laugh about it!
Written 19 August 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
BrianG1964
Bristol, UK5 contributions
May 2021 • Couples
My wife and I hired a boat for 2 hours, long enough to go up to the castle, and to Dittisham and back at a leisurely pace. Nice to see the coastline from the river, an added bonus was to also see the the steam train. Lovely couple running the boats, friendly and approachable, all instructions clear to understand. Would highly recommend hiring one of their boats, you won’t be disappointed.
Written 20 May 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi there and thanks for the review, we are really pleased you enjoyed your time on one of our boats, and hope to see you again sometime, maybe take a boat for a longer period and enjoy the further reaches of the beautiful river Dart next time.
Kind Regards
Stuart
Written 21 May 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Martin007
Coventry, UK5 contributions
Sept 2020
Hiring a boat on the river Dart is THE best way to see the river and the stunning sights, So we hired a day hire boat from this company-great communication, great handover in these difficult times, the boat was a little dated but function-able, we cruised down the the mouth of the river (the limit) and saw the castles, then cruised up to Dittisham where we stopped at the local pub the Ferry boat inn for lunch, then had a relaxing cruise back to Dartmouth. We felt like the captain of our own little super yacht. We were told that Dolphins and Seals can often be seen in the river, not this time for us. Great way to spend some time in Dartmouth, highly recommended!
Written 2 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Brant
Sittingbourne, UK3 contributions
Aug 2024 • Family
Me, my wife and the kids had a smashing (not literally) time on one the boats we hired. I love taking photos of scenery and more importantly, my family, this was ideal for that!
The price was reasonable for two hours as well compared to other places.
To top it off, the staff were very friendly!
The price was reasonable for two hours as well compared to other places.
To top it off, the staff were very friendly!
Written 17 September 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
YorkshireGucci
Yorkshire93 contributions
Aug 2021 • Family
Last minute booking, very friendly and accommodating, communication was excellent. All instructions were clear and delivered very well by the young lad working there. Boat looked well maintained and we had a lovely two hour journey up to Dittisham and back to the Castle, river busy but felt safe. Very highly recommended.
Written 17 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jack H
Kent, UK6 contributions
Sept 2024 • Family
A fantastic experience from start to finish.
We were met at the kiosk by James who explained the route, the boat and anything else we needed to know.
James was absolutely brilliant - extremely polite and couldn't have been more helpful.
The boat was perfect, plenty of room for our bags and very easy to operate.
The route we went on was beautiful and we even had time to stop at the pub in Dittisham for a couple of beers.
Overall 10 out of 10.
We were met at the kiosk by James who explained the route, the boat and anything else we needed to know.
James was absolutely brilliant - extremely polite and couldn't have been more helpful.
The boat was perfect, plenty of room for our bags and very easy to operate.
The route we went on was beautiful and we even had time to stop at the pub in Dittisham for a couple of beers.
Overall 10 out of 10.
Written 26 September 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The dishevelled traveler
322 contributions
Jul 2022 • Family
We tried to book this Saturday but they were booked solid. So we headed back this morning after booking online. The staff are really friendly and knowledgeable. Boating is such great fun and you don’t need to be an expert to have a great couple hours on the water. (You just have to follow a few basic rules.). After a good briefing, we went up to the castle at the estuary and took some pics before heading down river against the tide to Dittisham. My girls loved it and 2 hours was plenty to have fun and take in the views. You’d need a bit longer of stopping for refreshments at Dittisham. All in all an awesome day. Thank you so much. We will definitely be back.
Written 31 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Can you borrow fishing equipment? And buy bait?
Written 30 April 2023
We need a boat for 5 adults, two children and a baby. Do you have anything big enough please snd if so how much would it be for half a day.....sometime next week. Thanks Diane
Written 27 July 2016
Perry S
London, United Kingdom
Yes we have one boat for that number. Please use our website to book as quicker
Written 28 July 2016
Showing results 1-3 of 3
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.