Who is who
Kayak Ardennes is an information and intermediary website. It does not hire out any boat and does not organise any trip. When you fill in the form of an offer, you instruct us to pass your request on to the hire company concerned: this is the only mandate you give us.
- The hire company is an independent business: Récréalle for the Semois, Kayaks Libert for the Lesse, Coo Adventure for the Amblève. It provides the equipment, the shuttle and the basic supervision of the trip.
- The site publishes the official water readings, presents the routes, receives your request, collects the platform fee and notifies the hire company.
The hire contract
The hire contract is concluded directly between you and the hire company. Its own conditions (equipment, hours, any deposit, on-board rules) apply to your trip. Kayak Ardennes is not a party to this contract and is not responsible for its performance.
Price and payment
The price displayed for each offer is the hire company’s rate plus a 10% platform fee, with a minimum of €0.50 per booking. It is paid in two steps:
- Online, when you book: only the platform fee, through Stripe.
- On site, on the day of the trip: the hire itself, at the hire company’s rate, using the payment methods it accepts.
This fee pays for the forwarding service: checking the data, holding the place where possible, sending confirmations and handling requests. The summary shown before payment details the total for the trip, the part paid online and the part to be paid to the hire company.
Booking confirmation
Your booking is taken into account once the platform fee is paid, then passed on to the hire company. The confirmation message is sent to you once the transmission is done. The scope of this confirmation depends on the river:
- Semois and Lesse: after transmission, your place is guaranteed with the hire company.
- Amblève: availability is confirmed by the hire company itself, which replies to you directly. Until it does, the trip is not secured.
If transmission takes time, you receive a payment receipt message, then the confirmation as soon as it is possible. Check that your email address and phone number are correct: the hire company uses them to reach you.
Cancellation and refund of the platform fee
You can cancel by notifying the hire company at least 24 hours before departure (by replying to the confirmation e-mail, which is addressed to them). As the hire is only paid for on site, you owe them nothing. The platform fee paid online is non-refundable, except in cases of force majeure, closure of the river by order or a fully booked hire company; in those cases it is refunded.
This fee pays for a service provided from the moment of booking. It is therefore non-refundable if you cancel or do not show up. It is refunded in three cases:
- a case of force majeure preventing the trip;
- closure of the river to navigation by order of the competent authority;
- unavailability of the hire company (fully booked), when your place cannot be honoured.
The refund covers the platform fee paid online, via the payment method used. The timing then depends on your bank. For the hire itself, no payment was made online: it is paid only on site, to the hire company.
Changing your booking
To change the date, time or group size, contact us as early as possible, quoting your booking reference (see the legal notice). We pass the request on to the hire company, which remains free to accept it depending on availability. An accepted change does not incur a new platform fee, unless the hire rate increases.
Safety and responsibility on the water
Kayaking is an outdoor activity that carries risks. Each participant remains responsible for themselves, within the limits of the law:
- being able to swim is essential;
- the life jacket is worn throughout the trip;
- the hire company’s instructions and the signage on the river apply;
- the official navigation conditions (status, flow, regulated stretches) prevail over any information on the site;
- the person who books guarantees that the participants meet these conditions, and that minors are accompanied according to the hire company’s rules.
The readings, forecasts and advice published here are indicative. They help you prepare a trip but replace neither the hire company’s decision nor your own judgement on the spot. Our liability cannot be engaged for the equipment, supervision or accidents occurring during the hire, which fall under the hire company and its insurers, except for fault on our part established in accordance with the law. The rights that the law mandatorily grants to consumers are not affected.
Right of withdrawal
For contracts concluded at a distance, the Belgian Code of Economic Law provides in principle for a 14-day right of withdrawal. This right does not apply to certain leisure services provided on a specific date or during a specific period (art. VI.53, 12° of the Code of Economic Law). A kayak trip booked for a specific date falls, as we understand it, within this exception: accordingly, you do not have a right of withdrawal after booking. You are informed of this before you pay, and the refund cases above still apply. If you are unsure about your situation, you can seek advice from a consumer information service.
Complaints
If you have a problem with the booking or the site, write to us quoting your reference and the date of the trip: we reply within a reasonable time. For a problem that occurred during the hire (equipment, shuttle, reception), first contact the hire company, which alone can remedy it on the spot. If no amicable solution is found, you may contact the Consumer Ombudsman Service, North Gate II, Boulevard du Roi Albert II 8, 1000 Brussels (mediationconsommateur.be).
Personal data
The processing of your data is described in the privacy policy.
Governing law
These terms are governed by Belgian law. The competent Belgian courts hear disputes, without prejudice to the consumer-protective rules on jurisdiction. The version applicable to your booking is the one in force on the date of booking; the current version carries the reference 2026-10-28 and this reference is recorded with your booking.