Each guide answers one specific question and points to the readings and the official rules where useful. For a direct recommendation, start with the quiz; to compare the trips you can book, see the hire page.
Planning your trip
- Which river should you choose for your trip?
Semois, Lesse, Amblève or Ourthe: compare required skill, duration, scenery and access to choose the river that suits your group for kayaking in Belgium.
- Best time to go kayaking in the Belgian Ardennes
Spring, summer or autumn: what each season changes, the permitted periods and hours, and how river flow decides the best date for kayaking in the Ardennes.
- River grades and skill levels: where do you fit?
Understand the river grading scale, the skill level needed on each Belgian river and how to progress safely in kayaking, from the Semois to the Amblève.
- Which trip suits you?
Transport, group, youngest age, experience, wishes, fitness, time and dog: the quiz picks the river, then the kayak trip that suits you in the Ardennes.
With children or a dog
- Family kayaking: making the first trip a success
What age to start paddling, which boat, which route and which safety rules to follow for a successful first family kayaking trip on the Semois river.
- Kayaking with your dog
Dogs are welcome free of charge on the Semois. Boat, suitable route, heat, dog life jacket and gear: prepare a relaxed kayaking trip for two.
Technique and fitness
- Paddling technique for river kayaking
How to hold your paddle, sit in the kayak, paddle without tiring and recover from a wobble: the basic paddling technique for kayaking down a river.
- Kayaking and health: what you need to know
What kayaking does for body and mind, how to protect your back and shoulders, and which health risks to know about before you go paddling on a river.
Understanding water levels
- Paddling rules and river flow limits in Wallonia
Minimum and maximum river flow for kayaking on the Semois, Lesse, Ourthe, Amblève and Viroin, as set by the 2009 Walloon decree. Who decides and where to check.
- How the forecast flow is calculated
Data, rainfall-runoff model, five-day horizon and limits: the method behind the forecast flow shown on the river pages of this kayaking site.
- A live river reading on your website
Show the live flow, water temperature and paddling status of an Ardennes river on your website, updated automatically. Free, no sign-up needed.
- Kayaking FAQ: your questions answered
Beginners, children, dogs, equipment, water level, prices and cancellation: answers to the most common questions before a kayaking trip in the Ardennes.
Background
- History of the kayak, from the Arctic to the Ardennes
Inuit origins, the meaning of the word, the materials that followed and the main kayak types today: how a hunting boat became a leisure craft for everyone.