Mecklenburg, Brandenburg and Berlin

Lake country, not canal country

Mecklenburg's waterways don't feel like France. There are no shaded plane trees, no flights of locks, no towpath cyclists keeping pace with the boat. This is a vast, flat landscape of interconnected lakes and slow rivers, punctuated by reedbeds, pine forest and the occasional baroque palace rising out of the trees. Boats here run licence-free across much of the region, which changes the character of a week afloat — less form-filling at the start, more time on open water.

One past guest put it plainly: the lake region is very different from the canals of France, and very lovely. That's the honest pitch. If you've cruised the Midi or the Canal du Nivernais and want something similar, this isn't it. If you want space, swimming off the back of the boat, and the sense of a landscape that still belongs more to herons than to holidaymakers, it's the right place.

Starting from Jabel or Marina Wolfsbruch

There are two bases. Jabel sits in the heart of Lake Country, within a couple of hours' cruise of Lake Müritz — Germany's largest inland lake, big enough to feel like the sea on a breezy afternoon. It's a good choice if you want to stay north, take your time, and concentrate on watersports and the Müritz National Park shoreline. Nearest station is Waren/Müritz, 11 km away; Berlin Brandenburg airport is 200 km south.

Marina Wolfsbruch, Le Boat's largest German base, sits further south at Kleinzerlang and opens onto a wider playing field. Rheinsberg Castle, with its lakeside terraces and quiet park, is just over an hour away. Müritz is five hours to the north. Eastwards, a network of smaller lakes and villages unfolds towards the Brandenburg plain. Wolfsbruch is 12 km from Rheinsberg station and the same 200 km from Berlin Brandenburg airport. For a week that mixes castles, villages and open-water cruising, it's the more flexible starting point.

A week on the water

Days settle into a rhythm of two or three hours' cruising, a long lunch at anchor, and an afternoon either swimming or walking off into the pine woods from wherever you've tied up. The water is famously clear — this is drinking-quality lake country. Mooring is often at small village pontoons or in reed-fringed bays rather than formal marinas, and it pays to know the local rules: Lake Müritz, for instance, prohibits anchoring, so space in its marinas can tighten in peak summer. Plan the overnight stops rather than improvising late.

Berlin is reachable from Wolfsbruch for those who want a taste of the city at the end or start of a week, though most of this cruise is resolutely rural. The appeal is the opposite of Berlin's — quiet, slow, largely unvarnished.

Bookings and practicalities

Le Boat runs self-drive Horizon-class cruisers from both bases, sleeping two to twelve, with no previous boating experience or licence required on most of the waterways here. A region guide PDF is available on request from the sales team, and the UK office handles bookings on 020 3468 2247. Allow at least ten days to do either base justice; a fortnight if you want to combine Müritz and Rheinsberg without rushing.