Houseboating 101: Your Murray River houseboat questions answered

Houseboating the Murray River is simple - you don’t need a boat license to know port from starboard (just your left from right) or be a scout with experience tying overly complicated knots.

A sense of adventure and a driver’s license is all you need to go with The Murray flow. Following a quick mooring lesson, you can venture off in any direction with your crew.

To help you get on your way faster, we’ve answered some of the most common Murray River houseboat questions.

How many people can you take?

Houseboats are like people - they come in all shapes and sizes, have different personalities and each bring something different to the world.

On The Murray small simple houseboats usually sleep around four to six people and are perfect for couples or single families looking to escape.

While large luxury houseboats feature multiple storeys, a huge hot tub, two huge lounge rooms and sleep up to 12 people with ensuite bedrooms.

Whether you’re travelling to relax and escape with the family, or bring a big group together for a good time, you’ll find a houseboat size and style to match.

Where can you go?

The Murray River is long, wide and there’s at least 200km of navigable river for you to explore from any starting point – the only limit is time.

Each houseboat operator shows you how far you can head up or down the Murray River, and the sights you can see along the way.

Houseboats cruise along at a steady but slow pace of around 8 km/h downstream and 4 km/h upstream, so where you go depends on how much time you want to spend cruising versus exploring on dry land.

The Murray River itself is a lifeline that gives you access to thousands of things to do on a houseboat. Pull up at Trentham Estate Winery near Mildura or pass through Lock 11 and explore Coomealla Golf Club near Wentworth.

Around Echuca Moama, drop by Morrison’s Winery, stop for a chic brunch at Three Black Sheep, or find a riverside bank and picnic among the river red gums.

You can moor the boat just about anywhere, so if you spy a beautiful patch of river stop for a swim or simply enjoy the serenity of the place.

Where do you leave your car?

As a general rule, you can park your car, caravan or trailer at the mooring site of the houseboat company for the duration of your river escape.

Of course, each individual operator has different parking facilities, and some can provide secure storage or powered sites (for caravans) for a small fee.

Which operator should I choose?

There are around 20 houseboat operators located along The Murray, so it pays to do your research and find the houseboat to match your needs.

Think about where you want to depart from, how many people are in your group, your price point, and whether you want all the luxury mod cons or just simple living.