Trying to plan a week getaway in September.

I have been contemplating renting a houseboat off and on for the past few years. Spent about an hour yesterday reading reviews on best lakes.

I prefer somewhere within a day's drive which is about Tulsa (OK), Fayetteville (AR), Jonesboro (AR), Memphis (TN), or Meridian (MS) the Arkansas/Illinois state line or Tulsa, Oklahoma. Lake Ouachita in Arkansas gets good reviews and is within a day's drive.

I've rented an RV before and it looks like houseboat rentals nickel & dime you similarly (sheets, utensils, cleaning, etc). It'd be just me an my lady friend so just need a basic houseboat (ie. 1 bedroom, kitchen, small living room, and a sun deck) and jet ski.

Has anybody rented a houseboat before? If so, did you enjoy it, what are the pros/cons, would you do it again, etc?

EDIT:

Added a better description of a day's drive from my house in red font.

Zero interest in flying.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tatortodd,

I did, at Lake Texoma. Greatly enjoyed it. It's been a few years so I don't recall the name of the operator to recommend to you. The operator we rented from was smooth as buttah to work with on the rental, everything worked, we had a great time, no issues at returning it and no surprise bills or fees later.

Pro's: It had a kitchen, plenty of bedrooms, air conditioning, a slide and diving board. In fact, it was a 2 story houseboat.

Cons: It's huge and a slug to drive.

Other pro: We got a really fast boat to tow behind it and run around in. Beer runs, food runs, sight seeing. This came with the rental, I think it was an option to pick and pay for.

Yes would absolutely do again.

Lake Texoma is a nice lake, you could try to get in some striper fishing.

Should you decide to check it out, the WinStar Casino is nearby, Exit 1 on I-35 just inside Oklahoma from Texas. It's huge and has tons of great live entertainment. In fact, it's the worlds largest casino by floor space. Good food there too.

I don't know if this helps you any, but have a great time and enjoy everything.

Houseboat, I have not, but a huge pontoon boat with a couple jet skis. We pitched a couple gents and had some ice chests and a bbq grill. It was quite a great time. I was also 24 years old, and single, so that probably made it more fun. I’m old enough now, the thought of a tent on a boat and well, yeah, no thanks.

I’d be surprised if you can’t find some kind of airb&b or vrbo for houseboats.

In 2005 I traded one of my TimeShare weeks for a houseboat on Lake Eufaula in Oklahoma. It was a great time. The facility provided "valet parking" for the houseboats--when you wanted to go out, you called the office and they sent a pilot to get you out of the slip and to a small floating dock, where they jumped off and let you take over. When you came back you radioed the office and were met at the dock by a pilot, who then parked the houseboat in the slip for you. My photos of the experience are here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/...s/72157682512712454/.

flashguy

flashguy, that sounds great and liked the photos. Although, I can’t find any houseboat rentals on Lake Eufaula.

Arkansas and Illinois don't share a state line... Do you mean Arkansas and Missouri?

Beaver Lake is a fantastic lake in Northwest Arkansas, near the Arkansas/Oklahoma/Missouri borders.

Table Rock Lake is another good option another hour or two away, just north across the Central Arkansas/Missouri line. It's a bit more crowded and touristy, but may have more options for houseboat rentals as a result.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
flashguy, that sounds great and liked the photos. Although, I can’t find any houseboat rentals on Lake Eufaula.

I found this: https://www.onlyinyourstate.co...houseboat-rental-ok/
The photos look just like what I had back in 2005. And there is this: https://www.lakeeufaula.com/marinas
I was able to zoom in on one of the employee's shirt and determine that I was at the Evergreen Marina.
100_2283.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr

flashguy

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Arkansas and Illinois don't share a state line... Do you mean Arkansas and Missouri?

Beaver Lake is a fantastic lake in Northwest Arkansas, near the Arkansas/Oklahoma/Missouri borders.

Table Rock Lake is another good option another hour or two away, just north across the Central Arkansas/Missouri line. It's a bit more crowded and touristy, but may have more options for houseboat rentals as a result.

Also on the Arkansas/Missouri line is Bull Shoals Lake which is much less crowded than Lake of the Ozarks.

Hot Springs Arkansas area, 400 miles/ 6.5 hours from Houston.

http://almosthomehouseboats.com/

http://www.houseboatingarkansas.com/

https://dreamchaserhouseboats.com/

Check out Lake Cumberland - amazing houseboats, although your drive may be more than is acceptable.

We did a houseboat trip 5 or 6 years ago on Lake Vermillion (MN so way out of the area you're looking). It was a great trip - everyone loved being on the water. We didn't get anywhere quickly, but we did most of the moving early in the morning while the kids were still sleeping.

We liked it so much that we plan to buy one. We looked over the winter - luckily we held off with the 'rona hitting and uncertain job future.

Go with a reputable outfit and it'll be smooth. If there are ample hazards in the body of water you're planning to rent one on I suggest purchasing the insurance. During our week out two of the other boats hit rock (we were fishermen so had GPS lake maps and knew where to avoid) and had significant motor damage.

I've rented houseboats several times, but not in your neck of the woods.

We spent several years in a row renting on Lake Shasta and had a great time every year. We would spend a week with two other families and made great memories with the kids.

Do some homework on the body of water you plan to be on. We would bring coolers of food & beverage to do all our meals on board.

Also the big boats suck gas. We would find an inlet to moor for the night and not move far each day so we conserved fuel (cost). We had ski boats with us to play with and explore.

Cheers~

My family has camped on lake Ouachita ever year since the 50’s. My family originally lived in one of the towns that was relocated when they built the lake. For 10-12 years we would rent a houseboat for the yearly trip as it gave family members without camping equipment or the elderly a place to come stay for a night or two.

The lake is fairly large and most of the house boat rentals are in one area while other parts of the lake are undeveloped. You cannot own property on the lake so once you get away from the developed areas it’s natural shoreline. There are also hundreds of islands scattered throughout the lake that you are free to tie up to for day/night. It can be a little tricky to navigate sometimes because when the water is really low you need to stick to the River Chanel but when the water is really high some islands may be just under the surface.

quote:

Originally posted by Oz_Shadow:
Check out Lake Cumberland - amazing houseboats, although your drive may be more than is acceptable.

In central KY.
On weekends, it's the home of the Michigan Navy.
(I lived there for 9 years.)

We rented a big houseboat years ago in Ky.
It slept 16, which was what we needed.
It was a really good time.
The only problem with that big of boat was getting more than 1 person who was willing to drive it.
Not like you drive around all the time, but get where you are going pitch anchor or tie off and then do not move unless you want a change of scenery or need to take it back.
Most people drive those like they are drunk. They over steer and never go straight.

Beaver Lake as mentioned before is a big beautiful lake in N/W Arkansas formed by damming up the White River. We made several trips down there from the St Louis area with an 18 foot runabout and thought it was heaven. We haven't been there in a number of years and know nothing about houseboat rental on it.

I have a friend/customer that has a houseboat rental business in Knoxville, TN it's about 13 hours drive, there are direct flights from Houston, not sure if you want to go that far, I can get you a discount if you are interested.

https://www.norrislakehouseboats.com/

They're super fun (I've only done it out west on Lake Powell for Spring Break with hordes of others).

Good idea for a date-getaway thing.

Thanks for the feedback on lakes in the Ozarks and those of you who've rented a houseboat and enjoyed it.

Disappointed in Texas as the owners treat them as floating houses (i.e. you sleep on them moored to the dock and have to hire hire a captain to take them out on the lake).

Rented a houseboat as a "home base" for a guys' fishing trip. Anchored near the mouth of the Alachua river and went out in the Gulf of Mexico to fish daily.

It was great to sleep on the water in air conditioned comfort. The bathroom wasn't super luxurious but it was functional and had hot water.

The kitchen was functional and worked well enough. We had our own smaller boats for getting anything we needed. (More beer)