Norfolk Broads Direct Reviews 

Wonderful! Staff were great. Fantastic holiday experience

Norfolk Broads Direct run a smooth operation with friendly helpful staff and really nice, comfortable, well equipped charter boats. Although we only chartered for 3 nights (2 full days over a weekend) we had a really relaxing and fulfilling time. We enjoyed our Broads experience immensely.

It was different......
Challenging at times
Lovely to be in nature
Happy fun people
Something different every day

Nice to get away and totally relax away from the hustle and bustle nice to relax and take in the beautiful views as you go along the broads .
The boats are great as always as this is our third booking with you .
You staff are very helpful .and as always a nice welcome pack with treats for us and our dog .

The booking was very easy, the website gave us a really good idea of the boat we booked.
The staff were very friendly and helpful giving extra tips for where to moor and places to visit. As first time boaters the staff were happy to answer all our questions and reassured us that if there were any problems or questions along our journey they would be available. We didn’t have any problems but we did encounter staff that were out and about who were happy to chat anyway .
The overall experience was great and we’ve booked again.

Good reception on arrival,Carl was very helpful with instructing us on boat handling,although fair monarch was a listed as a four berth cruiser it would be very tight for 4 adults,there were 3 of us and we found it constrictive,especially the forward cabin and it's facilities. Bathroom in rear cabin could do with refitting fitting as it looked tired.Cooking facilities were good,cupboard space and fridge good.In all a reasonable experience.

Our second visit this year and our 12th year coming so that should be a good recommendation. Lovely clean and tidy accommodation with great views, staff all friendly which means a lot. Already booked for next year.

Booked fair majesty 1 for a short break, expected handover time 2.30 as booking information, received messages saying maybe available earlier? from 12.30? so arrived early but vessel not available until 3.15 then had to chase excuse vessel being checked??
Excellent service from the reception staff and handover team
But while taking over after vessel the so called checks by there staff still a fault on inverter so had to wait for a repair?
When finally getting underway the following issues where found!
Dirty grime on forward cabin entrance.
Dirty steering wheel control's.
Bare electrical wiring on windscreen wiper motor and supply.( With young children on board unacceptable)
Aft bed large collapsed hole in middle of mattress((unmissable when changing bedding).
Rear toilet pan disgusting showing signs of remnants of previous use.
No captain's manual for information.
The five star rated listing on website very misleading as the comparable cost of hiring this vessel compared to competitors equivalent it's expensive and disappointing and to get a vessel of a two star rating not five as advertised unacceptable,
I now feel I cannot recommend Norfolk broads direct to friends or family as I have previously done so this was not my first holiday with Norfolk broads direct but probably the last on return of vessel no one asked if any problems needed addressing ?,
If this is now the normal state of cleaning it is falling far far short of my previous experience with Norfolk broads direct

Photos are available if requested

Friendly staff. Boat available early. Goody bag most welcome. Extra bedding and towels provided for our second week. Towels could be a little bigger. Boat was immaculately presented as always. Parking on arrival before check-in was difficult, signage to the specific spaces could be improved. Centre cockpit enabled us to visit places we had not previously when we hired boats with a top deck. More centre cockpit boats needed for small families

Four days of blue skies and sun made the trip. The boat provided great space for a family of five to spread out and not feel on top of each other. Overnight at How Hill, dropping anchor in South Walsham and an afternoon/evening at The Lion Inn the highlights.

We live local, but had been wondering what life on the Broads and a holiday cottage would be like.
We choose Corton Rouge Cottages( number 4)because it was close to everything and literally was on the broads.
The cottage itself is very small ;but comfortable. There are things that need changing in it i.e. microwave is very rusty and needs replacing and it also needs a washing machine. There is a dishwasher, but in my opinion a washing machine is far more important.The bathroom is very 1990s and outdated and definitely needs a walk-in shower ,and also the red carpet needs replacing, not only is it grubby,but also very old fashioned.When you pay £220 a night the expectations are high ,but these cottages really do need a bit of TLC.
Saying that… You cannot fault the location. Walk out of the French doors and the view is amazing. Literally right on the Broads with all the life that the broad has to offer.
The heron sitting there waiting for his breakfast every day from the fisherman ,and all the boat traffic was lovely to watch ,and everyone gave you a wave when you went past. I guess the price of the cottage is all about the location which is perfect.
Will we return… If circumstances allow , but the cost of £220 a night ( midweek price, it’s even more expensive at the weekends)is very steep although we did have a lovely time!

Brilliant weather nice boat nice staff all good

Cottage was lovely and clean and the conversion well thought out, the only let down was the outside space. Most people would book the cottage for the outside and view on being right on the water but sadly the patio was a bit of a let down. The outside furniture was mismatched and needed a good clean, there was big stinging nettle right in the middle of the gate where you would walk - such a shame as the cottage internally was lovely. I think the 2 steps to the front door could do with a rethink - they are a little 'rustic' and wobbled when walked on, not the safest for kids or elderly.

Great location right on the river with always plenty to see. Tealby is a great house with ample room for our family of 6.With 3 pubs + 2 restaurants and a deli all within a 10 minute walk it is ideally situated.

Very good check in and induction experience fair consort is a great handling , comfortable and practical boat. Unfortunately the cleaning wasn’t up to the normal standard with greasy handles on the wardrobe and bedroom woodwork looked scruffy. The toilet seat was stained underneath the rest of the boat was very clean so it looks like the aft end didn’t get cleaned

The boat was ready ahead of time so we were able to have the tutorial with the friendly staff and get on our way. The boat itself was clean and tidy and big enough for our family of 4 plus 2 dogs.
We travelled on the Northern broads for 4 nights and loved every moment. We are now planning another trip to explore the Southern broads.
We would highly recommend to anyone.

We love coming to the Norfolk Broads. This is our 3rd or 4th time at staying at White Gables, location is perfect.
We did find that this time the spec was a little off. We found old drawings down the back of bedroom furniture and under the bed in one room upstairs, we were looking for jewellery we’d dropped and found these items whilst searching. The living room furniture could do with a good clean we took throws for the dogs so the marks were not us. We went at the start of the heatwave so used the patio facilities, but only after I spent over an hour cleaning down to he furniture, glass a patio as it was full of dust, cobwebs and had a dirty table.

Norfolk Broads Direct is well organised and friendly. The welcome and initial input was reassuring and useful. The boat was spotlessly clean and well equipped and we were lent an extension lead at no extra charge for a specific medical need which meant that we were not restricted to mooring at boating yards. This was good because when we did try using a power source from land it was very noisy in the berth, so much so that we had to unplug it to sleep. Before we embarked, we were provided with a map and we were shown which boatyards could be used and which moorings had power. In the event however, this guidance was not so useful as the boatyard we tried was full and we had to wait three hours to be allocated a space. The one private mooring with power that we tried was unmanned and the power source was apparently not working.
Manoeuvring the boat in reverse was not easy without a boom thruster especially when the wind was up and the river was running with some speed. Being on a short break there was little time to develop our boat-handling skills. This meant that mooring was quite stressful.
However, the weather was perfect and we were glad to have a low hull and a sliding roof which protected us from the full sun while still allowing the air to flow.
The broads and the river channels were beautiful and peaceful mostly, despite it being high season and the channels were alive and thriving with plants and birds. The stress of mooring aside, we couldn't help but relax, being so close to nature, on our short stay.
Would we go again? Yes, but next time for a week and we'd either look for a boat with a boom thruster or we'd take time to hone our skills - perhaps half a day on one of the broads.

The bed room had a major black mold issue, all around the windows and in all the seams of the wall. This was not a cosmetic issue but a quality of life issue, you could smell and taste the bold when you breathed and woke up with a scratchy throat. We ventilated very well and wiped the whole area with antiseptic wipes after the second night, which helped for 24 hours, but things got bad again after 2 days. We alerted the company and hope they can do a proper deep clean now that they know (the window sills are black so they may not have noticed, we want to give them the benefit of the doubt). Otherwise the staff was nice and boat drove well.

Steering was ok but mooring up was a challenge especially stern in. The Broads is a very picturesque area and other holiday makers were very helpful.