There is no better way to experience the lakes and rivers than in a houseboat. Whether you are alone or in a group, there are hosueboats of all sizes to cater for the number of people going on the trip.

Infact, the name houseboat may be a mere misnomer for houseboats are truly homes. They can be equipped with all the necessities and luxuries of a home ranging from televison sets to barbeques. They can be said to be luxurious villas or vacation ranches.

There are several companies providing houseboat vacation for holiday makers.

Sun Houseboat Vacations which offers vacations around the Upper Mississippi River is an excellent houseboat rental company located at Sunset Bay Marina. The unique postion of Sun Houseboat allows visitors to catch a paranomaic glimpse of LaCrosse, Wisconsin and Winona, all in Minnessota.

You will love to sail on their Fun N Sun which has excellent facilities for campers interested in houseboating. They have boats of all size , 42-foot family boat to the 56 x 16 foot deluxe model with operating bridges. The company charges between $1,495 and $3,595 for their boats.

On a typical cruise, Fun'N The Sun will set sail from the Great River Harbor, travel through La Crosse, giving you a fantastic view of the river towns and maginificent greenery. For the adventure loving, you can cross over into the treacherous and historic St. Croix River. Sun Houseboat offers vacationers and renters charts and guidebooks which shows you the route and techniques for handling the boat. On the web , Sun Houseboat is found at http://www.funsun.com/where.asp and physically located at S 2221 State Highway 35, Alma, Wisconsin.

A houseboat holdiay should be planned as carefully as any other vacation. We discuss below how to organsie a housebaoat holiday.

First, choose an appropriate boat. If you are a group of 30, you may want to choose a boat size of 50 people in case some people have to join you incidentally then you dont have to cram up.

Next , you would have to choose an appropriate date. If you intend to do some ecotourism in addition such as viewing of some particular birds and sighting some plants, you may have to choose the date within which these appearances are available so you dont lose out on anything.

Food planning should be of great concern to you. Here you have several options you can puchase all your food and bring them on board or shop along the towns the dot the water course you will be visiting on your holiday. You will have to be very sure about supplies of the stores along the rivers as most will stock supplies that have a high turnaround with the local residents.

Getting an enjoyable vacation in a houseboat is not far from reach. With a small budget and easy planning, you can explore the entire stretch of river courses and enjoy its banks to the fullest.