I've been boating on the broads 3 times now, and can certainly recommend it. I have only every done the north broads, however I have been told that the south broads is more picturesque however less to do and larger gaps between villages. A few tips I can think of off hand:
o Try and book your boat to leave from Wroxham. Stallham and Potter Heigham are pretty quiet places and not the best place to start/finish your holiday. Wroxham on the other hand has a good few shops and restaurants, The Roys of Wroxham department store is great for picking up last minute things you forgot or buying souveniers afterwards.
o Go for a boat that has 240v, it makes life a lot easier and avoids having to charge everything from a cigarette lighter point.
o If you are going for a larger boat (42-46 foot), make sure you have bow thrusters, it makes a big difference.
o Be very aware of the height of your boat and what bridges you can/can't get under. Also remember that just because you can get through, it doesn''t mean you can get back (due to the tides). It's easy to waste a day of your holiday because you are stuck the wrong side of the bridge.
o If you do get a boat from Wroxham, aim to stop your first night at Horning, it's a nice length of journey to get used to the boat, and there is 3 pubs that you can park in the beer garden of.
o None of the boats are particularly secure (although one or two do have safes) so only take with you valuables that you can carry around with you. Saying that though I haven't heard of anyone who has had their boat broken in to.
o Potter Heigham is good for fish and chips, but there's not a lot else there.
o Theres a really nice pub up past Wayford bridge, it's sisters pub is also good at Acle bridge.
o How Hill (on the Ant) is really nice, however there is no restaurant there so it's best to stop there on the way up to Stallham, Wayford etc.
o If you intend on fishing, then the river Ant tends to be better than the other rivers.
o Take a sat-nav with you if you can. Trying to judge speed by engine RPM is difficult when the tide can add/subtract a few miles an hour.
o Boats vary hugley, we had a low "tug boat" the first time, and it was basic to say the least. The last couple of times we've gone for something like the picture below, which makes evenings in far more enjoyable, however it does restrict the bridges you can go under more.
explain...
Be warned!
