Have you ever wanted to try living on a boat? Well, there are certainly a lot of options out there for you! If life in the belly of a 36-foot sailboat isn’t your idea of fun, no worries. There are plenty of houseboats out there that challenge the idea of traditional boat habitations! From floating luxury homes to flat-out weird rafts, here is a list of some of the world’s most spectacular houseboats
1 Hobbit Houseboat
You know you want one of these! The Hobbit Houseboat is located in India, and you can rent and stay in it. That beats a hotel any day! The houseboat is accented with circular doors and windows, making you feel like you’re on a floating version of the Shire. If you stay here, you may get the sense that a wizard might pound on your door at any moment. You can take the help of a company like HTO India travel agency to book it.
2 Yellow Submarine
Are you visiting Liverpool, the home of the Beatles? If so, take advantage of the opportunity to stay in a floating Beatles-inspired hotel. The Yellow Submarine looks a whole lot like the picture on the Beatles album of the same name. As a plus, the inside is pretty rad, too! It’s painted in a crazy psychedelic fashion and contains interesting memorabilia from the era.
3 The Cosmic Muffin
It’s a boat! It’s a plane! No—it’s a houseboat made from a plane! This is one of the wackiest houseboats you’ll ever find. It was constructed in 1969 from the remains of a defunct Boeing 307. A lot of the plane was actually left as-is, including the cockpit. However, the seats were taken out to give the house part of the boat a little more living space.
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4 Maldives Floating House
If you want luxury and an ocean view, you can’t get any better than this! The Maldives Floating House was designed by Dymity Malcew, an ultra-modern designer whose work has a classy flair. This particular structure is a double-decker, with a glassed-in living area on top and a covered open-air lounge on the bottom.
5 Camping Raft
On the complete opposite spectrum from the ultra-luxe designer houseboats, camping rafts are pretty basic and not all that comfortable. Still, they’re cozy and sort of epic. These Dutch houseboats are tents located on heavy-duty rafts. You can camp out in the middle of the water and spend all day fishing! Sportsmen, rejoice! The spectacular thing about this houseboat isn’t the quality of the boat itself. It’s the view and the chance to connect with nature in a way you never have before.
6 Port X
If you’re in Prague, this is just about the coolest place to stay! This houseboat has a single curved wall that makes up three sides of the structure, while the rest is glassed in to provide a stunning view of the River Vltava. Want to stay here? It costs $193 for one person per night on Airbnb.
7 The Exbury Egg
While the Beaulieu River in the United Kingdom is home to many waterfowl varieties, it’s the people who have contributed the biggest egg on the river. The Exbury Egg is just big enough to qualify as a livable space, and it does include everything you need—with a hammock instead of the bed, of course. If you want to experience the minimalist life (and what it feels like to be a fetal bird), this is the houseboat for you!
8 Floating Office
Houseboats aren’t just for living, apparently. The owners of St. Katherine Docks hired Eco Floating Homes to design and build an earth-friendly office in the Thames! Not only is it ultra-trendy, it’s also unique and quite appropriate for the business. And did I mention that it has a killer view?
9 Crossover Houseboat
If you’re in the yachting world, you probably recognize Crossover as the name of a yacht company. Well, Crossover has crossed over into a new market—upscale houseboats. This houseboat takes luxe to a new level! It has the sleekness and rich class of a yacht, but the boxy shape and hominess of a traditional houseboat. Wood paneling, nautical upholstery, and incredible water views—you really can’t beat this.
10 Floating Bungalow
Do you love the idea of a yellow house with a white fence? Well, you can get one of those on the water, believe it or not. St. John’s River is home to several traditional boats and one big houseboat! If you want to rent this literal floating house, you can check out the listing on Airbnb.
11 The River Den
If you don’t mind any electricity, this tiny house boat is pretty awesome. It’s painted a deep blue to match the water below, and it has more windows than wall space! As a plus, you can even chill on a deck chair on the roof. If you’re going to spend some time cottaging in Quebec, why not do it on the water?
12 Train Car Houseboat
You’ve seen a plane houseboat, so what could be more natural than to also appreciate a train houseboat? This privately-owned 50-foot Sausalito houseboat is created using a 120-year-old train car and a concrete hull. They still use the train’s stovepipe to heat their home!
13 Sleepless in Seattle Houseboat
We couldn’t have a list of spectacular houseboats without including the most famous one of all! If you’ve seen the chick flick Sleepless in Seattle, then you’re sure to know precisely what I’m talking about. This beautiful floating home boat over 2,000 square feet, a complete wrap-around deck, and sturdy brick walls. This is pretty much the best real estate in Seattle.
Of all the unconventional lifestyles out there, houseboat life is one of the coolest! This is where luxury meets epic and trendy meets quirky. Which of these houseboats do you like the best? Would you move in if you had a chance? Let us know in the comments!
