The Bata Region

Bata Canal

The historic coal waterway is now a boating eldorado. Put on a striped T-shirt, rent a boat and cruise through the system of lock chambers from Otrokovice to Sudoměřice near Hodonín. Make a stop at the wharf or wine cellar and enjoy summer on the water.

The Bata Canal is a true marvel. Its atmosphere mixes the excitement of steering a boat for the first time, the holiday mood with a cheerful visit to wine cellars, the taste of excellent gastronomy and the smell of sausages at the campfire above the lock chamber in Vnorovy.

The waterway, which Jan Antonín Baťa began to build in 1934, originally served to transport brown coal from the Tomáš mine in Ratíškovice to the Bata factories in Otrokovice. Learn about the history of the Bata Canal. On its 52 km long route there are now 21 wharves and 13 lock chambers, where you have to be let in by an operator, who fills or drains the chamber and only then sends you on. It is a great experience.

The Bata Canal is visited both for the experience of boating and for the beautiful places of East and South Moravia, which lie scattered around its course. Bata's town of Otrokovice, Napajedla with its beautiful monastery, Uherské Hradiště with its Mediterranean atmosphere, Strážnice, Petrov with its wine cellars called Plže, Sudoměřice with its unique coal tipper and splendid views of the countryside.

The water in the Bata Canal usually flows slowly and lazily, just like the time you spend here. It is holiday time, smelling of summer, ripe grain and cool water under the bow of your boat.

The Bata Canal is one of the few places where you can steer a boat without a captain's licence. You can board a trip boat at the wharf or rent your own boat and become the captain of your own small crew. You can stay overnight onboard in equipped wharves or find accommodation in a village.