What advantages did river travel offer?

Both the sea and inland waterways (rivers, canals, etc.) are used for transportation. Rotterdam, Antwerp, Marseilles-Fos, Hamburg and Le Harve are the major ports in Europe. The main inland waterways are the Rivers Seine, Rhone and Rhine and their many canals.

The obvious advantage of water transport is that it allows for the movement of bulky goods over a long distance at low cost.

Problems of water transport are it is restricted to ports and inland waterways, therefore, increasing transfer costs and more significantly travel speeds are slow.