"Carefully created cruises, just for you"™

Hi, I’m Emma James-Aldridge, and my company is dedicated to organising hotel barge and self-drive boat cruises on the inland waterways, canals and rivers of France, other European countries and Canada, for clients from across the globe. If you're a family, group of friends, couples or individuals, I have the perfect cruise for you.

Why choose us
Self-drives Hotel barges Small ships

Our clients have awarded Hotels Afloat
★★★★★ (4.9) stars

Discover the best cruise routes

Top cruise destinations

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Île-de-France

France

Shannon

Ireland

Camargue

France

Loire Valley

France

Charente

France

A selection of hotel barge cruises

Check out the best deals

View all the barge cruises →

L'Impressionniste

Burgundy Canal

12 guests

★★★★★

France

Burgundy Canal

Full-board

New route for 2026

Elegance

6 guests

★★★★★

France

Canal du Midi
Aquitaine & Bordeaux

Full-board

Saroche

Champagne

6 guests

★★★★★★

France

Burgundy Canal
Saône Valley

Full-board

Shannon Princess

Ireland

10 guests

★★★★★

Ireland

Shannon

Full-board

Last-minute

Save 10%

La Bella Vita

Venetian lagoon

20 guests

★★★★

Italy

Venice Lagoon

Full-board

Last-minute

2026 offer!

L'Art de Vivre

Nivernais Canal & Yonne

8 guests

★★★★

France

Nivernais & River Yonne

Full-board

Last-minute

Save 10%

Renaissance

Loire Valley

8 guests

★★★★★★

France

Loire Valley

Full-board

Magnolia

Burgundy Canal

6 guests

★★★★

France

Burgundy Canal
Saône Valley

Full-board

A selection of self-drive boat rentals

Discover the offers and discounts

The price shown is based on a 7-day cruise and indicates the lowest starting price, and excluding any special offer or discount.

View all the self-drive boats →

Last minute

Europa 500

8 guests maximum

3 cabins

Ideal for 6 adults

3 bathrooms

★★★★

From 2912€/week

Locaboat

N1350 B

10 guests maximum

4 cabins

Ideal for 8 adults

4 bathrooms

★★★★

From 2534€/week

Nicols

N1170

10 guests maximum

4 cabins

Ideal for 8 adults
& 2 children

2 bathrooms

★★★

From 1567€/week

Nicols

Last-minute

Haines Rive 34

6 guests maximum

2 cabins

Ideal for 4 adults
& 2 children

2 bathrooms

★★★

From 1457€/week

France Passion Plaisance

Last-minute

Tarpon 37 DP

6 guests maximum

2 cabins

Ideal for 4 adults

2 bathrooms

★★★★★

From 1100€/week

France Passion Plaisance

N QUATTRO S

6 guests maximum

2 cabins

Ideal for 2 adults
& 2 children

1 bathroom

★★★★

From 2059€/week

Nicols

Last-minute

Special Offer

Corvette B

4 guests maximum

2 cabins

Ideal for 2 adults
& 2 children

2 bathrooms

Value rating

From 959€/week

Le Boat

Last minute

Europa 300

6 guests maximum

2 cabins

Ideal for 2 adults
& 2 children

2 bathrooms

★★★★

From 2590€/week

Locaboat

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Testimonials

Guests have said...

Merci, merci, merci. Thank you to our Captain Chris and crew for a wonderful, perfect trip. We did not know what to expect and this week far...

The Clipper was spacious and easy to handle. We'd rate it 8/10
Our route from Castelnaudary - Homps and back was as expected and we loved the...

We really enjoyed our trip....it was just a bit short!!

Emma,

I just wanted to thank you, again, for saving our vacation!

The barge cruise on the Clare Du Lune was fantastic! We loved the family!

Thanks...

How would you rate your boat? 4 stars
How would you rate the Customer Service from Hotels Afloat, i.e. our response to emails, phone calls etc. ...

Good layout for our group.. we rate the boat 8.5/10
Cruising from Trebes to Narbonne, we liked the small villages, beauty of the canal and...

Thank you to Alex, Nicole and Carls for an excellent trip. It exceeded my expectations. I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves French...

After dealing with Emma pre and post Covid, I felt as though we had become good friends! Emma helped us plan a family barge experience to...

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