"Carefully created cruises, just for you"™

Cruise with Emma

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-drivesHotel barges

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

Discover rivers and canals

Top cruise destinations

Bodrag River

Bodrag River

Hungary

Friesland

Friesland

Holland

Shannon

Shannon

Ireland

Loire Valley

Loire Valley

France

Selected of hotel barge trips

Check out the best hotel barges

10% off
Johanna barge cruise

Johanna

Midi Canal
4 guests
★★★★★
France
Canal du Midi
Grand Cru barge cruise

Grand Cru

Near Dijon
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Shannon Princess barge cruise

Shannon Princess

Ireland
10 guests
★★★★★
Ireland
Shannon
Last-minute
Scottish Highlander barge cruise

Scottish Highlander

Scotland
8 guests
★★★★
Scotland
Caledonian Canal
Last-minute
Save 20%
Panache barge cruise

Panache

Holland & Alsace
12 guests
★★★★★
France
Holland
Alsace
Dutch Waterways
Save 20%
Maïtena barge cruise

Maïtena

4 guests
★★★★★
France
Saône Valley
Burgundy Canal
Esperance barge cruise

Esperance

Midi Canal
6 guests
★★★★★
France
Canal du Midi
Nymphea barge cruise

Nymphea

Brittany
6 guests
★★★★
France
Brittany

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.

Last-minute
Cirrus B Self-drive rental boat

Cirrus B

4 guests maximum
1 cabin
Ideal for 2 adults
and 2 children
1 bathroom
Value
From 659€/7 nights
Last minute
Save up to 50%
Panoramic P.1165FB Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Comfort 6 to 7 people

Panoramic P.1165FB

7 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 2 adults
and 3 children
2 bathrooms
★★★★
From 1778€/7 nights
Last-minute
Save up to 50%
N QUATTRO S Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Premium 4 to 6 people

N QUATTRO S

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 2 adults
and 2 children
1 bathroom
★★★★
From 2059€/7 nights
Tarpon 42 Self-drive rental boat

Tarpon 42

12 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
and 4 children
2 bathrooms
★★★
From 1780€/7 nights
Last-minute
Dancer 4 Plus (Salsa B) Self-drive rental boat

Dancer 4 Plus (Salsa B)

12 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 8 adults
and 4 children
2 bathrooms
Comfort
From 2019€/7 nights
Last minute
Save up to 50%
P.1020FB Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Premium 4 to 5 people

P.1020FB

5 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 1 child
2 bathrooms
★★★★
From 1386€/7 nights
Last-minute
Save up to 50%
N1160N Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Comfort 8 to 10 people

N1160N

10 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
and 1 child
2 bathrooms
★★★
From 1702€/7 nights
Last-minute
Clipper Self-drive rental boat

Clipper

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
Comfort
From 1099€/7 nights

Testimonials

Guests have said...

The boat is well equipped but slow... I rate it 7/10.
We enjoyed being able to cruise one way.
We do not expect to do another canal cruise but would...

Thank you all so very much for an absolutely marvellous week! Your hospitality, flexibility, understanding and company were wonderful! You shared...

The boat was spacious; we rate it 9/10
Cruised from Migennes to Sens and back: Appreciated that there were
relatively few locks
We found you on line,...

The boat was generally as expected.  By chance, we had only 4 passengers not 8, and that gave an unexpected feeling of space and comfort. In...

We thank you for your kindness and warmth. You made us feel like family from the first day. Lots of laughter all week long. France will now hold a...

Dear Emma,

I am sending this email to share with you our experience with Locaboat and the penichette. All was perfect!! It was a very nice...

Emma,  I wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed the canal cruise.  The staff were great.  Chef Emma was terrific and Matthew was a great...

It was all lovely, but the highlight was Auxerre. I knew it was a large town but we were in awe when we came round the bend in the river and saw...

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