"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

Saône Valley

Saône Valley

France

Camargue

Camargue

France

Bodrag River

Bodrag River

Hungary

Shannon

Shannon

Ireland

Selected of hotel barge trips

Check out the best hotel barges

Esperance barge cruise

Esperance

Midi Canal
6 guests
★★★★★
France
Canal du Midi
Shannon Princess barge cruise

Shannon Princess

Ireland
10 guests
★★★★★
Ireland
Shannon
Anjodi barge cruise

Anjodi

Midi Canal
8 guests
★★★★
France
Canal du Midi
Luciole barge cruise

Luciole

Nivernais Canal & Yonne
12 guests
★★★★
France
Nivernais & River Yonne
Aurora barge cruise

Aurora

8 guests
★★★★★★
Belgium
Belgium - France
France
Holland
Flanders
Bruges to Haarlem
Rotterdam to Paris
Dutch Waterways
Île-de-France
Bruges to Paris
Saroche barge cruise

Saroche

Champagne
6 guests
★★★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Saône Valley
Magna Carta barge cruise

Magna Carta

Tested by Jane McDonald
8 guests
★★★★★
England
River Thames
Enchanté barge cruise

Enchanté

Midi Canal
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Canal du Midi

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.

With a Skipper
La Péniche eXP Self-drive rental boat

La Péniche eXP

NEW 2026
6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 2 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
★★★★★
From 4930€/7 nights
Last minute
2027!
Panoramic P.1180FB Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Premium 6 to 7 people

Panoramic P.1180FB

7 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
and 1 child
3 bathrooms
★★★★★
From 1988€/7 nights
Classique Star Self-drive rental boat

Classique Star

10 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
and 4 children
3 bathrooms
Value
From 1379€/7 nights
Last minute
2027!
Terrasse P.1500R Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Comfort 8 to 12 people

Terrasse P.1500R

12 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 8 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
★★★
From 1925€/7 nights
Last minute
2027!
Terrasse P.1260R Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Comfort 6 to 10 people

Terrasse P.1260R

10 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
★★★
From 1526€/7 nights
Last-minute
2027
N1350 B Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Comfort XL 8 to 10 people

N1350 B

10 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 8 adults
4 bathrooms
★★★★
From 2534€/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
Nicols 1310 Self-drive rental boat

Nicols 1310

12 guests maximum
5 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
and 4 children
2 bathrooms
★★★
From 1794€/7 nights

Testimonials

Guests have said...

The Magnolia cruise, with accommodations for 6 people is the perfect formula to relax with friends and family . The Burgundy Canal route is lovely...

How would you rate your boat?  5 stars
How would you rate your cruise destination?  5 stars
How would you rate the Customer Service from Hotels...

Just want to let you know how much we enjoyed our trip on Finesse.  The barge was beautifully appointed, the amenities were excellent, and the crew...

The boat was bigger than I had expected. I rate it 8.5/10
We appreciated this very tranquil route.
Overall we enjoyed the experience, but on...

The boat is excellent, sun protection missing on Panache ,hot-tub  blocking the view somewhat
Roomy cabin (Ravel Junior Suite), nice outside deck...

Here goes
We LIKED
the superb weather we had
the beautiful countryside
the peace & tranquility slow boat travel brings
the overall layout of the boat
the...

We chose the Octo with a senior member of the party (87 years) in mind. Amongst other things, we liked the outdoor eating area which was all in a...

High marks all around. Great pre-cruise advice. Efficient check-in. We ran into a couple of small problems--part of the experience!--which were...

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