"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

Canal du Midi

Canal du Midi

France

Loire Valley

Loire Valley

France

Charente

Charente

France

Selected of hotel barge trips

Check out the best hotel barges

Rendez-Vous barge cruise

Rendez-Vous

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

Esperance

Midi Canal
6 guests
★★★★★
France
Canal du Midi
Last-minute
Save 20%
La Bella Vita barge cruise

La Bella Vita

Venetian lagoon
20 guests
★★★★
Italy
Venice Lagoon
C'est La Vie barge cruise

C'est La Vie

Champagne Loire
8 guests
★★★★★
France
Loire Valley
Champagne
Maïtena barge cruise

Maïtena

4 guests
★★★★★
France
Saône Valley
Burgundy Canal
Last-minute
2027 offers!
L'Art de Vivre barge cruise

L'Art de Vivre

Nivernais Canal & Yonne
8 guests
★★★★
France
Nivernais & River Yonne
Shannon Princess barge cruise

Shannon Princess

Ireland
10 guests
★★★★★
Ireland
Shannon
20% off
Aurora barge cruise

Aurora

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

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
Vision 3 Self-drive rental boat

Vision 3

10 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
3 bathrooms
Comfort
From 1719€/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
Last-minute
Mystique Self-drive rental boat

Mystique

8 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
and 2 children
3 bathrooms
Comfort
From 2159€/7 nights
Last-minute
Save up to 50%
N OCTO Fly C Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Premium + 8 to 10 people

N OCTO Fly C

10 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 4 children
4 bathrooms
★★★★★
From 3742€/7 nights
Last minute
Save up to 50%
Evolution P.950E Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Premium+ 2 to 4 people

Evolution P.950E

4 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
1 bathroom
★★★★
From 1633€/7 nights
Last-minute
Tamaris Self-drive rental boat

Tamaris

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
Value
From 939€/7 nights
Last-minute
Dancer 3 (Calypso) Self-drive rental boat

Dancer 3 (Calypso)

8 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 4 children
2 bathrooms
Comfort
From 1659€/7 nights
Last-minute
Horizon 1 Self-drive rental boat

Horizon 1

5 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 2 adults
and 2 children
1 bathroom
Premier
From 1359€/7 nights

Testimonials

Guests have said...

We rate the boat 9/10. The scenery in the forest was great.
We heard about Hotels Afloat by word of mouth and will book again.

Hi there Emma ,

Just to let you know that we had a great time on our barge. We miss it and the life style. We are looking at other places such as...

We loved our trip. Wonderful food and wine selected for our Burgundy wine canal cruise and the staff were terrific! 

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

We had an outstanding trip on the beautiful Belle Époque . It is the best holiday we have ever had. The staff was fun, efficient, courteous ....

Roomy cabins, nice outside deck space  (Renior Junior suite & Sisley Stateroom)
Beautiful countryside on the Burgundy Canal


We rate Hotels Afloat a...

These little Penichettes (P1107W) are a delightful and totally reliable. The ease of driving, a great kitchen at the same level as the table, lots...

Thanks for all your help in organising our recent holiday.

I am sure we will holiday with you again at sometime in the future.

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