"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

Camargue

Camargue

France

Canal du Midi

Canal du Midi

France

Charente

Charente

France

Friesland

Friesland

Holland

Saône Valley

Saône Valley

France

Selected of hotel barge trips

Check out the best hotel barges

Last-minute
Save 20%
Panache barge cruise

Panache

Holland & Alsace
12 guests
★★★★★
France
Holland
Alsace
Dutch Waterways
Last-minute
Save up to 20%
Renaissance barge cruise

Renaissance

Loire Valley
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Loire Valley
Grand Cru barge cruise

Grand Cru

Near Dijon
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Last-minute
Save 20%
Kir Royale barge cruise

Kir Royale

Exceptionally spacious
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Champagne
Last-minute
Save 20%
L'Impressionniste barge cruise

L'Impressionniste

Burgundy Canal
12 guests
★★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Last minute
Save 20%
Rosa barge cruise

Rosa

Aquitaine
8 guests
★★★★
France
Aquitaine & Bordeaux
Last chance
Savoir Vivre barge cruise

Savoir Vivre

Burgundy Canal
8 guests
★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
La Nouvelle Etoile barge cruise

La Nouvelle Etoile

Holland and France
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Holland
Alsace
Dutch Waterways

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
Save up to 20%
Classique Self-drive rental boat

Classique

8 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
Value
From 1259€/7 nights
Last-minute
Save up to 30%
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
Save up to 30%
N OCTO Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Premium 8 to 10 people

N OCTO

10 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 4 children
2 bathrooms
★★★★
From 2581€/7 nights
Last-minute
Save up to 30%
Europa 500 Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Premium 6 to 8 people

Europa 500

8 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
3 bathrooms
★★★★
From 2912€/7 nights
Last-minute
Save up to 30%
N QUATTRO B Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Premium 4 to 6 people

N QUATTRO B

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
★★★★
From 1866€/7 nights
Last-minute
Save up to 20%
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
Last-minute
Save up to 30%
Terrasse P.1120R Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Comfort 4 to 6 people

Terrasse P.1120R

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
2 bathrooms
★★★
From 1281€/7 nights
Last-minute
Save up to 30%
N DUO Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Comfort XL 2 to 4 people

N DUO

4 guests maximum
1 cabin
Ideal for 2 adults
1 bathroom
★★★★
From 1201€/7 nights

Testimonials

Guests have said...

Good day Ms. Emma,
My friends and I just returned from our Hotels Afloat vacation. It met or exceeded every expectation.
Your guys on either end of...

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 barge was better than expected: Great bathroom facilities, despite compact size. Very nice public space for meals.
I rate the boat a 10
The...

We enjoyed it very much.  Very likely to book with Hotels Afloat again, rated 5/5 *

Rated barge 4/5 *; rated region 4/5 *

Hotels Afloat's Emma Aldridge was extremely responsive and helpful during the planning and booking process and deserves our gratitude.

Compact and easy to handle, I rate this boat a 9/10. The base staff were very helpful.
Appreciated the wide route and automated locks.
Would book...

In all of my travels, Hotels Afloat is the best organisation that I have used.  They provided me with all of the information that I needed but...

We enjoyed Alex's captaining of the barge and the great vineyards, castles that he took us to. We appreciated Nicole's care, her cups of tea and...

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