"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

Charente

Charente

France

Saône Valley

Saône Valley

France

Selected of hotel barge trips

Check out the best hotel barges

Luciole barge cruise

Luciole

Nivernais Canal & Yonne
12 guests
★★★★
France
Nivernais & River Yonne
2027 offers!
Finesse barge cruise

Finesse

Canal du Centre
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Saône Valley
Central Canal
Grand Victoria barge cruise

Grand Victoria

River Saône
6 guests
★★★★★★
France
Saône Valley
Central Canal
River Rhone
2027 offers!
La Bella Vita barge cruise

La Bella Vita

Venetian lagoon
20 guests
★★★★
Italy
Venice Lagoon
Last-minute
2027 offers!
Panache barge cruise

Panache

Holland & Alsace
12 guests
★★★★★
France
Holland
Alsace
Dutch Waterways
Esperance barge cruise

Esperance

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

Saraphina

Midi Canal
4 guests
★★★★
France
Canal du Midi
Rendez-Vous barge cruise

Rendez-Vous

Burgundy Canal
4 guests
★★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal

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.

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
2027!
Panoramic P.1500FB Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Premium 8 to 12 people

Panoramic P.1500FB

12 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 8 adults
and 2 children
4 bathrooms
★★★★
From 2520€/7 nights
Vision 2 Self-drive rental boat

Vision 2

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
1 bathroom
Comfort
From 2399€/7 nights
2027
N900 DP Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Comfort 4 to 7 people

N900 DP

7 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 1 child
2 bathrooms
★★★★
From 1420€/7 nights
2027!
Europa 300 Self-drive rental boat

Comfort Premium 4 to 6 people

Europa 300

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 2 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
★★★★
From 2590€/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
Haines Rive 40 Self-drive rental boat

Haines Rive 40

8 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
and 2 children
3 bathrooms
★★★
From 1679€/7 nights
Elegance Self-drive rental boat

Elegance

6 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 2 children
3 bathrooms
Comfort
From 1299€/7 nights

Testimonials

Guests have said...

The boat was better than I expected.

...Being able to rest and not having to cook, drive or figure out touring plan for the day. Just relax. I...

The Caprice is Spacious; we liked the sliding back door
Boat rated 10/10
Was the route as you expected? yes
What did you most appreciate about the...

Dear Emma,

     I am now back home; but, wishing I was still in France on "L'Art de Vivre".    The trip was fabulous, from start to finish.    The...

The boat was really roomy and comfortable for four couples - both in the cabins and up top.
I rate the boat 9/10.
We particularly enjoyed the river...

Emma made the whole process very easy, from payment schedules to helping us organize transportation to and from the staging area.. We asked many...

Although one might wonder when we returned, inadvertently, a day early, but we had a wonderful time on the Midi.
The whole thing was a magnificent...

Our third time on the Savoir Faire. We’ve enjoyed a wonderful time. Good friends, delicious food and lots of fun. Outstanding boat and Captain....

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...

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