"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

Shannon

Shannon

Ireland

Loire Valley

Loire Valley

France

Canal du Midi

Canal du Midi

France

Charente

Charente

France

Selected of hotel barge trips

Check out the best hotel barges

Kir Royale barge cruise

Kir Royale

Exceptionally spacious
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Champagne
Last-minute
Save up to 20%
Renaissance barge cruise

Renaissance

Loire Valley
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Loire Valley
Save up to 20%
Spirit of Scotland barge cruise

Spirit of Scotland

Scotland
12 guests
★★★★★
Scotland
Caledonian Canal
10% off
Johanna barge cruise

Johanna

Midi Canal
4 guests
★★★★★
France
Canal du Midi
Last-minute
Save 20%
L'Impressionniste barge cruise

L'Impressionniste

Burgundy Canal
12 guests
★★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Save 20%
Maïtena barge cruise

Maïtena

4 guests
★★★★★
France
Saône Valley
Burgundy Canal
Last-minute
Scottish Highlander barge cruise

Scottish Highlander

Scotland
8 guests
★★★★
Scotland
Caledonian Canal
Saroche barge cruise

Saroche

Champagne
6 guests
★★★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Saône Valley

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
Tarpon 37 Self-drive rental boat

Tarpon 37

9 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 3 children
2 bathrooms
★★★
From 1250€/7 nights
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%
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
Save up to 50%
Europa 400 Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Premium XL 4 people

Europa 400

4 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 2 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
★★★★
From 1918€/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
Last-minute
La Peniche S Self-drive rental boat

La Peniche S

10 guests maximum
5 cabins
Ideal for 10 adults
4 bathrooms
★★★★★
From 2691€/7 nights
Last-minute
Tarpon 49 QP Self-drive rental boat

Tarpon 49 QP

12 guests maximum
5 cabins
Ideal for 8 adults
and 2 children
5 bathrooms
★★★★★
From 3229€/7 nights

Testimonials

Guests have said...

Hi Emma,
We enjoyed the barge cruise very much.
The service on board was superb!
Sincere regards,
Donna and Barry Beach

The 3 aspects we liked most about our boat, Le Grec, are:

* The outdoor seating space and flying bridge steering.
* The well appointed kitchen, as we...

Emma, We arrived home a week ago from a most memorable vacation and cruise down the Yonne and the Nivernais. What a great time! Everything about...

"Hi Emma; Just to thank you again for yet another great cruise. EVERYTHING was fantastic as usual. " Italy: Anjodi, La Belle Epoque, Scottish...

Alegria was just as expected: Spacious, confortable, clean and impeccably well maintained. The captain runs a 'tight ship' and is present all while...

The Magnolia went above and beyond our expectations!
The crew Magali & Nico (and beautiful little Mila) went out of their way to make sure we...

We liked the sundeck on the N900DP: We did not know what to expect as it was our first time!
I'd rate the boat a 6/10
We expected to stop at villages...

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.

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