"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

Canal du Midi

Canal du Midi

France

Saône Valley

Saône Valley

France

Bodrag River

Bodrag River

Hungary

Shannon

Shannon

Ireland

Selected of hotel barge trips

Check out the best hotel barges

Last-minute
Finesse barge cruise

Finesse

Canal du Centre
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Saône Valley
Central Canal
La Vie en Rose barge cruise

La Vie en Rose

Burgundy
6 guests
★★★★
France
Saône Valley
Central Canal
Shannon Princess barge cruise

Shannon Princess

Ireland
10 guests
★★★★★
Ireland
Shannon
Grand Cru barge cruise

Grand Cru

Near Dijon
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Best price!
Grand Victoria barge cruise

Grand Victoria

River Saône
6 guests
★★★★★★
France
Saône Valley
Central Canal
River Rhone
Last-minute
Magna Carta barge cruise

Magna Carta

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

Nymphea

Brittany
6 guests
★★★★
France
Brittany
C'est La Vie barge cruise

C'est La Vie

Champagne Loire
8 guests
★★★★★
France
Loire Valley
Champagne

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
Early booking
Horizon 5 Self-drive rental boat

Horizon 5

12 guests maximum
5 cabins
Ideal for 8 adults
and 2 children
5 bathrooms
Premier
From 2639€/7 nights
Last-minute
2027!
Tarpon 32 Self-drive rental boat

Tarpon 32

8 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
★★★★
From 1457€/7 nights
Last-minute
2027!
La Peniche F Self-drive rental boat

La Peniche F

12 guests maximum
6 cabins
Ideal for 12 adults
3 bathrooms
★★★★
From 2465€/7 nights
Last-minute
Early booking
Cirrus B Self-drive rental boat

Cirrus B

4 guests maximum
1 cabin
Ideal for 2 adults
and 2 children
1 bathroom
Value
From 659€/7 nights
Last-minute
Early booking
Continentale Self-drive rental boat

Continentale

6 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 2 children
3 bathrooms
Value
From 1599€/7 nights
Last-minute
Early booking
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
2027
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
2027
N1160 Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Comfort 8 to 10 people

N1160

10 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
and 1 child
2 bathrooms
★★★
From 1702€/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...

I had no preconceived notions about the barge. I saw the photos online and it looked okay for a week. It turned out to be better laid out and...

The Clipper was spacious and easy to handle. We'd rate it 8/10
Our route from Castelnaudary - Homps and back was as expected and we loved the...

I rate the Luciole 9/10: Liked the attention of the staff
The Nivernais is a small canal, lovely but weather not as good as hoped for and some of...

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

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

It was truely delightful finally meeting you, you are just as lovely as you have been through e-mails. We really enjoyed our cruise because you...

Overall the whole experience was just WONDERFUL and we had a fabulous time! THANKS!
The boat: It was a great boat!
Route: loved the scenery, the...

We had a super time. All 3 weeks in France were terrific. Noel's America boat was first class, and the food was first rate wherever we dined

The perfect present at any time of year
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