"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

Loire Valley

Loire Valley

France

Charente

Charente

France

Selected of hotel barge trips

Check out the best hotel barges

Magnolia barge cruise

Magnolia

Burgundy Canal
6 guests
★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
La Vie en Rose barge cruise

La Vie en Rose

Burgundy
6 guests
★★★★
France
Saône Valley
Central Canal
Luciole barge cruise

Luciole

Nivernais Canal & Yonne
12 guests
★★★★
France
Nivernais & River Yonne
Last-minute
2027 offers!
L'Impressionniste barge cruise

L'Impressionniste

Burgundy Canal
12 guests
★★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Nymphea barge cruise

Nymphea

Brittany
6 guests
★★★★
France
Brittany
2027 offers!
Scottish Highlander barge cruise

Scottish Highlander

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

Enchanté

Midi Canal
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Canal du Midi
Johanna barge cruise

Johanna

Midi Canal
4 guests
★★★★★
France
Canal du Midi

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 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
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
Royal Classique Self-drive rental boat

Royal Classique

6 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
3 bathrooms
Comfort
From 1319€/7 nights
Magnifique Self-drive rental boat

Magnifique

10 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
and 2 children
3 bathrooms
Comfort
From 1639€/7 nights
Last minute
2027!
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
NEW 2025
Liberty Self-drive rental boat

Liberty

5 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
2 bathrooms
Premier
From 2459€/7 nights
Last minute
2027!
Panoramic P.1400FB Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Comfort 8 to 9 people

Panoramic P.1400FB

10 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
and 2 children
3 bathrooms
★★★★
From 2002€/7 nights
Last minute
2027!
P.1022FB Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Premium 2 to 3 people

P.1022FB

3 guests maximum
1 cabin
Ideal for 2 adults
and 1 child
1 bathroom
★★★★
From 2268€/7 nights

Testimonials

Guests have said...

We appreciated the size and authentic look of the boats, and rated them a, 8/10.
Auxerre was beautiful and the river and Canal du Nivernais beyond...

We really appreciated the bow thruster, and rate the boat 7/10.
Enjoyed a side trip to Dompierre sur Besbre... the route was good
A friend...

Much more than we expected
The rooms and baths were just lovely and fresh. Being able to be outside under an umbrella and out of the sun..
I give it...

Hi Emma

Just to let you know we finished our week on board the Saraphina this morning - and what a wonderful week it was! The boat is lovely, very...

Hello Emma, our 'captain' Mike Reynolds and his wife came up with some things to provide you that we concur with:
1) bowthruster (made navigating...

What a magic and memorable time we had on Magnolia.  Never imagined the variety of things we would do in a short time! Magali's knowledge of the...

Thank you all so very much for an absolutely marvellous week! Your hospitality, flexibility, understanding and company were wonderful! You shared...

It was the best boat we have had, having done three of these canal cruises previously. The area was pretty . Plenty of room good outside steering.
Emm...

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