"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

Saône Valley

Saône Valley

France

Bodrag River

Bodrag River

Hungary

Friesland

Friesland

Holland

Charente

Charente

France

Selected of hotel barge trips

Check out the best hotel barges

Saroche barge cruise

Saroche

Champagne
6 guests
★★★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Saône Valley
20% off
Savoir Vivre barge cruise

Savoir Vivre

Burgundy Canal
8 guests
★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
2027 offers!
Kir Royale barge cruise

Kir Royale

Exceptionally spacious
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Champagne
2027 offers!
Spirit of Scotland barge cruise

Spirit of Scotland

Scotland
12 guests
★★★★★
Scotland
Caledonian Canal
Shannon Princess barge cruise

Shannon Princess

Ireland
10 guests
★★★★★
Ireland
Shannon
2027 offers!
L'Art de Vivre barge cruise

L'Art de Vivre

Nivernais Canal & Yonne
8 guests
★★★★
France
Nivernais & River Yonne
La Vie en Rose barge cruise

La Vie en Rose

Burgundy
6 guests
★★★★
France
Saône Valley
Central Canal
Last-minute
2027 offers!
Panache barge cruise

Panache

Holland & Alsace
12 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.

2027!
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
Tarpon 42 Self-drive rental boat

Tarpon 42

12 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
and 4 children
2 bathrooms
★★★
From 1780€/7 nights
2027!
Europa 700 Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Premium 6 people

Europa 700

6 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 2 children
3 bathrooms
★★★★★
From 2058€/7 nights
2027!
Evolution P.950E Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Premium 2 to 4 people

Evolution P.950E

4 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
1 bathroom
★★★★
From 1633€/7 nights
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
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
Espade Concept Fly Self-drive rental boat

Espade Concept Fly

9 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 3 children
1 bathroom
★★★
From 1209€/7 nights
2027
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

Testimonials

Guests have said...

The crew were entertaining, knowledgeable and competent. The food and service was exceptional -  5 stars each meal. The Captain Chris was extremely...

Hi Emma

We had a great trip. The arrival, boat familiarisation and boat hand-back service at the yard were excellent. The boat was fine. We went...

The boat was as expected.  Appreciated it's size.  I rate it 8/10
We cruised on the Canal du Centre... easy to deal with the locks
We rate Hotels...

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...

We rate the barge 8/10: Liked the convenient layout - attention of crew - excellent food
We appreciated the interesting features on the canal,...

Hi Emma,

We had a most fabulous trip down the canal and absolutely loved the boat.

I will get organised when we get back home and do some reviews...

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...

I’m speechless. This was absolutely the best trip ever. Barging is the perfect way to enjoy our vacation with so much to see and all done at a...

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