"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

Shannon

Shannon

Ireland

Bodrag River

Bodrag River

Hungary

Canal du Midi

Canal du Midi

France

Saône Valley

Saône Valley

France

Selected of hotel barge trips

Check out the best hotel barges

La Nouvelle Etoile barge cruise

La Nouvelle Etoile

Holland and France
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Holland
Alsace
Dutch Waterways
Grand Victoria barge cruise

Grand Victoria

River Saône
6 guests
★★★★★★
France
Saône Valley
Central Canal
River Rhone
2027 offers!
Finesse barge cruise

Finesse

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

Grand Cru

Near Dijon
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Saraphina barge cruise

Saraphina

Midi Canal
4 guests
★★★★
France
Canal du Midi
2027 offers!
Kir Royale barge cruise

Kir Royale

Exceptionally spacious
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Champagne
2027 offers!
Rosa barge cruise

Rosa

Aquitaine
8 guests
★★★★
France
Aquitaine & Bordeaux
Magna Carta barge cruise

Magna Carta

Tested by Jane McDonald
8 guests
★★★★★
England
River Thames

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.

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
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
Tamaris Self-drive rental boat

Tamaris

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
Value
From 939€/7 nights
2027!
Linssen 34.9 GS Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Premium Steel 4 to 6 people

Linssen 34.9 GS

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
★★★★
From 1960€/7 nights
2027
N OCTO Fly C Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Premium + 8 to 10 people

N OCTO Fly C

10 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 4 children
4 bathrooms
★★★★★
From 3742€/7 nights
Horizon 3 Self-drive rental boat

Horizon 3

7 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
3 bathrooms
Premier
From 2139€/7 nights
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
2027!
Classic P.1107W Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Classic 4 to 7 people

Classic P.1107W

7 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 1 child
1 bathroom
★★
From 1246€/7 nights

Testimonials

Guests have said...

Your warmth and joie de vivre infused every moment of our journey with you. We can't thank you enough for your caring and attention to detail, your...

Hi Emma

Here we are back home after a terrific trip to Europe, the highlight of which was our Locaboat cruise from Briare to Dompierre.
We cannot...

Merci, merci, merci. Thank you to our Captain Chris and crew for a wonderful, perfect trip. We did not know what to expect and this week far...

We enjoyed Alex's captaining of the barge and the great vineyards, castles that he took us to. We appreciated Nicole's care, her cups of tea and...

Hello Emma, Just want to Thank You for your assistance with our trip. Jackie, Graham, Brian and I had a great River Cruise. It was fun, delicious...

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...

The layout was very practical and well appointed with everything needed for a week aboard supplied and in very good condition. We were also given a...

Hi Emma

It was fun, would do it again.

Boat and destination: 4*
Hotels Afloat Customer service 5*
Website: 4*
We are likely to cruise again, via...

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