"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

Loire Valley

Loire Valley

France

Camargue

Camargue

France

Charente

Charente

France

Friesland

Friesland

Holland

Selected of hotel barge trips

Check out the best hotel barges

Last-minute
Save 20%
L'Impressionniste barge cruise

L'Impressionniste

Burgundy Canal
12 guests
★★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Last-minute
Save 20%
Rosa barge cruise

Rosa

Aquitaine
8 guests
★★★★
France
Aquitaine & Bordeaux
Saroche barge cruise

Saroche

Champagne
6 guests
★★★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Saône Valley
Last-minute
Save up to 20%
Renaissance barge cruise

Renaissance

Loire Valley
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Loire Valley
Magna Carta barge cruise

Magna Carta

Tested by Jane McDonald
8 guests
★★★★★
England
River Thames
New route for 2026
Elegance barge cruise

Elegance

6 guests
★★★★★
France
Aquitaine & Bordeaux
Prosperite barge cruise

Prosperite

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

Maïtena

4 guests
★★★★★
France
Saône Valley
Burgundy Canal

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
Save up to 50%
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
FLASH SALE!
Save up to 25%
Vision 2 Self-drive rental boat

Vision 2

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
1 bathroom
Comfort
From 2399€/7 nights
FLASH SALE!
Save up to 25%
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
Last-minute
Save up to 50%
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
Tarpon 37 DP Self-drive rental boat

Tarpon 37 DP

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
2 bathrooms
★★★★★
From 1100€/7 nights
Last-minute
Save up to 50%
N1100 Self-drive rental boat

Cruise Comfort 6 to 9 people

N1100

9 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
3 bathrooms
★★★★
From 1470€/7 nights
FLASH SALE!
Save up to 25%
Vision 3 Self-drive rental boat

Vision 3

10 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
3 bathrooms
Comfort
From 1719€/7 nights
Triton 1050 Self-drive rental boat

Triton 1050

8 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 2 children
bathroom
★★★
From 969€/7 nights

Testimonials

Guests have said...

The barge trip was fantastic. The crew, the food, the excursions, the barge were all great.
The crew was pleasant and funny. The food was a gourmet...

The cruise was so wonderful, got to see some places that have been on our “bucket list” for years! Emma was a dream to coordinate our trip,...

The Horizon 4 was as expected: I rate it an 8/10
The cruise on the Lot River was as expected but expected more mooring spots and more moorings with...

In all of my travels, Hotels Afloat is the best organisation that I have used.  They provided me with all of the information that I needed but...

We had an amazing week with Linzi, Simon and Richard on the Savoir Vivre. Celebrated my 70th birthday on the barge cruise and want to thank all of...

Emma,

I just wanted to thank you, again, for saving our vacation!
The barge cruise on the Clare Du Lune was fantastic!  We loved the family!
Thanks...

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...

We have very much enjoyed our week of canal and river cruising on "La Vie en Rose". We had some fabulous food, cheese and wine and learnt a lot...

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