Canal & river vacations

From luxury converted barges to modern style cruisers, choose the perfect boat to explore selected destinations on the inland waterways.

Start exploring

Luxury barge cruises

Selected barge cruises

Halfboard cruises

View the choices

Self-drive rentals

View the fleets

Hotel barges

Top rated and selected barges, reviewed, tested and rated. We offer a large choice of converted barges and routes on the inland waterways.

Luxury style

Private charters, couples or groups

Halfboard

Perfect for discovering

Home & Away

The boat, the crew and you

Self-drive Rentals

Skipper your boat! A perfect vacation for families and friends, we have boats for couples and up to 12 people! Choose your boat and destination now.

Fleets

The best boat rental companies

Destinations

Canals, rivers and lakes

Expert advice

Find your boat holiday

Welcome to Hotels Afloat

Hi, I’m Emma James-Aldridge, and my company is dedicated to organising hotel barge and self-drive boat cruises in France, the rest of Europe 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.

We provide expert and detailed advice, we spare no effort in making and managing your booking to ensure the success of your boating holiday cruise.

With 97% of our clients saying they would book with us again, and many returning each year, you can be confident that you're in safe and expert hands.
Hotels Afloat looks forward to welcoming you aboard!

Our clients have awarded us (4.7) stars

The perfect present at any time of year
Gift Vouchers

Cruise Gift Vouchers

Top cruise destinations

Discover the best cruise routes

See all destinations

Camargue

Bodrag River

River Saône

Charente

Canal du Midi

Check out the best deals

A selection of hotel barge cruises

View all the barge cruises

Alegria barge cruises

Alegria

4 guests

France

Canal du Midi

Grand Victoria barge cruises

Grand Victoria

6 guests

France

River Saône

Aurora barge cruises

Aurora

8 guests

Holland
France
Belgium
Belgium - France

Dutch Waterways
River Yonne
Flanders
Bruges to Haarlem
Bruges to Paris
Rotterdam to Paris

Luciole barge cruises

Luciole

12 guests

France

Nivernais & River Yonne

Adagio barge cruises

Adagio

8 guests

Holland
Belgium
Belgium - France
France

Dutch Waterways
Flanders
Bruges to Paris

La Vie en Rose barge cruises

La Vie en Rose

6 guests

France

River Saône
Central Canal

Saraphina barge cruises

Saraphina

4 guests

France

Canal du Midi

Magnolia barge cruises

Magnolia

6 guests

France

Burgundy Canal

Check out the cruise deals

Self-drive boat rentals

View all the Self-drive boat choices

Le Boat

Horizon 2S

5 guests

Euro Classic 149

France Afloat

Euro Classic 149

8 guests

Nicols

N PRIMO

4 guests

Nicols

N900 DP

7 guests

France Passion Plaisance

Nicols 1000

8 guests

France Passion Plaisance

Locaboat

P1180 FB

7 guests

Locaboat

P1260R

10 guests

BWS Cruiser 1250

Saone Bateaux

BWS Cruiser 1250

8 guests

Ready for your next cruise?

Ready for your next cruise?

Testimonials

Guests have said...

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...

N Bednall, UK: Burgundy route 2019

Hi there Emma ,

Just to let you know that we had a great time on our barge. We miss it and the life style. We are looking at other places such as...

Norman Price. Burgundy

Emma,

Our cruise in Savoir Faire was wonderful in all respects: the FOOD!, the service, the accommodations, the cities, the tours —...

Michael Higgins, USA; October 2017, charter

We appreciated
Max and Bea, first and foremost.
The fantastic food and wine.
Oh so comfortable accommodations.

The sheer beauty of the area.
The...

Patti K. May 2013

The boat is excellent, sun protection missing on Panache ,hot-tub blocking the view somewhat
Roomy cabin (Ravel Junior Suite), nice outside deck...

Yvonne & Randy Symons; Late May 2017

The boat was as expected, we rate it 8/10: Liked the sliding sunroof
Canal de Burgundy:The villages were a bit more deserted than expected and the...

Lex Van den H. September 2016

"Thank you. Thank you again for your wonderful attention to our every need or whim - you made our return trip even more enjoyable than the first...

Michael Higgins, September 2018 (2nd cruise)

We really enjoyed our trip....it was just a bit short!!

Susan M