"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

Charente

Charente

France

Friesland

Friesland

Holland

Camargue

Camargue

France

Selected of hotel barge trips

Check out the best hotel barges

Rendez-Vous barge cruise

Rendez-Vous

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

Nymphea

Brittany
6 guests
★★★★
France
Brittany
20% off
Savoir Vivre barge cruise

Savoir Vivre

Burgundy Canal
8 guests
★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Saroche barge cruise

Saroche

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

Luciole

Nivernais Canal & Yonne
12 guests
★★★★
France
Nivernais & River Yonne
Magnolia barge cruise

Magnolia

Burgundy Canal
6 guests
★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
C'est La Vie barge cruise

C'est La Vie

Champagne Loire
8 guests
★★★★★
France
Loire Valley
Champagne
2027 offers!
Finesse barge cruise

Finesse

Canal du Centre
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Saône Valley
Central 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.

2027!
Europa 300 Self-drive rental boat

Comfort Premium 4 to 6 people

Europa 300

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 2 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
★★★★
From 2590€/7 nights
2027
N QUATTRO FLY C GREEN Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Premium+ 4 to 6 people

N QUATTRO FLY C GREEN

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
2 bathrooms
★★★★★
From 2929€/7 nights
Vision 2 Self-drive rental boat

Vision 2

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
1 bathroom
Comfort
From 2399€/7 nights
2027
N SIXTO Green Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Premium 6 to 8 people

N SIXTO Green

8 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
★★★★
From 2741€/7 nights
2027
N1350 B Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Comfort XL 8 to 10 people

N1350 B

10 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 8 adults
4 bathrooms
★★★★
From 2534€/7 nights
2027!
Panoramic P.1165FB Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Comfort 6 to 7 people

Panoramic P.1165FB

7 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 2 adults
and 3 children
2 bathrooms
★★★★
From 1778€/7 nights
2027
N QUATTRO FLY C Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Premium+ 4 to 6 people

N QUATTRO FLY C

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
2 bathrooms
★★★★★
From 2789€/7 nights
2027
N1310 Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Comfort XL 10 to 12 people

N1310

12 guests maximum
5 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
and 4 children
2 bathrooms
★★★
From 1995€/7 nights

Testimonials

Guests have said...

The boat was as expected but a bit old
Appreciated the size & sliding roof windows
Boat rate 7/10
Our cruise from Joigny was as we expected.

Before...

The Linssen 32 was new and clean. I'd rate it 10/10
We preferred the southern half of the Midi cruise.
I heard about Hotels Afloat from a family...

To call the voyage perfect is not enough. Perfection has to include the crew and our Captain Chris. Thanks for all the kindness

Dear Emma,

     I am now back home; but, wishing I was still in France on "L'Art de Vivre".    The trip was fabulous, from start to finish.    The...

How would you rate your boat? 4 stars   
How would you rate the Customer Service from Hotels Afloat, i.e. our response to emails, phone calls etc. ...

We appreciated It's small size, fabulous crew, and the opportunity for our family to be together. I rate the boat 9/10
The Nivernais Canal was quiet...

We loved our experience on the Horizon 5 from the planning, to the choice of Nivernais canal, to the 90 locks, and especially to the company...

Emma,
We just returned from our trip aboard the Prosperite, and it was absolutely wonderful. Captain Vincent and his crew were outstanding and...

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