"Carefully created cruises, just for you"™

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-drives Hotel barges

Our clients have awarded Hotels Afloat
★★★★★ (4.9) stars

Discover rivers and canals

Top cruise destinations

See all destinations →

Bodrag River

Hungary

Friesland

Holland

Loire Valley

France

Saône Valley

France

Camargue

France

Selected of hotel barge trips

Check out the best hotel barges

View all the hotel barge cruises →

Last chance

Savoir Vivre

Burgundy Canal

8 guests

★★★★

France

Burgundy Canal

Full-board

Last-minute

2027 offers!

La Bella Vita

Venetian lagoon

20 guests

★★★★

Italy

Venice Lagoon

Full-board

Best price!

Grand Victoria

River Saône

6 guests

★★★★★★

France

Saône Valley
Central Canal
River Rhone

Full-board

Last-minute

2027 offers!

La Belle Epoque

12 guests

★★★★★

France

Burgundy Canal

Full-board

New route for 2026

Elegance

6 guests

★★★★★

France

Aquitaine & Bordeaux

Full-board

Last-minute

Kir Royale

Exceptionally spacious

8 guests

★★★★★★

France

Champagne

Full-board

Maïtena

4 guests

★★★★★

France

Saône Valley
Burgundy Canal

Full-board

Last-minute

2027 offers!

Athos

Midi Canal

10 guests

★★★★

France

Canal du Midi
Camargue

Full-board

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.

View all the self-drive boats →

Next year!

Classique

8 guests maximum

4 cabins

Ideal for 6 adults
and 2 children

2 bathrooms

Value

From 1259€/7 nights

Le Boat

Save up to 50%

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

Nicols by Riverly

Last-minute

La Péniche FS

12 guests maximum

6 cabins

Ideal for 12 adults

3 bathrooms

★★★★★

From 2711€/7 nights

France Passion Plaisance

Last-minute

La Péniche P

7 guests maximum

2 cabins

Ideal for 4 adults
and 2 children

2 bathrooms

★★★★★

From 2475€/7 nights

France Passion Plaisance

Save up to 50%

Pénichette Premium 4 to 5 people

P.1020FB

5 guests maximum

2 cabins

Ideal for 4 adults
and 1 child

2 bathrooms

★★★★

From 1386€/7 nights

Locaboat by Riverly

Save up to 50%

Cruiser Premium+ 8 to 10 people

N OCTO FLY

10 guests maximum

4 cabins

Ideal for 4 adults
and 4 children

4 bathrooms

★★★★★

From 3332€/7 nights

Nicols by Riverly

Next year!

Vision 3

10 guests maximum

3 cabins

Ideal for 6 adults

3 bathrooms

Comfort

From 1719€/7 nights

Le Boat

Next year!

Dancer 4 Plus (Salsa B)

12 guests maximum

4 cabins

Ideal for 8 adults
and 4 children

2 bathrooms

Comfort

From 2019€/7 nights

Le Boat

Ready for your next cruise?

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Testimonials

Guests have said...

The Crew were fantastic!

Thank you all so very much for an absolutely marvellous week! Your hospitality, flexibility, understanding and company were wonderful! You shared...

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...

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...

Your service was excellent!

We had a really first-class time

We especially liked Savoir Vivre because they arranged dinner at local restaurants rather than all meals on board as the other Burgundy barges had....

I rate the boat a 9.9/10... the food, rooms, everything
The Cruise route was better than expected, scenery, day trips..
We would book with you again...

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