"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

Bodrag River

Bodrag River

Hungary

Camargue

Camargue

France

Canal du Midi

Canal du Midi

France

Charente

Charente

France

Friesland

Friesland

Holland

Selected of hotel barge trips

Check out the best hotel barges

New route for 2026
Elegance barge cruise

Elegance

6 guests
★★★★★
France
Aquitaine & Bordeaux
Last-minute
2027 offers!
La Bella Vita barge cruise

La Bella Vita

Venetian lagoon
20 guests
★★★★
Italy
Venice Lagoon
Saroche barge cruise

Saroche

Champagne
6 guests
★★★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Saône Valley
Scottish Highlander barge cruise

Scottish Highlander

Scotland
8 guests
★★★★
Scotland
Caledonian Canal
Last-minute
Magna Carta barge cruise

Magna Carta

Tested by Jane McDonald
8 guests
★★★★★
England
River Thames
Luciole barge cruise

Luciole

Nivernais Canal & Yonne
12 guests
★★★★
France
Nivernais & River Yonne
Last-minute
Finesse barge cruise

Finesse

Canal du Centre
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Saône Valley
Central Canal
20% off
Aurora barge cruise

Aurora

8 guests
★★★★★★
Belgium
Belgium - France
France
Holland
Flanders
Bruges to Haarlem
Rotterdam to Paris
Dutch Waterways
Île-de-France
Champagne
Bruges to Paris

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.

Vision 4 Self-drive rental boat

Vision 4

9 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 8 adults
4 bathrooms
Comfort
From 1279€/7 nights
Tarpon 37 Self-drive rental boat

Tarpon 37

9 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 3 children
2 bathrooms
★★★
From 1250€/7 nights
Linssen Yacht 36 Self-drive rental boat

Linssen Yacht 36

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 2 adults
and 2 children
bathroom
★★
From 1277€/7 nights
Corvette A Self-drive rental boat

Corvette A

4 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 2 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
Value
From 959€/7 nights
Cirrus A Self-drive rental boat

Cirrus A

4 guests maximum
1 cabin
Ideal for 2 adults
and 2 children
1 bathroom
Value
From 1079€/7 nights
Last-minute
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
Last minute
2027!
Neo Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Premium+ 6 people

Neo

6 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
3 bathrooms
★★★★★
From 3010€/7 nights
Triton 860 Fly Self-drive rental boat

Triton 860 Fly

3 guests maximum
1 cabin
Ideal for 2 adults
and 1 child
1 bathroom
★★
From 879€/7 nights

Testimonials

Guests have said...

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...

The boat was as expected and rates a 7/10:  Galley was well-equipped and the teak table on the bridge was large and easily accommodated 8-10...

Once again, you organized the perfect trip for us.
Not only did Peter and I love our barge trip but son Doug and his girlfriend did as well. We...

This cruise was way beyond our wildest expectations. On the Savoir Vivre, the food, the wine, the excursions, the scenery, the relaxing cruising,...

5 stars for the boat and for Hotels Afloat!  Superb.  We will definitely book again and have recommended you
Thank you very much for arranging...

Hi Emma,

We had a most fabulous trip down the canal and absolutely loved the boat.

I will get organised when we get back home and do some reviews...

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...

Dear Emma, I just wanted to thank you for a delightful and wonderful trip on your Locoboat two weeks ago. We had a wonderful time. The boat was a...

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