"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 the best cruise routes

Top cruise destinations

Friesland

Friesland

Holland

Charente

Charente

France

Canal du Midi

Canal du Midi

France

Saône Valley

Saône Valley

France

A selection of hotel barge cruises

Check out the best deals

Shannon Princess barge cruise

Shannon Princess

Ireland
10 guests
★★★★★
Ireland
Shannon
Esperance barge cruise

Esperance

Midi Canal
6 guests
★★★★★
France
Canal du Midi
La Nouvelle Etoile barge cruise

La Nouvelle Etoile

Holland and France
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Holland
Alsace
Dutch Waterways
Magnolia barge cruise

Magnolia

Burgundy Canal
6 guests
★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Saône Valley
Grand Cru barge cruise

Grand Cru

Near Dijon
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Last-minute
Save 20%
La Bella Vita barge cruise

La Bella Vita

Venetian lagoon
20 guests
★★★★
Italy
Venice Lagoon
Last-minute
Magna Carta barge cruise

Magna Carta

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

Saroche

Champagne
6 guests
★★★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Saône Valley

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 30%
N900 DP Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Comfort 4 to 7 people

N900 DP

7 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 1 child
2 bathrooms
★★★★
From 1420€/7 nights
Last minute
Save up to 30%
Terrasse P.1500R Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Comfort 8 to 12 people

Terrasse P.1500R

12 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 8 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
★★★
From 1925€/7 nights
Last-minute
Save up to 25%
Vision 4 Self-drive rental boat

Vision 4

9 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 8 adults
4 bathrooms
Comfort
From 1279€/7 nights
Last-minute
Save up to 30%
N DUO Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Comfort XL 2 to 4 people

N DUO

4 guests maximum
1 cabin
Ideal for 2 adults
1 bathroom
★★★★
From 1201€/7 nights
Last minute
Save up to 30%
Classic P.935W Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Classic 2 to 5 people

Classic P.935W

5 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 2 adults
and 2 children
1 bathroom
★★
From 1134€/7 nights
Last-minute
Save up to 30%
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
Last-minute
Save up to 30%
N1010 Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Comfort 6 to 8 people

N1010

8 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
★★★
From 1373€/7 nights
Last-minute
Save up to 25%
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

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...

Just arrived back from our fabulous holiday. We had a wonderful time and particularly wanted to extend our thanks and appreciation to you and the...

The facilities were exactly what we required for our trip. The top desks were a great focal point.
Please rate the boat: 9/10
The route was peaceful...

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

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...

The Magnolia went above and beyond our expectations!
The crew Magali & Nico (and beautiful little Mila) went out of their way to make sure we...

We rate the boat 9/10. The scenery in the forest was great.
We heard about Hotels Afloat by word of mouth and will book again.

After dealing with Emma pre and post Covid, I felt as though we had become good friends! Emma helped us plan a family barge experience to...

The perfect present at any time of year
Gift Vouchers

v3.21