"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

Canal du Midi

Canal du Midi

France

Bodrag River

Bodrag River

Hungary

Saône Valley

Saône Valley

France

Friesland

Friesland

Holland

Charente

Charente

France

Selected of hotel barge trips

Check out the best hotel barges

Last-minute
Save 20%
L'Impressionniste barge cruise

L'Impressionniste

Burgundy Canal
12 guests
★★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Last-minute
La Vie en Rose barge cruise

La Vie en Rose

Burgundy
6 guests
★★★★
France
Saône Valley
Central Canal
Last-minute
Save 20%
L'Art de Vivre barge cruise

L'Art de Vivre

Nivernais Canal & Yonne
8 guests
★★★★
France
Nivernais & River Yonne
Last-minute
Save 20%
Enchanté barge cruise

Enchanté

Midi Canal
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Canal du Midi
Magnolia barge cruise

Magnolia

Burgundy Canal
6 guests
★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Saône Valley
Magna Carta barge cruise

Magna Carta

Tested by Jane McDonald
8 guests
★★★★★
England
River Thames
Save up to 20%
Spirit of Scotland barge cruise

Spirit of Scotland

Scotland
12 guests
★★★★★
Scotland
Caledonian Canal
10% off
Johanna barge cruise

Johanna

Midi Canal
4 guests
★★★★★
France
Canal du Midi

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.

Save up to 30%
Tarpon 37 DP Self-drive rental boat

Tarpon 37 DP

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
2 bathrooms
★★★★★
From 1100€/7 nights
Save up to 50%
N OCTO FLY Self-drive rental boat

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
Last-minute
Save up to 20%
Countess Self-drive rental boat

Countess

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
Value
From 1299€/7 nights
Last-minute
Save up to 20%
Tamaris Self-drive rental boat

Tamaris

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
Value
From 939€/7 nights
Save up to 50%
Europa 500 Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Premium 6 to 8 people

Europa 500

8 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
3 bathrooms
★★★★
From 2912€/7 nights
Save up to 50%
Europa 400 Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Premium XL 4 people

Europa 400

4 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 2 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
★★★★
From 1918€/7 nights
Last-minute
Save up to 20%
Vision 2 Self-drive rental boat

Vision 2

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
1 bathroom
Comfort
From 2399€/7 nights
Save up to 50%
Terrasse P.1260R Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Comfort 6 to 10 people

Terrasse P.1260R

10 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
★★★
From 1526€/7 nights

Testimonials

Guests have said...

Appreciated Everything!
Boat rated 10/10
What did you most appreciate about the route? One way toward the Mediterrean
How did you hear about...

What an outstanding week. The experience, food and service amazing and our group could not have been happier with the time spent together. Thank...

Although one might wonder when we returned, inadvertently, a day early, but we had a wonderful time on the Midi.
The whole thing was a magnificent...

The boat was as expected YES, BUT LARGER THAN WE THOUGHT
WELL EQUIPPED, we rate it 9/10
The cruise from VERMENTON TO TONNERE was MANAGEABLE FOR OUR...

We will not soon forget the week we spent on La Vie en Rose. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Merci encore!!!  Laurie and gang.

Meant to email sooner but got distracted— just wanted to say again that we had a wonderful time on the Aurora. Thank you so much for alerting us to...

It was truely delightful finally meeting you, you are just as lovely as you have been through e-mails. We really enjoyed our cruise because you...

Hi Emma,

We've just returned from cruising on the hotel barge, Aurora. Words cannot express how wonderful the experience was. This had been our...

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