For the river cruise enthusiasts, the thought of cruising through the serene blue waters of the legendary Rhine Rivergives great pleasure. Walking around the green plains, exploring the breath-taking landscapes and viewing the splendid mountain slopes are all great experiences while sailing on a Rhine river cruise. One of the most important and longest rivers of Europe, the Rhineoriginates from the Swiss Alps and empties in to the North Sea coast of the Netherlands and flows through six countries with a stretch of 766 miles.
The Rhine River Snap Shot
The rich ancient culture and history of Europe that the Rhine River takes you through is spell binding. The Rhine and the Danube are the silent testimonies of the Great Roman Empire. On a Rhine river cruise you can get a splendid view of the steeples, towers, churches, cathedrals, and castles on every street corner. Amazing buildings, both ancient and new, can be seen while you are cruising through the river. The tour takes you through the beautiful city of Zurich. It also passes through some other beautiful cities like Basel, Cologne, Dusseldorf, and covers some incredible places like the Black Forest of Germany &the French city of Strasbourg .The Rhine River is extremely important from a business aspect as it is a major route to transport raw materials and goods.
One of the most significant parts of the Rhine River is the Rhine gorge that falls between the German city of Bonn and Bingen. The gorge is quite deep and is classed as a world heritage site and is also called the ‘romantic Rhine’. There are many castles, historic fortifications and vineyards surrounding the gorge.
A river cruise through Rhine will allow you to view scenic beauty and to visit the rich history of Europe.
July and August are the time when normally people travel, although it can be a little hot. May and September are desirable.During the month of December; however, they have special cruises for the Christmas markets. The Rhine river cruise is usually a 14 – night cruise which starts from Basel and terminates at Amsterdam. Besides the 14-night cruise, many tour operators also offer some short duration cruise plans, spanning 4 to 5 days. The highlights of the cruise are:
• Historic towns and vineyards on the Rhine banks that can be explored in summer
• Enjoy the fabulous fireworks in the Rhine valley to celebrate the annual wine harvest
• During Christmas you can try some local delicious delicacies as well as enjoy the Christmas markets
• Be enthralled by historic castles at every turn of the river
• Stunning views, beautiful landscapes and a fabulous ambience in the wine and beer taverns
Some of the important tour operators who offer river cruise through the Rhine-Danube stretch include APT River Cruises, AMA Waterway, Viking River cruise, Avalon Waterways and Uniworld.
Luxury Rhine River Cruise: A Romantic glimpse of the Roman Empire
Sojourn through Europe on River Cruises for Better Holidaying Experience
A river cruise takes its passengers right to a heart of a country and hence offers a more comprehensive tour than maybe an ocean cruise tour would, as it takes passengers through countries. With a number of itineraries to choose from and the option for customization, there’s no need to compromise on your choices. Mentioned below are the two best river cruises of Europe offering the ultimate cruising holiday experience.
Danube River Cruises: The Danube is the longest river in the European Union. Originating in the town of Donaueschinge, Germany, it passes through capitals of four Central European countries and touches the border of ten countries. There are number of tourist and natural spots that tourists would get to see while cruising on Danube.
Notable tourist spots along Danube River:
Danube Banks in Budapest: They are a part of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Wachau Valley and Donau-Auen National Park in Austria
Gemenc in Hungary
Naturpark Obere Danau in Germany
Kopacki Rit in Croatia
Iron Gate in Romania & Serbia
Danube Delta in Romania
Srebarna Nature Reserve in Bulgaria
Sea Cloud Cruises, AMA Waterways and Viking River Cruises operate luxury river cruises along the Danube.
Rhine Cruises: A luxury river cruise on the Rhine is the best choice for those looking for an exquisite holiday in Europe. Originating in Alps, Switzerland, the river Rhine flows through four countries, namely, Germany, France, Netherlands and Luxemburg, before flowing into the North Sea. Though there are a number of notable tourist spots to visit in Swiss and Dutch cities during a Rhine river cruise, the most enthralling segment of a Rhine river cruise is the tour of The Middle Rhine in Germany. Known as Rhine Gorge, it is a home to spectacular landscape, fascinating castles and picturesque wineries.
Major Ports of Call on the Rhine include Cologne, Koblenz, Strasbourg, Heidelberg and Speyer. Cologne is among the most famous Rhine cruise destinations. It is widely known for its splendid cathedral, the Dom. Dom is an architectural gem and is a World Heritage Site too. Other attractions at Cologne include Hohenzollern Bridge, St Martin’s Church and The Botanical Gardens. With a history of over 2000 years, Koblenz is home to a magnificent Festung Ehrenbreitstein and some other historic sites. Deutshes Mark is the place where the two rivers, Rhine and Mosselle, meet. Similarly, Strasbourg, Heidelberg and Speyer also boast natural spots as well as artistic and historic sites.
Luxury River Cruises in Europe are no less than floating five star hotels. They offer the best of modern day comforts and ultra-modern amenities so that their guests can enjoy each moment on the ship.
Luxury Cruise Holidays: Ultimate Leisure Trips
Cruising Holidays! Even the very thought of it excites some travellers while others feel unsure whether they are the ideal way to spend their leisure time. In today’s time, when there a range of cruise offers available, cruise lines also give an opportunity to customize your cruise holidays as per your requirements and desires so that you can get the best value for your money and time.
A luxury cruise offers an ultimate holidaying experience. This is the reason why even traditional tour packages include short cruise trips to make their itineraries more intriguing. No doubt, travel by the best of premium airlines and stays at five star hotels are alluring but not as fascinating as journey by luxury cruise ship is. In fact, customized luxury cruise offers allow travellers to combine the charm of travel by award-wining airlines, stay at select hotels and transfer by the optimum cars with the top-notch hospitality services of luxury ships to make cruising holidays a journey of lifetime.
Cruise holidays have increasingly become famous for the exotic sailing expeditions and on-water accommodation they offer. However, many travellers initially refuse going for cruise holidays because of the cost involved, but after analysing the overall benefits, a holiday on a cruise offers exceptional value for money.
Cruising holidays are ideal for those looking for utmost peace, rejuvenation and leisure. All-inclusive cruise offers give an opportunity to leave worries of hotel reservations, transfers, excursions, dining, etc. behind and simply enjoy the ultra-modern amenities andrecreational activities aboard. Besides, personalized luxury cruise offers allow travellers to extend their stays at select destinations and make arrangements, including road transfers and if required air travel, for boarding the cruise from the next destination. Moreover, unlike traditional tours, guests don’t have to do packing, unpacking and packing every now and then as their rooms on board are booked for the whole trip.
A luxury cruise offers a number of recreational activities on board. Guests can pamper themselves with facilities like gyms, spa treatments, swimming pools and multi-cuisine restaurants to make their journey more stimulating. The ultra-modern on board activities a luxury cruise offers don’t even let guests realize they are travelling; they rather feel that they are staying at five star hotel.
No two persons have same likes and dislikes. Keeping this in mind, modern-day cruise lines have come up with different cruise offers to match the diverse needs of contemporary travellers. Apart from luxury and budget cruises to choose from, cruise varieties include theme cruises to classic cruises, adventure cruises to romantic cruises, and world cruises to river cruises.