European River Travel: Hot To Make The Most Of Your Trip

Written By Chouhab on jeudi 29 janvier 2009 | 09:05

By Samson Mandez

If you're considering going on a cruise, river travel is a good way to go. River cruises let you explore many of the most fascinating rivers and cities worldwide, and especially so in Europe with its wealth of diverse history, culture, and cuisine.

There are probably few ways to visit a country which are as cool and pleasant as river travel, and whether you will be traveling alone, with friends, or together with your spouse and kinds, it will probably be a trip to remember.

Compared to seaborne cruising, there is much more inland territory you can cover on a river trip, and compared to car-borne holidays you won't have to experience the discomfort of constant hotel changes. Plus who has ever heard of a river traffic gridlock?

Even though a European river cruise ship is smaller than an ocean going ship the facilities on board are no less numerous with most ships boasting a ball room, plentiful bars and restaurants, possibly a cinema as well as numerous viewing decks from which you will be able to admire the scenery and the architecture of many of the most beautiful European countries and cities.

For the preparation, before looking at the specific trip, you should determine the length of the voyage, the area you want to see and also the general level of comfort that you would expect.

As for the length, you can find anything from three day cruised to break up a longer holiday to leisurely four week trips down major rivers such as the Danube. One or two weeks are pretty standard lengths.

As for the location, the most popular destinations are the Rhine, from Switzerland to Holland, and the Danube, which flows from Germany to Romania. Lots of lesser known alternatives are possible on the internal waterways of countries such as France, Italy, Poland, Russia, the UK and Spain.

You will see wonderful floral displays as you cruise through Holland in the spring or sail through the South of France along the Rhone and Saone in the summer. There you could see the vistas that inspired Van Gogh.

During the holidays in the winter, on either a Rhine river cruise or a Danube river cruise you could stop and walk through the renowned Christmas Markets of Germany and Austria.

Concerning the level of comfort, you will find that there are a great number of alternatives, from Spartan drive-your-own houseboat hires to luxury cruse ships that have a lot in common with high-end hotels, but that retain an individual character.

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