The complete guide to Rhine river cruises
It’s an outstanding voyage through four countries – the Netherlands, Germany, France and Switzerland – highlighted by a transit through the Rhine Gorge, a 65km-long valley with rugged cliffs, more than 40 fairy tale castles and the Lorelei rock, from which legend has it that a beautiful maiden threw herself to her death over a faithless lover.
Stops here and there visit great cities and towns full of history such as Strasbourg, Cologne, Speyer and Heidelberg. They are also a chance to taste local wines with the vintners who made them, and for active sorts to join guided hikes or bike rides.
Exploring alone is also allowed and, of course, only unpacking once during the whole holiday is the icing on the cake.
Read on to discover everything you need to know about a Rhine river cruise, from when to book, who to go with and what you’ll see and do along the way.
For the 10 best Rhine river cruises to book for 2024, see our guide
In this guide:
Before you book
Who to cruise with
Top ports and sights
A classic Rhine river cruise
Before you book
What types of Rhine river cruise are available?
The most popular cruises are seven-night journeys from Amsterdam to Basel or vice-versa that tick off all four countries, and often include an overnight in the Dutch capital so there’s time for a canal boat ride or to visit the world-famous Rijksmuseum and Anne Frank House.
There are also several variations on that theme. A few river cruise lines skip Amsterdam and start in Cologne or Dusseldorf instead.
Mini cruises pair a transit through the Rhine Gorge with calls into cute towns such as Koblenz and Rüdesheim, while longer sailings add a couple of nights on the Moselle, a pretty, narrower river lined with acres of vineyards, calling into Cochem, a small town with half-timbered houses and an imposing castle.
A few companies pair the Rhine with the Main; all offer two-week cruises to Budapest, a journey that takes in the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers, and also the Main-Danube Canal.
Some cruises sail north from Cologne or Dusseldorf to Amsterdam, variously calling into Utrecht, Nijmegen, Antwerp and Rotterdam, a city famed for its cube houses and quirky architecture.
Facilities on board
Most river ships on the Rhine have three accommodation decks and hold between 130 and 200 passengers. On the lowest level, rooms have high fixed windows. Moving up, cabins and suites have French or panoramic windows that open. Some will have private outdoor balconies.
A-Rosa Cruises’ A-Rosa Sena is an exception. It is twice the width of other river ships, holds 280 passengers over four decks, and has a large spa with a sauna and snow grotto, family rooms and a play area and children’s pool.
All vessels have a lounge bar; most have at least two restaurants, a massage room, small gym and sometimes a sauna and pool. Scenic’s river ships have salt rooms that are said to have health benefits.
Lots of lines carry bikes for organised cycle tours that passengers can also borrow if they fancy exploring ashore alone.
When to go
Historically cruises have run from March to December, but companies including Viking, A-Rosa, AmaWaterways and Viva Cruises now set sail in January and/or February as well, taking advantage of demand for travel out of season.
Winter on the Rhine is cold and can be wet and maybe a bit snowy, but it’s a magical time to cruise in the lead up to Christmas for the colourful markets that open in every city, town and village along the Rhine from late November until December 23. Several companies have cruises over Christmas and New Year, which are a great way to enjoy the festive season without the hard work or turkey leftovers.
By spring the weather is heating up and trees are coming into blossom. Summers are warm, especially the farther south you go. In autumn, the leaves add colour and vineyards come alive as the grape harvest gets underway.
High or low water can be a problem any time of year and may result in passengers either being coached to the places they are due to visit or, where possible, being swapped to a sister ship on the other side of the obstruction.
When to book
Companies always offer financial incentives when they launch a new season of cruises, but all also have regular deals throughout the year, be it discounts, free flights, drinks packages or no single supplements.
The best advice is to book immediately if there is a cruise and date you want, but hold on for any deals if you can be flexible. Specialist cruise travel agents will get advance notice of special offers, so it’s worth joining their mailing lists.
Who to cruise with
River ships might look the same from the outside but dig a bit deeper and there’s a huge variation in itineraries, décor – expect anything from clean Scandinavian lines to trendy mirrored finishes and lavish furnishings – and what’s included.
A few companies cover everything, some include flights, tours and some drinks, others throw in some tours and drinks but no flights. A little homework is needed to find the one that suits. On the plus side, all include Wi-Fi.
Scenic heads the everything-included list. Flights, transfers, drinks, a choice of tours at each port, tips, speciality dining; it’s all covered so you can disembark owing nothing. It has seven and 15-day voyages on the Rhine (the latter including a detour down the Moselle).
Uniworld River Cruises, Tauck and Riverside Luxury Cruises are not far behind in the inclusive stakes. All cruise from Amsterdam to Basel; Tauck adds a two-week Rhine and Moselle combo that visits Luxembourg.
Tui River Cruises, Emerald Cruises, Viking, Avalon Waterways, AmaWaterways and Amadeus River Cruises variously include flights, transfers, tips, tours and drinks with lunch and dinner. All have Rhine cruises from Amsterdam to Basel or that pair the Rhine and Moselle.
Viking has eight-day sailings between Basel and Trier, a town on the Moselle founded by the Romans. Avalon’s Active & Discovery cruises include kayaking on Amsterdam’s canals, e-biking in the Black Forest and going underground in a basalt mine near Koblenz. Choose Amadeus’s August 5 sailing to see the Rhine in Flames spectacle.
British favourites Riviera Travel and Saga cruise mainly from Cologne and Mainz respectively. For those cruising alone, Riviera has eight Rhine cruises exclusively for solo passengers; Saga has 12 single cabins on Spirit of the Rhine (and will have the same on Spirit of the Moselle launching in July 2025).
European companies A-Rosa, Viva, CroisiEurope and Nicko Cruises have various short and long Rhine cruises from Cologne, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Strasbourg. Viva’s four-night Wellness cruises from Frankfurt between January and March 2025 will have daily yoga and qigong classes, detox drinks and a wellness coach.
APT, a rival to Scenic in the all-inclusive stakes, cruises from Amsterdam to Nuremberg or Budapest on the Rhine, Main and Danube. Sister brand APT Travelmarvel has the same routes but only selected tours and drinks with meals are included.
Tour operators such as Jules Verne and Great Rail Journeys charter river ships from various companies and package them with flights or rail travel.
Top ports and sights
Cologne
Cologne’s magnificent Gothic cathedral survived the Second World War bombs that destroyed the rest of the city. Climb the bell tower (533 steps) for views over the rooftops and river. The NS-Documentation Centre in the former Gestapo headquarters recounts the horrors of life in Nazi Germany. The riverside Chocolate Museum lifts the mood.
Koblenz
A huge equestrian statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I marks out Koblenz, a town at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle. The old town is a maze of narrow streets, squares and churches made for exploring. A cable car goes over the river to Ehrenbreitstein fortress, a stronghold built by the Prussians to fend off the French with great views over the river below.
Mainz
A pretty town with half-timbered houses, a Romanesque Cathedral and the Gutenberg Museum, dedicated to the man who invented the printing press. On Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, the market square comes alive with people, stalls and colour.
Rudesheim
Quaint little Rudesheim is home to Siegfried’s Mechanical Musical Cabinet, a museum full of hurdy-gurdy music machines. A cable car goes over the vineyards to the monumental statue of Germania, erected to mark the foundation of the German Empire in 1871. Brave souls can try Rudesheimer Kaffee, a potent mix of coffee, brandy and sugar topped with whipped cream, in the narrow Drosselgasse.
Strasbourg
The city has been part of France or Germany eight times over the centuries. Now it is French, but with Germanic overtones. The old town, Petite France, is gorgeous, with its half-timbered houses, canals, cosy restaurants and cafés. The stunning Gothic cathedral houses an astronomical clock made in 1574 that still keeps perfect time.
A classic Rhine cruise
Day one
Embark in Amsterdam. Overnight in the city.
Day two
Morning in Amsterdam. Walking and canal tours. Afternoon and overnight sailing.
Day three
Arrive in Cologne. Walking tour and free time to visit the cathedral. Some include a local Kölsch beer tasting. Cruising overnight.
Day four
Daytime transit through the Rhine Gorge. Arrive and overnight in Rudesheim. Tours visit Siegfried’s Mechanical Musical Cabinet. Some companies provide cable car tickets to visit the Germania statue.
Day five
Morning sailing the Rhine. Afternoon in Mainz. Walking tour with a visit to the Gutenberg Museum. Evening and overnight cruising.
Day six
Arrive in Strasbourg. Walking tour of Petite France and cathedral visit. Evening and overnight sailing.
Day seven
Arrive in Breisach. Tours visit clockmakers in the Black Forest. Overnight sailing.
Day eight
Disembark in Basel after breakfast.
