Cruise holidays: The world’s best river cruise destinations

The Douro will take you through the best of Porto. Photo / Unsplash

New Zealanders have taken to cruise holidays like … well, Kiwis to water. Alongside our transtasman cousins, we’re among the largest markets for seaborne holidays on the planet. Say “cruise”, however, and most think of ocean-going casinos, Vegas-style shows and gigantic floating resorts.

River cruises are a different experience: smaller ships, fewer people, a more intimate encounter with the destination and the locals. Here are some of the best – places guaranteed to float your boat.

Danube

Length

: 2888km

When

: Year-round; avoid summer (Jun-Aug) when low water may cause cancellations

Waltzing through nine countries, the brown Danube is Europe’s second longest river and the most popular for cruises. Highlights include some of the continent’s most majestic capitals – Budapest, Vienna and miniature Bratislava; medieval villages, castles and cathedrals; with side-trips to gems like Salzburg or Nuremberg.

Check out Vienna while on a cruise on the Danube. Photo / Unsplash

Most travellers opt for one-way trips, usually seven-10 days, often setting out from Passau and sailing cross-country to Budapest; those with more wind in their sails could continue through Bucharest to the delta on the Romania-Ukraine border. Perhaps not now, though.

Rhine

Length

: 1320km

When

: Year-round; December, Christmas markets, crazy busy; shoulder season (April or Sept) best deals

Maybe not this summer, but the Rhine usually flows through peak Europe – Switzerland, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Options run from a half-day toe in the water to 14-day multi-country trips.

While each bend in the river has its marvels, Germany’s 65km stretch of Middle Rhine Valley is the stretch of literary, operatic and fairytale fame, studded with imposing castles, medieval villages and hilltop palaces. Strapped for time, four-day cruises from Strasbourg to Koblenz are a great way to pack this in, along with Rhineland vineyards.

Rhone

Length

: 812km

When

: March-Nov, grape harvests Aug-Oct

Take a week or so to explore southern France, from Beaune, heart of Burgundy, through vineyards and chateaux, stopping for a bite in the country’s gastronomic capital, Lyon, through historic Avignon to Arles, home of Van Gogh and Cezanne.

Lyon is best seen while cruising down the Rhone. Photo / Unsplash

Douro

Length

: 897km

When

: Year-round; May, Sept best options

You don’t have to have a taste for port, but it helps. The Douro winds from Porto’s medieval dockyards into the rugged Douro Valley for wine tastings, the awesome vultures’ nest of Douro National Park, and a gobsmacking finale in golden Salamanca, just across the Spanish border (8 days).

The Douro will take you through the best of Porto. Photo / Unsplash

Yangtze

Length

: 6300km

When

: Year-round; spring (Mar-May) and autumn (Sep-Nov) for cooler breezes, fewer mosquitoes

File this in the “maybe sometime” basket. Itineraries vary – 10-day voyages between Chongqing and Shanghai, three-four-day excursions; most include the Three Gorges, including the controversial dam and gorgeous steep, misty cliffs; centuries-old pagodas; the ghost city of Fengdu and rare wildlife.

Mekong

Length

: 4350km

When

: winter (Nov-Feb) is cooler but crowded; rainy season (Jun-Oct) less busy, wetter and hotter

One of the best ways to see and experience the real Asia, look for a week-long (give or take) voyage running from Siem Reap, Cambodia, near the temples of Angkor Wat, to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

Most of the time you’ll float past rural scenery, although Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City will catapult you into Vietnam War and Khmer Rouge territory, POW camps and tunnels. In the lower reaches, you’ll return to the peace of bamboo jungle, rice fields and pagodas and the happier chaos of floating villages and colourful markets in the Mekong Delta.

Mississippi

Length

: 3734km

When

: Riverboats ply the lower reaches in winter (Nov-Dec) and summer (Apr-Jun)

Mark Twain. Gone With the Wind. Elvis. Creedence Clearwater Revival. The world’s fourth longest river cuts through the literal and spiritual heart of the US and some of its most beautiful scenery.

See America from the winding Mississippi. Photo / Unsplash

Naturally, many ships are designed to look like old-fashioned paddle-steamers and the voyages, which can range from a few hours to three weeks or longer, pass quaint towns and major cities and include visits to plantation homes and battle sites.

The New Orleans-to-Memphis stretch of this vast river – wider than a mile: 16km at its widest point – calls to mind Huck Finn, the era of slavery and civil war, big cities, all but forgotten towns, wild swamps and rock legends. You’ll travel it in style.

Amazon

Length

: 6992km

When

: Wet season (Dec-May) for fewer crowds, spectacular wildlife

Welcome to the jungle, or what remains as rapacious capitalism and uncaring politicians do their worst to the world’s largest river, its surrounding environment, wildlife and indigenous inhabitants.

The river crosses eight South American nations but Brazil attracts most traffic, including the large cruise ships and hordes of visitors, particularly in the stretch between Manaus and Belem.

The better option is Peru, where shallow-bottomed riverboats set out from Iquitos to the northern tributaries and the river’s headwaters on trips typically spanning four-seven days. A highlight is Pacaya-Samiria reserve, 20,000sq km of flooded, wildlife-packed jungle where visitors stop in villages, swim with pink river dolphins and soak up one of the most biodiverse places on Earth.

Murray

Length

: 2735km

When

: Year-round on the lower river; tours further inland rely on higher springtime waters

As the Mississippi is to the USA, so the “mighty Murray” shaped modern Australian history. The river was a major shipping route in the 19th century, ferrying goods and produce across Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.

Today, luxury cruisers and recreated paddle-steamers offer itineraries running from three-seven days, most on the lower river between Murray Bridge and the old trading posts of Mannum and Morgan. Inching through the river system at a genteel pace, they’re great for wildlife viewing; longer trips are likely to offer tramping, small-boat safaris, wine tastings and cultural experiences.

I’d suggest booking in November when the river is higher and cruises run further upstream from historic Echuca, a snapshot of colonial Australia that was once one of the country’s busiest and richest ports.

AFRICA

Nile

Length

: 6853km

When

: Boats sail year-round but Oct-April is the coolest period

Life on the Nile, with apologies to Dame Agatha Christie and all these other waterways, has to be the ultimate river cruise. Most voyages are less than a week long and sail a round trip from Cairo, which is usually included in the package, calling in at Luxor and Aswan.

Check out the pyramids while cruising through Egypt. Photo / Unsplash

Because Egypt grew up on the river’s banks, a cruise is one of the best ways to experience the country, its 5000 years of history, ancient glories including the Pyramids and the Sphinx, vast temples and the Valley of the Kings, and observe its fractious present.

You’ll have the choice of a range of vessels from a small cruise ship to a Christie-inspired steam ship or dahabeya houseboat with giant sails. From Aswan a side trip to Abu Simbel, the pair of huge rock temples carved from of a mountainside near the Sudanese border, is a must.