Which River is Best?

Sailor again.  Just hangin’.  Taking walks, getting my tummy rubbed, snoozin’ on the couch.  Stuff like that.  Oh, my Dorothy passed the Sell River Cruises Specialist Program last week, so don’t forget to congratulate her!  She does a lot of these courses.

This morning my Dorothy decided to let me go whichever way I wanted when we took a walk.  Decisions, decisions!  Sniff the potted plant or the corner shrub?  Head for the lake or leave a “message” over at Annie’s house?  I couldn’t decide whether to take the nature walk with the boardwalk through the woods or hunt for those turtles again.

Believe it or not there’s a similarity there with river cruising.  So many options … where do you start?  Well, here’s the poop on river cruise destinations:

•  Most river cruises are a week long although you can book longer ones – 9, 10 , 12, 15 nights - even up to 24 nights!
  
•  River cruises usually start and end in fantastic cities like Amsterdam, Paris and Budapest.  You should take some time either before or after the cruise (or both) to visit these cities more thoroughly.  Usually pre- and post-cruise packages are available through the cruise lines.
•  For first time river cruisers, the Danube or the Rhine are the most popular – after you’ve cruised those you may want to branch out to more exotic river cruises like the Nile, the Yangtze, the Douro (Portugal) or even the Chobe in Africa!
• Something to keep in mind, river cruises are seasonal ( for example, European river cruises run from March through December) but rivers are finicky, if they flood in the spring you might be unable to get beneath some of the bridges (in which case you would be taken there by bus) or if there is a drought in the summer or fall you may also have to resort to buses for some sections of the cruise.  Nothing we can do about mother nature! 

The “Cliff Notes” River by River

• Rhine/Moselle/Main – Think of fairy tale castles, endless vineyards and some of the oldest and most historic cities in Germany, France & Luxembourg.
• Danube – Learn about the Austro-Hungarian Empire and countries that were behind the Iron Curtain for over 40 years.  As they say in Budapest “The communists saved us from the Nazis, but then they forgot to go home.”
•  Rhone/Saone – Passing through Provence & Burgundy, come taste the wine!  And dine in Lyon, one of the gastronomic capitals of the world. Add a pre-or post-cruise stay in Paris, the city of lights via one of France’s fast TGV trains.
• Douro – Ah Portugal! From Porto to the border of Spain the Douro twists  in lovely, winding, turning loops.  Spend some extra time in Lisbon before or after and try the port wine in a centuries old bodega.
• Seine – Enjoy the best of both urban and rural culture in France.  The Seine springs from beautiful Burgundy, flows through Paris and into the orchards and fields of Normandy.  Art and culture enthusiasts, wine lovers, history buffs and architecture admirers will enjoy their time on the Seine.

No matter where you go, there are wonderful things to see, sniff (my favorite) and do on every river cruise!  There are no wrong decisions!

Keep your nose to the wind and all four paws on deck!

Dorothy Flannery is president of Top Sail Journeys, Sailor C. Flannery is Director of Public Relations and all around dogsbody.  If you would like to learn more about European river cruises, check out their sites at http://cruisethedanube.com and http://cruisetherhine.com or for special event cruises go to http://eventcruises.co.