The 9 finest river cruises for each sort of traveler

River cruise operators are extremely aggressive, usually providing very comparable excursions and onboard facilities. Even the ships are comparable in structure and options, albeit with completely different decor types.

Nonetheless, each line has its strengths, and the big variety of locations and itineraries means there are many river cruise selections for each sort of traveler, from journey lovers to historical past nerds and wine and meals aficionados.

Greatest for first-timers

For those who’re taking your first river cruise, Viking is an effective place to begin because it’s one of many largest and most skilled river cruise operators. Since its founding in 1997, Viking has targeted on traditional itineraries to must-see locations and websites, just like the Hungarian Parliament in Budapest, Cologne’s famed cathedral in Germany, the tulip fields in Belgium and the Netherlands, and the antiquities in Egypt. And since Viking has greater than 80 river ships crusing the world, it is simple to seek out an itinerary to match your pursuits.

Greatest for lively vacationers

In recent times, river strains have been working laborious to shed their picture as being largely for older, retired vacationers. Most adopted go well with as a part of that effort when AmaWaterways launched bicycle excursions and health lessons on board almost 10 years in the past.

However Avalon Waterways has actually set itself aside with its “Energetic & Discovery” itineraries in Europe that assure three varieties of excursions every single day: Traditional, Energetic and Discovery. The Traditional is a coach or strolling tour of the important thing points of interest of the day; Energetic choices embody climbing, biking, and even kayaking and canoeing; whereas Discovery may be something from native cooking and portray lessons to early morning walks for breakfast at an area cafe.

Greatest for vacationers on the lookout for a deep dive

The expedition cruise operator Nationwide Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions guarantees a brand new degree of immersion in European historical past when it begins crusing the Rhine River for the primary time in 2026.

Lindblad’s ocean voyages focus extra on wildlife and lively exploration by way of climbing, kayaking and Zodiac rides, however its European river cruises will emphasize the area’s wealthy historical past, tradition and delicacies.

For instance, you may sip Champagne with the lord of Rheinstein Fort within the Rhine Gorge; find out about Frankfurt’s deep-rooted Jewish historical past throughout a non-public in-home go to; or see the works of masters like Van Gogh, Rembrandt and Vermeer throughout non-public after-hours excursions on the Kroller-Muller Museum within the Netherlands.

Every voyage’s workers consists of an expedition chief, historian, cultural skilled, licensed pictures teacher and Nationwide Geographic vacation spot skilled. Like an expedition cruise, the sailings will function onboard lectures and excursions.

Greatest for journey seekers 

For those who agree with the “For those who’ve seen one church, you’ve got seen all of them” sentiment, a cruise alongside the Amazon could also be your most suitable option. With Aqua Expeditions, you may hike via the jungle, fish for piranha, and ply the Peruvian Amazon’s darkish water on Zodiac rides in the hunt for pink dolphins and the area’s many birds and different wildlife.

One among only a handful of small-ship operators within the area, Aqua Expeditions presents the perfect luxurious and journey on its 20-suite Aqua Nera and the 16-suite Aria Amazon. However the firm has a brand new competitor within the luxurious area: Abercrombie & Kent‘s newly launched Pure Amazon has simply 12 cabins with floor-to-ceiling home windows and a assured 1-to-1 staff-to-guest ratio.

Greatest for solo vacationers

River cruises are nice for solo vacationers as a result of their intimate dimension and nature are excellent for making new associates. Nonetheless, like a lot of the group journey trade, charges are based mostly on double occupancy, which means the upcharge for touring alone may be steep.

Most strains now provide just a few decrease cabins on each itinerary that solo vacationers can e-book with out paying the dreaded single complement. And European operator Riviera River Cruises has total sailings devoted to solo vacationers with out the upcharge, making them ultimate for each singles in addition to associates who merely need their very own area.

Greatest for households

River cruising has by no means been significantly family-friendly. As a result of the ships and their cabins are small, there is not area for devoted children areas, and the excursions are very adult-focused.

There are just a few exceptions. Adventures by Disney has lengthy partnered with AmaWaterways to supply family-oriented river sailings on its ships. These ships have just a few connecting cabins and cabins with area for a chair that converts to a single mattress.

Different family-friendly river cruise strains embody Uniworld Boutique River Cruises, which has choose household sailings all year long, and CroisiEurope, which has connecting cabins and presents multigenerational sailings in the summertime with particular excursions for teenagers.

Greatest for luxurious vacationers 

Most river cruise strains catering to North People match squarely within the luxurious camp. The place they fluctuate is of their types. For conventional luxurious with impeccable service, regionally sourced meals and wine, British-trained butlers, and opulent decor distinctive to every ship and the area it sails, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises has lengthy been the chief.

In France, sail the Seine aboard the S.S. Joie de Vivre, which Uniworld embellished with handcrafted furnishings, superb antiques, authentic art work and accents impressed by Twentieth-century Parisian design. Uniworld can be the one luxurious line crusing the Venetian lagoon with the S.S. La Venezia, the place you will discover Fortuny materials and Murano glass on board.

For extra informal luxurious, AmaWaterways and Avalon Waterways excel with top-notch service, facilities and meals, minus among the extra formal decor and extra conventional luxurious perks.

Greatest for historical past lovers 

European river cruises provide many historic excursions by advantage of their location. However for individuals who wish to dig into historical historical past, nothing beats a journey down Egypt’s Nile with skilled Egyptologists on Abercrombie & Kent’s 4 luxurious Sanctuary ships, which vary in dimension from six to 38 cabins.

For a really unique expertise, sail to the Valley of the Kings, Luxor Temple and different well-known landmarks on the six-cabin Zein Nile Chateau, a favourite for personal charters by celebrities together with Samuel L. Jackson, Salma Hayek, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

Whereas A&Ok excels with its guides, meals and opulent ships, a number of different luxurious river firms sail the Nile, together with Viking, Tauck, AmaWaterways and Uniworld. Most itineraries vary from 4 to seven nights and embody pre- and post-sailing excursions to see the pyramids and museums in Cairo.

Greatest for foodies and oenophiles

All the luxurious river strains are recognized for excellent regional and worldwide delicacies and wine alternatives throughout their itineraries, particularly in France.

However one of many latest gamers, Riverside Luxurious Cruises, strives to construct its fame as finest at school for superb eating, significantly relating to particular tasting menus. The particular non-public eating experiences provided aren’t low-cost (anticipate upcharges of $320 per particular person), however are billed as Michelin-quality.

They reside as much as their promise with menus together with roasted yellow capsicum with contemporary anchovy and tender pink spring veal. And the wines alone justify the associated fee. Throughout a current crusing, we sampled distinctive wine alternatives from France, Germany, Switzerland and Hungary, together with Donatsch Completer Malanserrebe, a white wine from the uncommon and historical grapes native to Switzerland’s Graubunden area.