“A Danube cruise” can mean several very different journeys. The river runs through ten countries, and the route you choose shapes which cities, landscapes and travel days fill your trip. Here is how the main itineraries compare.
The classic week: Vienna round trip
The seven-night Classic Danube sails round trip from Vienna, taking in Dürnstein and the Wachau valley, Linz, Bratislava, Budapest and Esztergom. It is the most popular first Danube cruise: two great capitals, beautiful river scenery and an easy round-trip that returns you to where you started.
A different gateway: Passau round trip
The seven-night Imperial Danube begins and ends in Passau, Germany, and reaches Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava and Melk. It suits travellers arriving from the west or combining the cruise with time in Bavaria.
Going further east: the Lower Danube
For a deeper journey, the ten-night Danube Delights itineraries run between Vienna and Bucharest in either direction, adding Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania — Belgrade, Novi Sad, Vidin and the dramatic Iron Gates gorge. The seven-night Treasures of the Danube & Balkans focuses on the stretch between Belgrade and Vienna.
The grand voyage: Amsterdam to Belgrade
The fourteen-night Grand Discovery links the Rhine, Main and Danube, sailing from Amsterdam through Cologne, the Rhine Gorge, Bavaria’s Würzburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg and Regensburg, then on to Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade. It is the way to see the heart of Europe by water in a single trip.
How to choose
Start with the cities you most want to see and how long you can travel. A round trip keeps logistics simple; a one-way voyage covers more ground but means arriving and departing from different cities. Then compare the ships and cabins that sail each route.
See the Danube destination guide for the full picture, and contact Palace Tours for departure dates and prices on any of these routes.