River cruises are more intimate of a cruising experience and are really becoming a popular way to travel. If it sounds like your perfect next vacation, here are the top five river cruises you should experience:
AmaWaterways Art: Want to paint on the Seine River? Then AmaWaterways has the cruise for you to Paris and Normandy. It begins in Paris, the City of Lights, and stops in Honfleur, a city in northern France’s Lower Normandy region that was a subject of many art works, including those by Monet. You’ll also tour Normandy, its capital city, Rouen, and its famous beaches of WWII. On board is an art instructor who helps you to hone your painting skills.
American Queen Steamboat: Wine connoisseurs will love American Queen Steamboat’s ‘Vineyards, Vintages and Varietals’ themed cruises that include meeting local wine makers for tastings along the Washington and Oregon regions. Enjoy meals made with local wines and learn about the America’s Pacific Northwest wine country. If bourbon is more your choice of beverage, then the Bourbon Cruise puts you in Kentucky’s bourbon region for tastings, treats and cooking demonstrations.
AmaWaterways Wine: The AmaWaterways also caters to the wine lover with its river cruise of the Loire Valley in central France, starting with the colossal Château de Chambord listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has 426 rooms, 77 staircases, 282 fireplaces and a stable that once held 1,200 horses. Once you’re done touring, the Loire Valley is also home to one of the world’s most well-known areas of wine production. It’s referred to as the Cradle of the French and the Garden of France. Sip wine at the Nitray Vineyards and the Loire Valley’s Bouvet Ladubay, which has more than 10 miles of wine cellars located right under the St Florent Abbey ruins.
Riviera Travel: It’s a new U.K.-based company, with river cruises to Europe. They operate 10 ships on the Rhine, Main, Danube, Rhone and Douro rivers on 11 itineraries. They also offer a Black Sea cruise, which cruises through the 83-mile stretch of the Iron Gates Gorge in Serbia’s Djerdap National Park and into the Danube Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Viking Ra: Viking has added the Egypt’s Nile River to their cruise itinerary for March 2018.
The 12-day Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary features the Great Pyramids of Giza, the new Grand Egyptian Museum and the Mosque of Muhammad Ali.
Infinite Journeys Travel