Summer crowds on the Rhine?

[Reesaroo]

I had the opportunity to take my first river cruise on the Danube this May and it was wonderful! I am totally hooked and planning my next cruise. I took the Danube cruise as a girls trip with my daughter and a friend. The next cruise will be a Rhine cruise with my husband to celebrate our 30th anniversary. My husband is a teacher who does not get out of school until the end of June so we are limited to cruising in July or August. I know the crowds will be higher in the summer than in May but just how bad will it be? I am looking for input from others who have taken Rhine cruises in the summer. How were the crowds? On our May cruise we really had no crowds at all except for our excursion to Cesky Krumlov. There were absolute wall to wall people there in the afternoon. I can't imagine it in the summer!

 

Crowds do not bother me at all but my husband has a hard time with crowds so he will really not enjoy himself if there are wall to wall people at every single stop. If it helps, the cruise I am looking at starts in Basel, stops at Breisach, Strasbourg, Heidelburg, Koblenz, Cologne and ends in Amsterdam.

 

Thanks for the input summer cruisers !

 

Lisa

[Floridiana]

Basel, Cologne, Koblenz, Amsterdam - tourism is only one of their businesses, crowds will be the usual mixed local shoppers and tourists. In medium and large cities, I would not expect it wall to wall like in some small well-known towns and castles that live off tourism.

Breisach is small, but many passengers take excursions to Strasbourg. Breisach itself is cute but not a day visitor magnet. Strasbourg's cathedral and square will have crowds. In rainy weather, the day trippers will stay home, therefore hope for rain and less people. :cool:

Heidelberg's castle ruin will have a crowd when all 180 cruisers from your ship show up at the same time. Downtown should be just fine. I felt there were too many people in medieval Marksburg castle at the same time, but the tours were staggered. Viking ship, Gate 1, Japanese tour group, British school group, German day trippers, all between 9:00 am and noon.

[vozzie]

Just did that cruise in July. Yes, there are crowds, it is European summer holidays....but not as bad as in Paris, Venice, Rome or Barcelona....which we also just visited.

From what I hear, August is much worse than July.

[Sturmin]

Have you looked at the Christmas market cruises. The markets themselves maybe crowded, but the other areas will be quiet. I don't like the crowds myself and usually like the November time frame. I know this won't work for a teacher, but Christmas holidays may. Only down side is shorter days and cool weather. Upside is much less expensive and less crowds.

[Got2Cruise]

We did the Rhine in July. We didn't notice it extremely crowded. Many of the small towns have regulations that the tour groups must be kept to a maximum number so there are no herds of people in huge groups. Also every place has timed reservations which are strictly adhered to. Heidelberg is a college town and there aren't many students around in the summer. I would advise getting your timed tickets to Anne Frank House or Museums in Amsterdam

 

 

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[notamermaid]

Hello Reesaroo,

 

while the places you mention are touristy I would not regard them as crowded as Paris or London. In Amsterdam it seems everybody goes to the Anne Frank house so Got2Cruise advice makes perfect sense. But you do not have to do those tourist places or you could split up according to your interests, i.e. you yourself go to the Anne Frank House and your husband seeks out something else - technical stuff perhaps or whatever appeals to him. Have a look at what tripadvisor says or the wikipedia page on Amsterdam. Strasbourg will indeed be busy around the cathedral but I assume there will be nice areas that are not so crowded but of interest. Breisach is small enough to get ouf town quickly for a bit of scenery.

 

You do not mention Rüdesheim so I assume you are not stopping there. Good! It is probably one of the busiest on your itinerary as regards tourists / locals ratio and the Drosselgasse is to be avoided. If you are stopping there: I would walk along the park instead to the ruins of the bridge or head over to Assmanshausen or take the ferry to Bingen or have a gondola ride. The mechanical museum is supposed to be good but I cannot say if that is something you might regret not seeing, I have not been inside.

 

Koblenz is only really busy in Löhrstrasse on a Saturday, with shoppers mainly. The old town has small streets but one can get round the tourist groups easily. Have a cable car ride to Ehrenbreitstein fortress instead if you really want to get away from the crowds. The embankment both on the Rhine and the Moselle are nice walks with many people but it is so spacious that it does not feel crowded. For something quiet and different you could go to the fish-viewing area at the Koblenz lock or the Wehrtechnisches Museum (something for military fans).

 

Cologne is a busy place but again the plateau of the cathedral does not feel that crowded as it is spacious. The cathedral is a must visit in my opinion but in Cologne you can also find peace in several museums that are not as busy as the Louvre or the National Gallery in London. The old town I do not know so well but the embankment is not that crowded. Avoid trying to negotiate your way along Hohe Strasse (the shopping area most frequented by tourists), take the (sort of) parallel streets. You should be fine there.

 

As regards the date: the earlier you can go the better as most schoolchildren start their summer holiday after 15 July (German holidays are staggered, French holidays are mid/end July till end of August/beginning of September.

 

 

Edit: forgot to mention that Heidelberg is not your port stop it will be Mannheim or Speyer from where you will take a coach to Heidelberg on the Neckar river. One can stay on the ship during that time - which might sail on to pick the passengers up upstream or downstream, depending on the itinerary. If you are lucky the ship docks in Mannheim or Speyer for a while and if you prefer this you can explore either town instead of going to Heidelberg. I have never been to Heidelberg but it is very popular and from what I remember almost everybody here on CC loved the excursion.

 

 

I hope you find this helpful.

 

notamermaid

Edited August 10, 2017 by notamermaid
additional information

[TravelerThom]

... Only down side is shorter days and cool weather...

While I do prefer longer days, I consider cool weather much more desirable than hot weather. I can dress for comfort at freezing or even in snow, but IMO the is no appropriate clothing for walking in 35°C weather.☺ A Christmas cruise should definitely be considered by OP.

[Floridiana]

OP wrote that her husband is a teacher. That limits the time he can take off to summer.

[gnome12]

OP wrote that her husband is a teacher. That limits the time he can take off to summer.

...or Christmas.

[Sturmin]

While I do prefer longer days, I consider cool weather much more desirable than hot weather. I can dress for comfort at freezing or even in snow, but IMO the is no appropriate clothing for walking in 35°C weather.☺ A Christmas cruise should definitely be considered by OP.

Totally agree with you. I prefer mid 50'sF(10C?). I have a nice light jacket with a deep inside pocket for my wallet. It's a pain in the rear to get it out but there no way anyone can pickpocket me:).

[Reesaroo]

Have you looked at the Christmas market cruises. The markets themselves maybe crowded, but the other areas will be quiet. I don't like the crowds myself and usually like the November time frame. I know this won't work for a teacher, but Christmas holidays may. Only down side is shorter days and cool weather. Upside is much less expensive and less crowds.

 

That would be a nice idea but school break is usually only one week at Christmas so there is not enough time to get a vacation in at Christmas time. July and August are our only choices.

[Reesaroo]

Hello Reesaroo,

 

while the places you mention are touristy I would not regard them as crowded as Paris or London. In Amsterdam it seems everybody goes to the Anne Frank house so Got2Cruise advice makes perfect sense. But you do not have to do those tourist places or you could split up according to your interests, i.e. you yourself go to the Anne Frank House and your husband seeks out something else - technical stuff perhaps or whatever appeals to him. Have a look at what tripadvisor says or the wikipedia page on Amsterdam. Strasbourg will indeed be busy around the cathedral but I assume there will be nice areas that are not so crowded but of interest. Breisach is small enough to get ouf town quickly for a bit of scenery.

 

You do not mention Rüdesheim so I assume you are not stopping there. Good! It is probably one of the busiest on your itinerary as regards tourists / locals ratio and the Drosselgasse is to be avoided. If you are stopping there: I would walk along the park instead to the ruins of the bridge or head over to Assmanshausen or take the ferry to Bingen or have a gondola ride. The mechanical museum is supposed to be good but I cannot say if that is something you might regret not seeing, I have not been inside.

 

Koblenz is only really busy in Löhrstrasse on a Saturday, with shoppers mainly. The old town has small streets but one can get round the tourist groups easily. Have a cable car ride to Ehrenbreitstein fortress instead if you really want to get away from the crowds. The embankment both on the Rhine and the Moselle are nice walks with many people but it is so spacious that it does not feel crowded. For something quiet and different you could go to the fish-viewing area at the Koblenz lock or the Wehrtechnisches Museum (something for military fans).

 

Cologne is a busy place but again the plateau of the cathedral does not feel that crowded as it is spacious. The cathedral is a must visit in my opinion but in Cologne you can also find peace in several museums that are not as busy as the Louvre or the National Gallery in London. The old town I do not know so well but the embankment is not that crowded. Avoid trying to negotiate your way along Hohe Strasse (the shopping area most frequented by tourists), take the (sort of) parallel streets. You should be fine there.

 

As regards the date: the earlier you can go the better as most schoolchildren start their summer holiday after 15 July (German holidays are staggered, French holidays are mid/end July till end of August/beginning of September.

 

 

Edit: forgot to mention that Heidelberg is not your port stop it will be Mannheim or Speyer from where you will take a coach to Heidelberg on the Neckar river. One can stay on the ship during that time - which might sail on to pick the passengers up upstream or downstream, depending on the itinerary. If you are lucky the ship docks in Mannheim or Speyer for a while and if you prefer this you can explore either town instead of going to Heidelberg. I have never been to Heidelberg but it is very popular and from what I remember almost everybody here on CC loved the excursion.

 

 

I hope you find this helpful.

 

notamermaid

 

Thank you so much for all of the detailed information! It is extremely helpful. I specially appreciate the advice on going as early in the summer as possible. We will try to do that. My husband usually gets out of school about June 25 so we will try to find a cruise as close to that date as possible. We are also adding on a week in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland before or after the cruise. Maybe we will add that to the end of the trip so the cruise will be earlier in the summer. Thanks again!

 

Lisa