Rhine River cruise which direction is better?

[top of the world]

We want to do a Rhine River cruise.

Is it better to go from Amsterdam to Basel, or Basel to Amsterdam? or is it the same either way?

Is it better to go in August or September (2019)?

Thanks for your help! 😊

[hbr777]

Whatever direction has more water lol. Right now, neither does.

Basel to Amsterdam is going with the flow of the river. Might be quicker, less vibration, noise, etc.

[Host Jazzbeau]

The Rhine is never a fast-flowing river where direction makes much of a difference [unlike the Rhône].  The only stretch where it would be an issue is the Rhine Castles, and there the ships deliberately take it slow downstream.  The real difference is going from Amsterdam through a canal and the industrialized part of the Rhine into more and more scenic territory, versus going the other way.  We felt that A to B was preferable, as our enjoyment would increase as we went along.

 

The other point to consider is pre- and post-cruise options [if you aren't locked into a short vacation period].  You should always fly in 1 [or preferably 2] days ahead, which is plenty of time to enjoy Amsterdam – especially because you are likely to visit there again on some future river or ocean cruise.  Going A to B means you can schedule several days in Switzerland to visit Basel [ok], Lucerne [tops!], Zurich [interesting and the place to fly out of], or possibly going further to see the Alps etc.  So my recommendation is A to B.

 

But as hbr777 said, this was not the year to do either because of low-water problems.  Not knowing what next year will be like, I would recommend that you think about a Moselle cruise instead – that river is controlled by locks, so there were no water issues this year, and the scenery is lovely.

[G.M.T.]

Or a Passau / Vilshofen to Vienna. Pre-cruise Munich & Salzburg, post cruise Budapest.

[top of the world]

6 hours ago, G.M.T. said:

Or a Passau / Vilshofen to Vienna. Pre-cruise Munich & Salzburg, post cruise Budapest.

Thanks for the suggestion. We did the Danube - Nuremberg to Budapest - a few years ago, so we wanted to do a different river this time, but that 1st river cruise was really wonderful!

 

[top of the world]

11 hours ago, hbr777 said:

Whatever direction has more water lol. Right now, neither does.

Basel to Amsterdam is going with the flow of the river. Might be quicker, less vibration, noise, etc.

Thanks!

[top of the world]

11 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

The Rhine is never a fast-flowing river where direction makes much of a difference [unlike the Rhône].  The only stretch where it would be an issue is the Rhine Castles, and there the ships deliberately take it slow downstream.  The real difference is going from Amsterdam through a canal and the industrialized part of the Rhine into more and more scenic territory, versus going the other way.  We felt that A to B was preferable, as our enjoyment would increase as we went along.

 

The other point to consider is pre- and post-cruise options [if you aren't locked into a short vacation period].  You should always fly in 1 [or preferably 2] days ahead, which is plenty of time to enjoy Amsterdam – especially because you are likely to visit there again on some future river or ocean cruise.  Going A to B means you can schedule several days in Switzerland to visit Basel [ok], Lucerne [tops!], Zurich [interesting and the place to fly out of], or possibly going further to see the Alps etc.  So my recommendation is A to B.

 

But as hbr777 said, this was not the year to do either because of low-water problems.  Not knowing what next year will be like, I would recommend that you think about a Moselle cruise instead – that river is controlled by locks, so there were no water issues this year, and the scenery is lovely.

We will look into the Moselle. Thanks for the suggestion!

[notamermaid]

28 minutes ago, top of the world said:

We will look into the Moselle. Thanks for the suggestion!

The best way to ensure a smooth sailing is doing Trier on the Moselle to Amsterdam on the Rhine. Or from the Main river down to Basel. Any itinerary that avoids the bottleneck in the middle between Rüdesheim and Koblenz.

 

A 10-day Rhine and Moselle cruise is likely to take you through the gorge, i.e. Amsterdam to Basel. Look closely. And August is better than September. Normally. This year has been an exception in how long the drought has been going on.

 

Oh, and you might consider using a 110m ship. They fare a little better in low water than the 135m ones.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited November 14, 2018 by notamermaid
additional information