Late May on the Danube?

[hbr777]

Hello!

 

I am wondering for those who have cruised, is late May/early June a good time on the Danube?

 

I am trying to take into account: snowmelt and possible high rivers; avoiding the heat of the summer; avoiding the worst of the summer crowds.

 

Is there a downside to late May/early June on the Danube?

 

Thanks!

[jklc123]

Unfortunately, you can't know for sure. We cruised Passau to Budapest in late May in 2010. High water resulted in by passing Vienna to get under certain bridges ahead of the rising water level. We docked in Bratislava, were bused to Vienna for one day and had an extra day in Budapest (not a bad thing).

[texasstar]

We were on AmaWaterways on the Danube several years ago in early June.  It was perfect.  A few weeks earlier, they had very high water.  It was a wonderful cruise.

 

[RDVIK2016]

We did a Viking Romantic Danube cruise from Budapest to Nürnberg in late May 2016.  That time of year has mostly comfortable temperatures and there is a lot of daylight.  The weather for our trip was great, actually a bit warm in Budapest on around May 20/21. We had rain one day, mostly while underway on the section towards Passau.  River was very full with a strong current, but we passed under all bridges.  A few days after we disembarked heavy rains hit Bavaria, the river rose some more, and the boats could not get past a couple of bridges upstream of Passau.  I would not have minded being bused from Passau to Regensburg and Nürnberg so that remote possibility should not affect the decision on going in late May/early June.  Even a heavy snow melt causes high river levels in the spring, the stretch of the river from Passau/Vilshofen to Budapest does not have the low bridges to cause trouble.  

[hbr777]

Thank you everyone for your comments!