Danube itinerary: Linz or Durnstein/Melk?

[SnowshoeCat]

I'm looking at a few cruises in late November/early December. The eastbound sailing stops for a half day in Passau (allowing for an optional excursion to Salzburg, or more daytime sailing), then a full day in Linz (optional tour to Cesky Krumlov). The reverse, westbound itinerary includes two short stops in Durnstein and Melk on the same day, then a full day in Passau. It's also at the beginning of the Christmas Market season, which might be why it's a bit more expensive.

 

Does either itinerary seem much better than the other? Except for Vienna, I haven't been to any of these cities. I'm not planning on the excursions. I like to just wander around and explore the port cities.

[jpalbny]

Gee, they are all interesting. We visited all 3 on our Danube cruise in 2016.

 

Durnstein is tiny. There is a bone vault in the cemetery, a small town with a few streets that you can wander through quickly, and Richard the Lionheart's castle a bit of a climb above town.

 

Melk is the famous Abbey which is definitely worth a look. The town is small but pretty. There is a small wooded area nearby where you can do a short "hike" on your way back to the ship.

 

Linz is bigger. You could spend a whole day here and not see everything. There's an opera house a bit out of town, the church with the "hermit tower" and a fairly large museum too. Kepler lived there for a time so there's a monument to him. And across the river there's a cool railroad that climbs a hill to a church (Postlingberg), which we didn't have time to see.

 

My trip report has pictures and other details from all three of these stops which might help you get an idea of what there is to see and do in each.

 

Durnstein starts on page 5, post #115 and then we go to Melk and finally Linz.

 

 

[Canal archive]

I’d do all again but because of the time of year I wouldn’t go to Cesky Krumlov it’s really interesting but you did say no excursions and it is a bit of a distance. If pushed I’d say the reverse. I really like Durnstein compact and bijou they announce the local births on a board outside the town offices so sweet the board of course has a stork on it. Plus what town can boast a castle that held an English King hostage who was found by his troubadour Blondel. Whichever you decide you’ll enjoy and all those Christmas goodies.

[SnowshoeCat]

Thank you, JP (hi neighbor!) and Canal for your input. I'm sure I would enjoy either one, although I'm leaning towards the westbound itinerary. I'm also looking at flight schedules and availability to help make my decision. The cruises I mentioned are only 5 nights between Regensburg and Vienna. I can enjoy this little taste of the Danube, then in the future plan a longer cruise in warmer weather. 

[Got2Cruise]

Salzburg and Cesy Krumlov! 

[UDChE89]

I did a Uniworld cruise in April from Passau to Budapest.  We stopped in all three locations.  In Linz, we did a local excursion that ended at a cider house.  The Salzburg excursion required a four hour round trip bus trip.  Milk was the abbey then we walked back through the town and stopped for a coffee at a cafe.  Durnstein was a choice of excursions, one about wine and the other about saffron.  We did the saffron one.  It was interesting then was a short walk back to the boat.

[CastleCritic]

Those are some odd choices and there is no good answer, you should see all those things!

 

When I did it(AMAwaterways), Salzburg or Cesky Krumlov were the choices from LINZ. (I did Salzburg)

 

Melk you would want to see, Durnstein is cute but its a small little town. (though the castle ruins above it is the one that has escaped me so far due to the wet weather that day.)

 

Passau is also kind of neat (and has a good castle above it).

Edited July 3, 2023 by CastleCritic