The team at My Vacation Lady has been getting a lot more requests for river cruising. Some are from ocean cruising clients who want something different. Others are from our land tour vacation clients who want to be able to see a lot of the interior of a country or continent without having to pack and unpack multiple times. The most recent request was for a Christmas Market River Cruise.
There are lots and lots of different river cruises sailing in many parts of Europe year round but others are more seasonal. And there are better times of year to sail some rivers than others.
Here is a great little cheat sheet on what the best time of year is for seasonal river cruises:
January-February Start the year off right by sailing down the Nile.
March-May- is dry season on the Mekong River. You can cruise past floating markets, temples and dense tropical jungles thoughout Cambodia and Vietnam
March and April- Tulip season in Holland and Belgium
April and May– sail past the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River in China. The weather will be the most comfortable in April, May, September and October
May-August- are the best times to sail down the Volga river between St Petersburg and Moscow. Although the Russia river cruise season runs into early October, it can get pretty chilly later in the season.
September– is a wonderful time to sail down the Rhine for a fall foliage river cruise or sample some great French and German wines.
October– nothing says October than Octoberfest in Munich by sailing along the Danube
November and December- experience charming Christmas markets full of color and lights, indulge in flavors and aromas of hot mulled wine and gingerbread, and enjoy the Christmas markets of grand cities like Vienna, Budapest, Strasbourg and Cologne.
Let the team of travel professionals at My Vacation Lady help you plan your river cruise!