A river cruise is a great comprehensive way to visit various countries in Europe. Unlike land tours where you might have to travel by train or bus during the day, cruises take advantage of the evenings and nights to do the major traveling and allow you to use your days to visit the destinations and sites. Plus, once you're onboard, the cruises are mostly all-inclusive. If you want to add on a helicopter tour or some kind of extension, then that might cost you more money, but the meals, lodging, trasnportation, and most tours on the itinerary are included in the price, making it not only an excellent value but also much easier to plan. Plus, unlike land tours of Europe, you don't have to pack and unpack every day when you move to a new city - your room simply glides along the river with you.

The most pleasant temperatures for river cruising in Germany are in the spring months of April and May, as well as the fall months of September and October. River levels are another concern, and while a river cruise itinerary may change due to river levels and weather at any time of the year, the fall tends to have more stable river levels. Our vote for the best months to cruise Germany are September and October.

Being the prime months, cruises in September in October need to be reserved many months in advance, as the riverboats fill up fast.

Christmas is a special time to cruise Germany as speialized Christmas market cruises take travelers down the Rhine and Danube. Most cruise lines do not run river cruises during the months of January and February.