Castles

Howdy I did some searching but not a lot found.

Which River or Cruise line that will show a group of us the most Castles?

We are looking at the Rhine Getaway Amsterdam to Basel.

Any preference which way to go Amsterdam to Basel or Basel to Amsterdam.

Thanks

You are on the right cruise. The Upper Middle Rhine Valley has the highest density of castles. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It doesn't matter in which direction you cruise for viewing castles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine_Gorge

Hello, I was on Viking's Rhine Getaway December 2014, enclosed is a link for the picture's I took, we traveled from Basel to Amsterdam and enjoyed this river cruise

https://flic.kr/s/aHsk94E171

Welcome to the River Cruising forum!

This is a very popular itinerary, so I think every cruise line offers it. The "castles stretch" is compact and the itineraries are set so as to sail through it during the day. There have been threads about which direction is better, but my recollection is most people enjoyed their cruise in either direction so I would focus more on which city you want to start in and where you want to end. Flights to Amsterdam are plentiful so maybe less agida at the start of the cruise (but fly in at least one day early anyway). Basel is ok but if you can add time at the end I would definitely go to Lucerne and fly home from Zurich.

You can get a lot of information by reading the sticky New to RIVER CRUISING??? at the top of this forum, especially the downloadable pdf:

http://pdf.cruisecritic.com/travel-guide/UltimateGuidetoRiverCruising.pdf?et_cid=1262487&et_rid=99616845

which discusses each cruise line and compares them to ocean cruise lines and hotels [this will give you a frame of reference]. The range among river cruise lines that market in the US is fairly small -- but there are differences from the bottom to the top, and the prices don't vary as much as it first appears because the more expensive lines include more things that cost extra on the "cheaper" lines. For information on choosing a river, read the sticky River Cruise Basics articles on Cruise Critic at the top of this forum. I also recommend the book Berlitz River Cruising in Europe by Douglas Ward, which may be found at your public library.

Hello, I was on Viking's Rhine Getaway December 2014, enclosed is a link for the picture's I took, we traveled from Basel to Amsterdam and enjoyed this river cruise

https://flic.kr/s/aHsk94E171

Your pictures are amazing!

Yep I am reading the Stickys now

1st hand Reviews are always great.

As usual CC is a great site and everyone is very helpful.

Pay careful attention to the day by day itinerary descriptions on various crusielines. Some just float by the castles, others have stops and tours that visit the castles. The Basel to Amsterdam routes are great for castle viewing.

Amazon.com has this book for a little over $1!

"Castles on the Rhine"

I have a copy and the descriptions of the castles is great. Also visit our trip story at:

http://stevekathytravels.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/europe2010.pdf

We are happy to answer any questions.

Howdy I did some searching but not a lot found.

 

 

 

Which River or Cruise line that will show a group of us the most Castles?

 

 

 

We are looking at the Rhine Getaway Amsterdam to Basel.

 

Any preference which way to go Amsterdam to Basel or Basel to Amsterdam.

 

 

 

Thanks

Amsterdam to Basel is going against the current so you have more time on the river going past the castles. On the other hand there are less port stops. It depends on your preference.

You should also consider a Paris to Basel Cruise. This gets you all the castles of the Rhine gorge along with the beautiful Moselle with most cruises stopping at Cochem with a tour of the castle there.

FuelScience

I posted a video of our Dec 2014, Christmas Market cruise and a separate video of the Rhine Castles. The link for the castles is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Udx6RXWPvo4. Just in case you may be interested.

We are doing the Viking Rhine Getaway in two weeks time from Amsterdam to Basel. I have been researching for over a year and gleaned much of my info from the cruise critic forums. There is lots of info here if you use the search function. To get you started, I have copied some of my planning notes:

Rhine River Gorge - Don’t miss viewing the Rhine scenic passage, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where castles overlook the river from their hilltop locations between Kolbenz, Braubach, Bingen and Rudesheim. All cruise lines do schedule the scenic part of the Rhine for daytime viewing (takes about 2.5 hours)- that's the part where the castles are up on the high ground, the vineyards on the slopes and the towns along the river - fabulous viewing & photos!!! 20-mile stretch of the Rhine Gorge is one castle after another, each accompanied with its own cute small town. Through this section of the Rhine the river is wide and the landscape is rugged. Vineyards line the river’s path, some at water’s edge. Throughout the cruise down the Rhine, the small villages with half-timbered, colorful buildings, and steepled churches continued to decorate the landscape. Viking provides a book in your welcome packet that highlights landmarks along the Rhine. The Ship sells a good map of various locations along the Rhine; cost approximately 8 euros on the Ship. Many tourist kiosks sell it in various ports. A fantastic booklet called "Castles on the Rhine - From Mainz to Cologne in full colour with descriptions (Englische Ausgabe) (Paperback) is available on Amazon.com. Buy a used copy for about $4 plus shipping.

Rhine Castle video, map & descriptions- http://www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.de/index.php?id=35&L=3

or http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/castles.php (includes videos of all the castles)

Rick Steves’ website has a free downloadable audio tour and map of the Rhine using the mile markers as reference for following when travelling by road, train or boat; also great to listen to for trip planning. http://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours/austria-germany http://cdn1.ricksteves.com//Projects/cms/production/000/004/446/original/9d5caa413c01c4b15f18412987bd36c7/germany-rhine.pdf

Basel to Amsterdam offered the Rhine Gorge as well as a very good mix of ports and experiences. AMA in a twin balcony is my recommendation.

We are doing the Viking Rhine Getaway in two weeks time from Amsterdam to Basel. I have been researching for over a year and gleaned much of my info from the cruise critic forums. There is lots of info here if you use the search function. To get you started, I have copied some of my planning notes:

Rhine River Gorge - Don’t miss viewing the Rhine scenic passage, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where castles overlook the river from their hilltop locations between Kolbenz, Braubach, Bingen and Rudesheim. All cruise lines do schedule the scenic part of the Rhine for daytime viewing (takes about 2.5 hours)- that's the part where the castles are up on the high ground, the vineyards on the slopes and the towns along the river - fabulous viewing & photos!!! 20-mile stretch of the Rhine Gorge is one castle after another, each accompanied with its own cute small town. Through this section of the Rhine the river is wide and the landscape is rugged. Vineyards line the river’s path, some at water’s edge. Throughout the cruise down the Rhine, the small villages with half-timbered, colorful buildings, and steepled churches continued to decorate the landscape. Viking provides a book in your welcome packet that highlights landmarks along the Rhine. The Ship sells a good map of various locations along the Rhine; cost approximately 8 euros on the Ship. Many tourist kiosks sell it in various ports. A fantastic booklet called "Castles on the Rhine - From Mainz to Cologne in full colour with descriptions (Englische Ausgabe) (Paperback) is available on Amazon.com. Buy a used copy for about $4 plus shipping.

Rhine Castle video, map & descriptions- http://www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.de/index.php?id=35&L=3

or http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/castles.php (includes videos of all the castles)

Rick Steves’ website has a free downloadable audio tour and map of the Rhine using the mile markers as reference for following when travelling by road, train or boat; also great to listen to for trip planning. http://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours/austria-germany http://cdn1.ricksteves.com//Projects/cms/production/000/004/446/original/9d5caa413c01c4b15f18412987bd36c7/germany-rhine.pdf

 

 

Hi Banditoo!

Hope you are having a wonderful voyage on the Viking Idi! We are going on the December 12-19 Rhine Getaway on the Idi as well and I just wanted to say THANK YOU for all the great information you've shared! :-) Bon Voyage!

Hi Banditoo!

 

Hope you are having a wonderful voyage on the Viking Idi! We are going on the December 12-19 Rhine Getaway on the Idi as well and I just wanted to say THANK YOU for all the great information you've shared! :-) Bon Voyage!

You are most welcome! We just came through the Rhine Gorge yesterday heading south and have just docked in Heidelberg. Castles were beautiful though we had heavy rain at times. Castles were clearly visible though. They hand out a hand drawn map on Viking that shows the castles and mile markers and the program director narrated for about 3 hours telling us what we were seeing. Many people were looking at my little Castles of the Rhine book that I had ordered on line as it has such clear beautiful pictures. Idi and the other long ships are lovely. We walked through the identical Kvasir last evening to get on and off our boat in Rudesheim. You should have a great trip in December too. ...Betty