Which direction best on these eastern European rivers?

[MoneyGuy]

We are looking at a cruise that covers the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers and have to choose between going north-south or the reverse. It's from Budapest to Amsterdam or the reverse. Is there a difference between the directions because of currents or for any other reason?

[kuldalai]

The key thing is the direction of the weather .

 

It's best to sail from Budapest to Amsterdam as if you get a bad weather day it will be with you for one day only and then you will have left it behind.

 

Sailing the other way Amsterdam to Budapest if you cop a bad weather day it is travelling in the same direction as the boat . Therefore you can have several bad weather days until you shake it off .

[MoneyGuy]

Thanks. So currents don't matter? Which way do the currents flow - south to north?

[MsBatt]

We picked our recent river cruise, Passau to Budapest on Uniworld, for the dates, so we cruised in that direction. That said, the morning sail into Budapest and all her beauty, was one of the most memorable experiences of my travels. I would highly recommend that direction if it works for you. We sailed in June, so weather was pleasant and not a factor IMHO.

[pacmom]

The river runs faster from Budapest-Amsterdam, going with the current. Those cruises are usually a day shorter. Pat

[MoneyGuy]

The river runs faster from Budapest-Amsterdam, going with the current. Those cruises are usually a day shorter. Pat

 

The ones I've looked at are all of the same duration.

[pacmom]

Our Antwerp-Basel was one day longer than the reverse. Just make sure the 2 directions have the same amount of time at eachstop. Pat

[travelteach326]

Just returned from Uniworld Castles along the Rhine. We traveled from Basel to Amsterdam. Seeing the Castles the last day of the cruise was the best way to end the perfect cruise. It was like the icing on the cake.

[MoneyGuy]

We just booked it and chose Amsterdam to Budapest. Thanks for the advice. We are so excited.

[paul929207]

The currents flow from the Alps to the sea. So the stretch from the Rhine-Main-Danube canal to Amsterdam, the currents are flowing towards Amsterdam and the North Sea. The stretch from the same canal to Budapest and on to the Black Sea flows toward the Black Sea.

[Willsot]

We sailed from Bucharest to Passau. We had been advised to go this direction as the scenery gets better and better sailing from Eastern to Western Europe. We found this to be the case. The last few days through Austria and to Germany provided the best views.

[parkie]

In 2009, we took a Viking Nuremberg to Bucharest trip, obviously from "west" to "east. About five days into the trip, I wished that we had done the reverse (Bucharest to Nuremberg) as I felt going toward Eastern Europe was going into a less modern area. I would have much preferred to go from "less developed" to "more developed." My opinion only!

 

This obviously doesn't address currents, etc, merely my personal preferences.