Sailing with AmaWaterways: Melodies of the Danube

Contributed by Sara Dillon

Europe has been calling my name for years. My first trip there was right after I had completed my first year of teaching back in 2007. There were six of us and we set off for three weeks of a whirlwind European tour through Greece, Italy, France, and Ireland.  Y’all, it was WORK to individually plan the hotel, find and book tours, learn the public transportation system and find dining that works for everyone, but we did it!

Fast forward to 2024 and we wanted to head back to Europe. Germany was high on my bucket list of places that I wanted to go, so we knew we wanted whatever we did to be centralized around Germany. The other thing that was really important to us is that we didn’t want to wear ourselves out planning it. We wanted it to be easy. Enter the River Cruise concept - Hotel on water, wake up each day in a different city, guided tours with a good amount of free time mixed in, EASY. We booked with AmaWaterways on the beautiful AmaVerde ship with the Melodies of the Danube itinerary. It was the perfect mix of city tours and gorgeous landscapes.

But FIRST... Interested in trying this river cruising experience? 

Read below about our incredible itinerary, and if this specific trip interests you, we are hosting a group cruise down the Danube River with AmaWaterways in October 2026. Come explore the unique towns on the Blue Danube! Visit this link or email info@amouseandabeach.com for more information.

Now... lets break down our amazing seven nights of sailing along one of Europe's incredible waterways...

Day 1 - Embarkation and Budapest, Hungary: Our cruise began in Budapest. We came in on the train from Munich (we flew in and out of Munich and also spent a few days there to get adjusted). This aligned with our Germany emphasis and then taking a European train into Budapest was definitely on our 'must experience' list. Right off the train, we were met by an AmaWaterways guide that whisked us away to the ship. This was very convenient and the driver was easy to find. We did have to add this transfer but it was 100% worth it to not have to worry about how to get the ship. Boarding the ship was so easy... just like checking into a hotel. We gave them our last name and a crew member took us straight to our room. We were able to get settled, explore the ship, and have some snacks. They had a welcome reception and dinner, then free time in the evening. We decided to walk down to the famous Parliament building to see it all lit up at night. It was an easy walk, right along the river, and pretty impossible to get lost! We loved this portion because the ship stayed in Budapest, Hungary, overnight. We got to explore upon arrival, while other guests were covered if they happened to have a flight delay. Logistically, this was extremely wise on Ama's part and the Budapest nightlife is beautiful.

Day 2 - Budapest, Hungary: We were ready for a full day of sightseeing in Budapest! If I’m honest, Budapest was not really on my radar of cities I wanted to visit, but after just one day here, I loved it. It was clean and felt very safe. I was just comfortable here. We chose to do a hike to the top of Fisherman’s Bastian, a more active excursion (love that you can choose up to eight excursions a day with options varying in activity level). It was a beautiful town overlooking the city with a church, shops, and restaurants. It was very quaint. After the tour, we had lunch on the ship and then decided to go walking down the main shopping district on our own. It was easy to find on our own. We enjoyed just strolling down the streets and exploring the markets and tasting some of the unique foods.  After a few hours it was time to board the ship as we were departing Budapest that evening. As we departed, we got to see the city light up again and it was a sweet send off. 

Day 3 - Morning sailing and Bratislava, Slovakia: We enjoyed our morning sailing where we traveled through the largest loche along the river. Loches are essentially elevators for us to move up a dam. It was pretty fun to experience for the first time. By afternoon we ported at Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia! I didn’t know much about Bratislava, but we enjoyed a walking tour to learn about the history of the capital and got some ice cream! The ladies had fun on the tour while the men enjoyed a Slovakian tasting excursion... all included! Our ship was docked right in the center of the city, so that evening after dinner, we walked less than a ¼ of a mile to a local grocery store to pick up some local beer and cheese. It’s always fun to pop in to local places, and check another country off of my list.

Day 4 - Vienna: Vienna was probably my second favorite stop after Budapest. It’s really just gorgeous and I wished we had more time here. We opted for a bike tour of the city! AmaWaterways keeps 20 bikes on the ship that can be used at anytime as well as for certain excursions. We were met by 2 locals as well as our wellness host, so we had 3 guides for the 20 of us. They helped us get fitted for the proper bike and helmet and off we went. We explored all the major highlights taking time to get pictures and do a little bit of exploring. It was so cool to say that we biked in Vienna! This city was also very flat and equipped for bikers. It was an excellent choice to see a lot and stay active while traveling. That evening there was an optional concert excursion for an extra fee, which spoke to the cruisers who love music and experiencing a classical concert in Vienna. We opted against that and enjoyed a slower evening. 

Pro Tip: Bike excursions “sell out” first, so if that’s important to you, reserve that ASAP.

Day 5 - Wachau Valley, Durnstein and Grein: The Wachau Valley is the wine and apricot center of lower Austria. This stunning valley is lined with steplike hills that house the vines for the wine and apricot productions. We had two ports on this day, the first in Durnstein, where we did a Wine and Apricot tasting which was lovely. We had a short sailing for lunch up to Grein where we had a private tour of Greinburg Castle, exclusive to AmaWaterways. This is where we could soak up the lush scenery as we traveled along and took in the views during the day.

Day 6 - Linz, Austria: The Hills are Alive! I headed off to a full day excursion to Salzburg, the setting to the Sound of Music. I was really looking forward to this day, but unfortunately was met with steady rain for the entire day. Thankfully Ama provided umbrellas in our stateroom which we were grateful for! We still found time to tour a few famous sites from the movie with lunch and shopping on our own. I will definitely need to return to get the full experience. The others in our travel party chose to visit the Czech Republic and see the castle and small town of Cesky Krumlov. They had better weather that day and said they really enjoyed visiting. Both full day options were included with our vacation and this was definitely a hard choice!

Day 7 and 8 - Linz, Austria: With the consistent rain starting in the Wachau Valley, we were paused here due to high waters and unable to sail on to Passau, Germany. This was unfortunate, but it’s also part of the experience. Since we were unable to get to our final port, we had to rearrange our transfers to Munich, which we were able to do seamlessly. While ocean cruises in the Caribbean deal with hurricane season, weather definitely plays a big part on the river experiences as the water level needs to be the right height in order to pass through safely. Ama was great at providing additional options on board the ship and other Linz tour ideas. It's important to be flexible and know that plans may shift when traveling.

We really had a fantastic time in Europe and our cruise with AmaWaterways was exactly what we needed and wanted it to be! We ended our time with one day in Munich, checking out the Glockenspeil, lunch at the most fantastic Italian restaurant, Osteria il Tenore, and then of course dinner at the famous Hofbräuhaus. 

And that’s a wrap on this river cruise adventure! If you’ve been dreaming of setting sail and exploring the world one riverbend at a time, I’d love to help make that dream a reality. Whether you're looking for the perfect itinerary or the cruise line that fits your style, reach out - I’m happy to guide you to the journey that’s just right for you.

Auf Wiedersehen!

Want to learn more about River Cruising? Be sure to watch our River Cruising 101 webinar where we share about different River Cruise brands and why we chose AmaWaterways.

Ready to get started on this incredible journey? Fill out our proposal form to get started.

Sara Dillon

AMAAB Travel Agent

@VacationPlanningbySara