Cruising The Danube - My First River Cruise Experience

River cruises are something I’ve sold in the past but having never done one myself, when I was offered a place on a trip down the River Danube, naturally I jumped at the chance! After 3 long years of no international travel, I joined about 50 other travel agents on MS Vivaldi, part of the Croisieurope fleet and our itinerary took us to Vienna, Bratislava, Esztergom & Budapest. If you’re a fan of cruising, particularly the smaller ships, then you should 100% try a river cruise! They are, in many ways, very similar to ocean cruises with the fabulous food, amazing service and getting to experience multiple destinations in one holiday, but the ships are smaller than the majority of the ocean liners giving that feeling of intimacy and homeliness. The beauty of the smaller, specially built river cruise ships is that in most cases they take you right into the heart of the destinations you’re visiting meaning you’re often only a stroll away from the hustle & bustle of the city. In each of the cities we visited we were met by a tour guide and taken on a whistle stop tour accompanied by our trusty headsets, provided by the ship. We had the perfect mix of guided tour and free time to experience what each city had to offer. VIENNA, AUSTRIA I last visited Vienna about 24 years ago as a teenager and remembered very little aside from the street cafes and buying chocolates with pictures of Mozart on them (which I’m pleased to report you can still get!!!), so I was really excited to experience the Austrian capital again to see whether it brought back any memories. I wasn’t disappointed! The city is vibrant and bustling with a perfect mix of history, beautiful architecture, designer boutiques and the café culture many of us crave from a European city break. It’s definitely one to add to the travel hit list some of its highlights being The Spanish Riding School & St Stephen’s Cathedral. For the foodies - I highly recommend the kalbsbutterschnitzel. A traditional Austrian dish of a veal meatballs served with mashed potatoes, gravy & crispy onions. Delicious! BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA It’s easy to see why so many people flock to the beautiful Slovakian capital every year. Set at the foot of Little Carpathia and located on the border of three countries, Bratislava has a bit of everything. It’s where the past meets the present and culture meets nightlife. Take a visit to Bratislava Castle and the Slavin War Memorial, wonder the maze of streets and hidden alleyways or indulge in a drink and some lunch in one of the gorgeous bistros in Main Square whilst enjoying a spot of people watching! Top tip - if you’re a fan of cakes and pastry’s you’ve got to try a traditional Slovakian Roll - a yummy sweet bread filled with nuts or poppy seeds! ESZTERGOM, HUNGARY I have to admit when venturing off the ship and strolling through the eerily quiet town it was difficult to see what this former Hungarian capital had to offer but after climbing the ‘cat steps’ to the top of Castle Hill we certainly found our ‘WOW’ moment when entering the stunning Esztergom Basilica, Hungary's largest church - to say the place is huge is a wild understatement!!! The beautiful frescos, magnificent organ and ancient crypt certainly make a visit to the Basilica worth while. BUDAPEST, HUNGARY Well what I can say - never has a city captured my heart like Budapest. If you haven’t been - go and if you have been - go again! The city is divided into two parts with the River Danube separating Buda from Pest. Buda is the quieter side where you’ll find the famous Castle Quarter, if I have one tip it would be to visit just before sunset to get the most incredible pictures of the stunning Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church. It is truly like something from a fairy tale, so beautiful and breath taking. The Pest side of the city is the more lively side and where you’ll find a host of fabulous bars, bistros and street cafes, spectacular buildings housing a multiple of museums & theatres and The Budapest Eye - a 65m high Ferris wheel giving you magnificent views over the city. BUDAPEST, I will definitely be back! I really have fallen in love with river cruising and the cities that I visited and this was just the start! There’s a whole world of rivers out there to explore from the Mekong in Southeast Asia and China’s Yangtze to America’s Mississippi and the Zambezi in Africa - there’s a river cruise for everyone!!! I’d love to enthuse more about my trip and all things river cruise so don’t hesitate to get in touch if you fancy one yourself and would like to know more!