DESTINATIONS DANUBE | CRUISE
The newDanube f
Think Danube cruises are all the same? Think again, as a return to river cruising provides some pleasant surprises forYolanda Zappaterra
or lots of us, travel is about serendipity – the unplanned yet fortunate discoveries we make when we take ourselves beyond the familiar. In a world documented to the nth degree by
social media, finding genuinely unknown things is a rarity. Yet here I am in Passau, a German city I’d barely heard of until yesterday, wandering through an arresting glass museum that would normally never be on my must-visit list. Passau is the first port of call on our Travel Counsellors fam trip, a four-day taster of Avalon Waterways’ eight-day Danube Dreams cruise on board Avalon Impression, sailing from Vilshofen in Germany to Budapest in Hungary. Having had an informative tour of the town – a colourful conurbation set at the confluence of the Danube, Inn and Ilz rivers – we have the rest of the day to explore. Helpful suggestions are found on the AvalonGo app, which updates daily with menus, news and information on both the cruise and its stops.
SURPRISE SAILING The ability to wander at will is just one aspect of river cruising I’d been unaware of. My last river cruise, on the Nile some 30 years ago, was characterised by irritable guides herding huge groups to overcrowded sites. This, by contrast, has us able to come and go as we please, taking part in a range of excursions a world away from my miserable Egyptian memories. It’s all part of the line’s addition of ‘active’ and
‘discovery’ excursions to the more traditional ‘classic’ tours – which include river cruise standards such as a guided tour of the town or a trip to a nearby heritage site. Instead, activities such as bike rides with picnics, hikes to lofty castles and visits to local farms make for a deeper interaction with and understanding of ports of call and their cultures. It’s a point of difference Avalon is justifiably proud of. Another is its Panorama Suites, which do away with balconies to create rooms that are said to be ²
travelweekly.co.uk 23 JANUARY 2025 67
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88
