Melk Tours

I see the last date of boats running as 26 October:

http://www.ddsg-blue-danube.at/eng/cruises_wachau_combitickets_train_ship_abbeymelk

https://www.brandner.at/en/liner-cruises/timetable-fares/

Hi Heather,

I just did the Wachau Kombiticket yesterday and it is a full day activity. Caught the 9:59 train to St. Poultan (sp), transfer to go to Melk, this is about 75 minutes. Got in and toured the Abbey at a brisk but not rushed pace, no time for lunch as we had to catch the 13:45 boat for Krems. It will take you at least 20 minutes from the Abbey to the boat dock if you can walk quickly, if not allow more time. The boat is fantastic, get a seat on the upper deck and order a beer and sausage and enjoy the Danube and the myriad of charming towns and buildings, another hour and 45 minutes. Walk around Krems but the train station is at least a solid mile away and the trains run once an hour if that, we were lucky and caught the 17:09 back to Wein. I don't see how you could do it with serious jet lag, we saw many people sleeping on the boat, missing a great experience. If you have energy, get off at Heilenstadt (sp) take the D tram to Nussdorf and go to the heurigen for great experience. Then when you are finished take the D tram back to Vienna, it will be close to 21:00, a full day.

Also the price is now 51€, in fact all the prices for everything are up about 5-10% over what the RS guide says. Enjoy.

St. Poelten, Wien, Heiligenstadt - spelling tips.

I have been to the Wachau many times. I suggest skipping the Abbey, getting off the boat at Duernstein or Weissenkirchen and then taking the WL1 bus direct to the Krems train station. I love the smaller villages, you can have a great meal in either village, and the bus takes you right to the train station in Krems so you don't have to walk FOREVER from the boat dock to the station. The Wachau is really about the landscape and villages, after all (and the apricots - have the apricot dumplings on the restaurant terrace of the Richard Lionhearted Hotel).

The Nussdorf heurigen idea is good. I like Scheubel-Auer (not open everyday so check) and Feuerwehr Wagner. Both easy to reach from Tram D.

We did visit the Abbey and we climbed to Richard's castle in Duernstein -- and that was it -- we didn't have time to do much exploring of the villages -- just made it from Duernstein to Krem barely in time for the train back. It is also not obvious where to get that bus back to Krem and it only comes once an hour; the village for a tourist operation was poorly signed. Skipping the Abbey or making it a two day trip has appeal. The villages are entirely tourist driven though so if you are tired of tacky souvenirs and the general trashiness of 'quaint' tourist villages, you might prefer spending time at the Abbey. The boat is lovely and we wish we had caught an earlier one and planned lunch on board instead of in Melk (not sure there was an earlier one that would let us visit the Abbey though). The boat trip itself is nice but the scenery is definitely a notch below similar boat trips on the Rhine. We were a little disappointed in it -- we have thrilling memories of canoeing on the Dordogne past charming villages and castles, and also the boat trip on the Rhine -- this one was good and we are glad we did it, but it is definitely not in the same league with these other two for us.

The best villages are Weissenkirchen and Spitz. Not touristy at all. Did you visit those, or are you basing your comments on Melk and Duernstein? It would be a shame to label all villages as trashy when you really didn't scratch the surface or go to the better villages.

Unfortunately we didn't have a chance to get there because the boats were sold out for all the times we were interested in, but thank you! This information is invaluable nonetheless, and I hope other travelers find it useful. For what it's worth, that stretch of river and those placid, jewel box villages look delightful.