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Wachau Day Trip - Weissenkirchen, Durnstein, or Krems?

Hello, All. I am planning a solo trip to Austria in May/June, and I intend to spend one day exploring the Wachau Valley. In Vienna I will purchase a combi-ticket--early train to Melk/visit Abbey and probably lunch in Melk/cruise down river and explore/train back to Vienna. I am primarily interested in visiting wineries (or local wine taverns), perhaps climbing to see the views from Burgruine, and generally enjoying the countryside for the day. Which stop along the river--Weissenkirchen, Durnstein, or Krems--might be the most interesting for a few hours? What do you like about each place? I have been reading the forums and have a general idea, but I thought I would revive this question. Thanks!

Posted by
1875 posts

The combi-ticket is an easy way to see Melk and Wachau valley, but it is targeted to visitors who want to follow the schedule: train from Vienna to Melk, abbey, lunch, downriver cruise to Krems, train to Vienna. Because there are not so many ships cruising, this limits your time budget if you want to interrupt the journey to visit some towns.

E.g. you may go by an early train to Melk, visit the abbey, have it done by say 11am, but then you are stuck. The downriver cruise departs from Melk about 1:30pm to 1:45pm. You have only one chance to leave the ship, i.e. in Dürnstein about 3pm, and continue from there with the next (=last) ship to Krems. This gives you about two hours in Dürnstein, not very much if you want not only to climb to the summit of the castle's ruins but also walk around in this lovely medieval town.

It depends what you really want, seeing the Wachau valley or having a river cruise. Taking the bus from Melk to Krems gives you much more flexibility because it runs more often than the ships.

Posted by
4684 posts

From personal experience I can say that the bus gives you as good a view as the boat - the road runs right along the riverbank, apart from a short tunnel under Duernstein village.

Posted by
5362 posts

A few thoughts - I think that visiting a winery will be impossible without a car or more time. When you say Burgruine, that means castle ruins. As there are several ruins in the area, I will assume you mean the ruins in Duernstein, as they are the most well known. I would suggest skipping lunch in Melk and instead picking a place to eat in Weissenkirchen or nearby Joching as there are several great places to try wine right there. I would then take the WL1 bus to Duernstein and climb to the ruins, maybe stop for an apricot dumpling at the terrace of the Richard Lionheart hotel. Then take the WL1 bus to the train station in Krems. I would not suggest stopping in Krems as it is a larger town, not a village like Duernstein or Weissenkirchen. It is cute, but it is hard to find the charming areas.

Posted by
67 posts

Thanks, all. I think I will forego the cruise and make my way up the river via bus. I appreciate the ideas.