Viking River Cruise Lyon

My thoughts are, I don’t want to book a river cruise where I just sit in the same city that is accessible easily by train or plane for days. I also don’t want a cruise where I have to take a bus and get a different ship/repack that feels like it defeats the purpose. I’ve got great interest in river cruises, but these feel more like they’d be more fun on my own without having to re-board a ship or pack over and over.

I have always wondered how enjoyable those are- would love to hear from anyone who has done it and know what they liked/disliked

Last year we cruised the Rhone on AMA. It was a wonderful experience, even though we had already traveled the region extensively by car. We plan on doing it again, maybe next year. There is so much to see. Most of these cruises are 1 week, but the Rhone has so much to offer, 2 weeks would not be too much time, particularly when including travel south from Arles into the Camargue. I don't think the route will disappoint.

We have experience on AMA, Uniworld, and Scenic. While Viking has newer, modern ships, everything is extra.

In my opinion, the Rhone Valley itineraries are compelling and worthwhile. Scenic would be my first choice of operators, absolutely everything is included, the food is top notch, and the service is impressively attentive. There are a lot of operator options.

I can't speak to Viking, but the Rhône river cruise we took on Uniworld a number of years ago was probably my favorite river cruise ever. We traveled from Arles to Chalon-sur-Saone on board the ship and then were bused farther north to Beaune. Highly recommended for wine lovers.

We did this Rhone itinerary Viking river cruise this past spring. We loved it! But we have enjoyed five other Viking river cruises also. Its docked location in the ports tend to be in helpful central locations and feel as if we are staying on a floating hotel. Esp in Lyon…..from ship we walked on our own to most sites. Wonderful city! We find Viking includes enough for us. We are fine lodging in the lower…less expensive cabins. Food and service always exceptional. Yes…sometimes river ships park nxt to each other. But all companies sometimes do this. And this summer low water levels. No complaints from us.

We took the Viking Rhône cruise last October. We enjoyed the itinerary a lot. We are very comfortable with Viking. It was just luck that the group of passengers was very friendly and interesting.

We spent an extra night in Avignon on our own that was well worth it. After the cruise we took a high speed train on our own to Paris for 4 nights.

Thank you everyone. We are booked on Viking Lyon to Avignon. September 23 sailing. Looking forward to it. Hope it isn’t too hot!

I hope this is for 2027. If it’s for this year, you may be bussing instead of river cruising. Good luck and bon voyage.