Danube River Cruise

We have done three river cruises and always done all the tours provided by the cruise line, with usually an optional tour as well.

I suggest that you compare your list of tours from Uniworld with TripAdvisor's Things to Do in the cities were you port.

One thing for Nuremburg, you can spend a day wandering around the city. It is an old city that was seriously bombed in WWII, but repairs were made as close as possible to the original city. Also, a couple of miles from downtown, approximately SE you can find the place where the rallies were held.

Also, you might be able to see where the War Trials were held.

Thank you1

My wife and I did the opposite direction on the same route with Avalon in 2014. I am sure you will have a great time, we did. Nuremburg is not on the Danube but it's worth at least a full day and a half. An amazing city that's even better than Munich. The Kaisersburg (castle), German National Museum, Documentation Center and rally grounds, Durer House. I may have to add Nuremburg to my list of most underrated cities. The thing about a river cruise, they don't take you to the highlights of the regions visited so much as the places that are on the river--which sometimes end up being highlights of the region as well. Melk Abbey is great and probably on your itinerary. Passau and Regensburg are also very nice. We felt that we could trust the cruise company to take us to the best places within reach, and provide a good tour. They did not disappoint us, it was a great trip. Not sure if most excursions are included as on Avalon, but if so I think you should go with what they have planned. We normally travel independently on land, but if you are taking a river cruise I think it's best to go with the flow.

Also,you might want to check out cruise critic.

Most of the 'old town' streets along the way are cobblestone, which may prove to be challenging. I recommend sturdy shoes with firm soles. I recently returned from an Avalon tour in reverse to your planned adventure - and I was lucky to have steel reinforced soles in a pair of Doc Martens I brought along. A fortunate packing choice.

In Budapest, make sure to go to Monument Park (taxi from the city), Marxim Pizza (a hoot), the Opera (get tickets in advance on the website), and the Great Market.

A high point of Budapest was a half-day spent relaxing in the waters of a thermal spa -- no thinking required!!