European cruise virgin, help!

jeffkmyers, welcome. One tip is to read the itinerary very carefully. The one river cruise we took, almost all the cruising was at night, so the scenery was limited. They do this so the boat can dock in the morning to maximize the time in ports for the excursions. I cant say they're all that way, but you have to infer from the schedule. The food was great, but mostly, timing was such that the coaches came back to the boat for lunch and dinner. Choose your excursions carefully. Our Viking cruise had a slow-travelers group in each excursion. Plan on extra time on your own before or after the cruise.

I know this is not what you asked but since you like nature I think you might want to consider a Rabbies Tour of Wales and the Peak District and possibly Mountain Goat day tours to the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District or consider doing the Lake District on your own. I've never been on a River Cruise but my possibly wrong perception is that those cruises are focused on cities, not scenic nature.

I recently took a Gate 1 River cruise down the Danube. It was quite scenic with lots of time to enjoy views. Look at Gate 1 River cruise and barge offerings. I think you might enjoy the it French barge tours as matching your interests and descriptions. They are smaller and operate at a slower more rural pace.

https://www.gate1travel.com/small-groups/small-group-europe/2025/small-groups-france-12dpldijqbq25.aspx?Brand=DISCOVER

So my question is what you describe as your wants would be a ground tour like Rick offers. It’s far better for sipping coffee and wine tasting with the scenery always there. Far better than a run through a city back to the boat daily. River cruising is great but you’re just not on the ground.

If you want to watch the scenery, you can have a look at a cruise between Stockholm and Gothenburg on Göta kanal. They offer cruises where the boat doesn't move at night.

A fun resource (beyond the bigger Cruise Critic website) is the youtube blogger "Emma Cruises".

A couple years ago, she took a canal cruise on the Merlijn ( https://www.merlijn.nu ) and they are a small company with multiple itineraries and ebikes as an option. I'd give them a look (if only for ideas beyond the larger Viking type cruises) and her video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6KtW5c2E6Y

She has more "normal" river cruise tours, and CC is also full of info, so dive into the process of seeing what you can experience.

If you are looking for long stretches of scenery, immersion in nature, no crowds, smaller towns, no museums — that is the perfect description of a drive-it- yourself barge tour.

In our case, my husband & I started in the small town of Agen in southern France. We stocked up on a few (not enough) provisions (wine, fruit, cheese), got instructions on how to operate the barge (easy) and locks (actually fun once I got the hang of it), and set off for a week-long adventure. We started on the Garonne Canal and then turned onto the River Baise. It was so much fun. We’d stop at little towns during the day and at night, after tieing up.

This was part of a month-long trip that started in Paris & ended in Antibes. You didn’t say how much time you have — or what time of year (we did this in September which was perfect).

You can rent barges in several countries. France has a lot of them — most famous is the Canal du Midi, which I’d avoid. It’s a man made canal, not a leafy peaceful river. And it can get very crowded — looking like bumper cars around the locks. We would go hours without seeing another boat. Ducks would wake us in the morning by quacking outside our window, because they know boats have bread.

You have so many options for your first trip — this is one of the more adventurous ones.

So many good tips! Great advice! I’m already understanding I don’t want too many shore excursions. I’ve never traveled that way, like in a small herd. I get impatient easily.
Maybe a self piloted canal boat would be good!
Anyway, I appreciate the advice please keep it coming!

Maybe a self piloted canal boat would be good!

A fun recent group of videos from up in Belgium by Gone with the Wynns who posted this series:

1) Cruising Belgium On A Canal Boat (full tour)

2) Ultimate Canal Boat Cruising (36 hours in Bruges)

3) The Country That Runs on BEER ... with side trip to the brewery of a favorite beer of mine - Delirium.

Cycling in that part of the world is a joy. And lots of other lovely sights to see, food to eat, and adventures to be had.

jeffkmyers. A couple of more notes about river cruises, just noting that my experience was a one time Rhine cruise. First is that the boat doesn't always dock near the city center, so if you want to see anything off the boat, you might need to arrange taxis. Sometimes it's in a commercial port area. Second is that there is nothing to do on the boat. No pool, no casino, no shopping, so some people just stay and drink if they dont want to get off. The excursions might seem long, but a lot of the time is spent just getting people organized and into buses, and the reverse, so often not much time actually touring.

Maybe a self piloted canal boat would be good!

If you decide to go this route, make sure you understand what you are getting yourself into. Not everyone enjoys dealing with the locks after the first two or three times.

There are also passenger barge cruises on canals with a captain and crew along with a chef. You can book a private barge just for your party or book a cabin on a barge with other passengers on board.

We did the latter many years ago in Burgundy. We were able to get off the barge for a walk or bike ride and meet up with our barge later. We also had a van that followed our route and allowed us to take an occasional excursion to a winery or a castle or a place of interest.

We have done several river cruises including:
Russia- Moscow to St. Petersburg (wouldn't recommend this one now).
China on the Yangzee for four days- It was great part of a three week tour of China. (went to a lot of big cities crammed with people).
Egypt- tour of that country included cruise on the Nile- done it twice, the last time using Gate 1 Travel and it was wonderful.
Portugal- Douro River Valley- The valley is extremely scenic and the cruise was great. I recommend that you take a look at it.
The Danube from Regensburg, Germany to Budapest- We did it last year with Gate 1 Travel and it was fantastic. We didn't stop in a lot of big cities, but did in Vienna and ended in Budapest. Loved both of those cities.

Southern France- Lyon, France to Arles, France on the Rhone and Saone Rivers. Another excellent cruise to consider.

There are great cruises on the Rhine River from Amsterdam into Germany that are great.

There are several river cruise companies, I strongly recommend Gate 1 Travel for a great product with prices that are hard for others to beat.
Still, it is best to consider other companies like Viking, Scenic, AMAWaterways, and Uniworld.

Some cruise lines provide a few bikers to ride if you don't want to do the daily tour. WE never did that, since the daily tours are great. On the Danube cruise we did cruise some during the daylight hours and were able to see some great sights from the boat.

Wow I keep getting great tips and advice which is helping me gain clarity. I think I’m leaning towards looking for hidden gems, quaint villages, maximizing quiet outdoor enjoying the scenery passing by eating perhaps in small villages biking through gorgeous countryside.

Would you consider a Rick Steves My Way Tour? We went on the My Way Alpine tour last summer and it was amazing. That was our first ever tour and I highly recommend it. So much incredible scenery and outdoor activities along with interesting towns. You have a tour manager, transportation and lodging are arranged, and tons of flexibility in whatever you decide you want to do. We rented e bikes in Fussen and there were so many countryside bike paths with beautiful views of the mountains. There is endless hiking available in the Dolomites, in Switzerland and in the Chamoix area in France.

I am not attracted by cruises, BUT there is one that has drawn my attention, mainly for the French village itinerary. That being said, it starts and ends in Paris. I love YouTuber, Jen Lefforge, and she covers her cruise on the Seine. You can watch her review of the cruise here.

As for operating my own canal boat, even as a boater in my younger days, I would hot find operating one, relaxing, and as I understand it, there is often not much of a view from the canal boats. IMO, YMMV.