European River Cruise

Lou, I also agree with Frank that travel in the fall would likely be the best time. I've also been considering a river cruise on a future trip, possibly next year. I received the new Viking Cruises brochure in the mail yesterday, which renewed my interest on that type of travel. Cheers!

My preference is sept/ oct. Great weather less rain. Generally high water and low bridges is a spring time problem.

I would go along with what Frank said. In September to early October the weather should be good and the crowds should be down. High water usually is in the spring. That being said, there is no way to guarantee the weather. All of the data is just the average conditions and there are no guarantees. Last year in France in late Septmber we had three weeks of what pilots call severe clear and warm temperatures and nobody could remember the last time that had happened. On the other hand a fiend of mine was in the Netherlands in April this year and it rained almost every day. The nice part about the river ruise boats is that if the weather turns sour, the boat is a very nice place to be and best of all you don't have to worry about your luggage. Best of luck to you.

Low water can also be a problem. We have just done a Uniworld 8 day Rhine cruise from Amsterdam to Basel. We departed from Amsterdam on 8th April. I enjoyed the fact that all the towns and cities we visited along the way were not over run with other tourists.
Ken, if you are thinking of doing a river cruise, check out what Uniworld has to offer. This cruise well and truly exceeded all our expectations.