visit salzburg or cesky krumlov from river cruise docking in passau ???

Two years ago I was on a similar Danube cruise. Most of the travelers who elected one or the other option did so long before our boat departed from Budapest. It became a topic of conversation as we neared the excursion day, and a large group of us decided to compare our experiences over dinner following our excursions. The Cheeky Krumlov travelers seemed to enjoy their excursion more. Keep in mind, there are a number of variables that, perhaps, weighted the outcome. I was among the CK travelers, and I enjoyed my excursion. It would have been even better if the Egon Schiele Museum had been open.

Thanks for the information!! My other question is this. Should we just stay in Passau and tour the little town instead of going on the excursion?

I haven't been to Cesky Krumlov, but we loved Passau: the castle on the hill, the church on the hill, the three rivers coming together - it's a pretty neat place.

Cesky Krumlov is hard to reach on your own. If you're ever back in Europe again, Passau or Salzburg are easy to do on your own.

I would do Cesky Krumlov. It is a small, scenic town that would be perfect for walking through for an afternoon without feeling rushed. Salzburg is bigger with more sights and deserves more time, in my opinion.

Check out the amount of time you spend on the bus getting to and from. We were on a river cruise last summer that followed this route and on one of the excursions people were disappointed with the amount of time they spent on the bus compared with how much time they actually had in the town.

Passau is a great historic town. I'd rather explore the center of Passau than get on a bus to somewhere else.