We will be in The Valley for two full days next April. Has anyone done this trip? I understand we can take a cruise or ride a bike or see the Danube River from Melk to Krems by car.
We have yet to decide on which town to stay in.
Comments?
Posted by
Ojai, CA
591 posts
Have spent 2 nights in the village of Durnstein which is a great base for exploring the valley. Choice of 3 excellent hotels there, all within about a five minute walk to the ferry boat dock. The church in Melk Abbey is ultra beautiful. The ferry boats run on schedule and are recommended for at least 1 day trip (short ride from Durnstein down to Krems).
Posted by
Everett, WA
1300 posts
We stayed in Melk and rented bikes from the Hotel zur Post- Very easy and not too expensive. We had a great ride from Melk to Krems. We went on the North side of the river and it was great fun to ride through all the quaint towns. Stop and have lunch half way. We caught the boat back-just get an early start as the last boat left by 3:30. The abbey is beautiful. We stayed right in Melk at a B&B the TI set us up with. Part of the reason we stayed in Melk was that we had info on how to rent bikes and do the trip from there. (This was an unexpected part of our trip since we were suppose to be doing a hut to hut hike in the alps and got snowed out. We relied solely on our RS book for info which worked out great) I envy you going-have a great trip. We loved it.
Posted by
Oregon/California
54 posts
Dean, my daughter and I stayed at the Gasthof Goldener Stern in Melk on our way (driving) from Wien to Passau. Beautiful area with lots of easy biking and Danube River views. Can't wait to go again and stay longer.
Posted by
dallas, tx, usa
1358 posts
Everyone has a different opinion of travel means. I like the convenience of auto travel. I can stop when and where I want to. I have traveled this area by car.
Choosing a town to stay in is easy. Do a google search for 'Melk accommmodations' and the same for Krems. You can select the type you want and learn the cost.
Your trip from Melk to Krems will normally take only one day, depending on the number of stops you make.
Look at a map and determine the distance.
Ask for a manual transmission, diesel model. You will get better mileage even if the fuel costs more per gallon.
Posted by
Breckenridge, CO
239 posts
We were in the Wachau in 2007. It was fantastic. We stayed at the Hotel Sanger Blondel in Durnstein. I highly recommend it!!! It is reasonable, clean and simple. Our room had a balcony with a view of the blue tower and the castle ruins. We usually stay in 5 star hotels, but decided to do the local thing in Durnstein. I was a bit nervous, but it was great and their restaurant had really good food, really inexpensive. We drove through all the little towns all the way to Melk and the abbey. We loved it so much, we are taking our kids there this May as part of their first European trip!
Posted by
Krems, Wachau, Austria
386 posts
Dean,
this is my neck of the woods,
you will absolutely love it here :-))
Melk is great if you have a car (it's on the Southern side of the Danube), but if you are traveling by train, ship or bike, I recommend that you stay either in Spitz, Krems or Weissenkirchen, since there you will have easy access to train & ship connections, never mind wonderful restaurants and wine estates/taverns.
Dürnstein is a tiny jewel, and rather exclusive and expensive, but if you can afford it, by all means stay there, it is the very essence of the Wachau Valley.
Please PM me for insider tips, I'll be absolutely delighted to recommend many wonderful things to you.
Posted by
Krems, Wachau, Austria
386 posts
I got so excited, I forgot to send the links along ;-))
Posted by
Carthage, IL, United States
11 posts
no matter what you decide you can't go wrong with the Wachau Valley. We were there in 2006. Durnstein is wonderful, especially the walk to the cell that help King Richard the Lionhearted. Melk was also beautiful.