Every great city is better seen from its river.
One hour under the Paris bridges, three nights between Aswan and Luxor, dinner while the Bosphorus lights up two continents. Reviews of the river trips you can book, with what each costs and how long you are aboard.
Four river trips worth planning a whole city break around.
The Seine at dusk, the Amsterdam canal ring, dinner on the Bosphorus and four days up the Nile. What each one costs, and what the people aboard said.
01The first evening1-Hour Seine Cruise departing from the Eiffel TowerAn hour out from the foot of the Eiffel Tower, past the Louvre and Notre-Dame, and back in time for dinner.
02The canal ringAmsterdam Luxury Canal Cruise + Unlimited Drinks & Bites optionA low open launch through the Golden Age canals, with drinks and bites passed round as you go.
03Dinner between continentsBosphorus Dinner Cruise & Turkish Night ShowA set menu and a Turkish night show while the boat runs the strait under the Bosphorus bridges.
04The long one4-Days Nile Cruise From Aswan To Luxor including Abu Simbel and Hot Air BalloonFour days on the Nile from Aswan to Luxor, with Abu Simbel and a dawn balloon flight folded in.
On the Seine: the one-hour loop, the glass boats, or dinner?
No river on this site has more ways aboard than the Seine. Three kinds of sailing, what boarding each one costs, and which suits the evening you have.
Canal cruising: Amsterdam leads, Bangkok and Bruges follow.
A canal boat is the cheapest seat in any water city and often the best one: low enough to read the gables, slow enough to talk. The three canal trips more people book than any other, then the cities that run them.
River dinner cruises, from the Bosphorus to the Chao Phraya.
Dinner on a moving boat is a different meal: the view changes between courses and the city lights itself up around you. Istanbul serves it with a folk show, Cairo with a whirling tanoura dancer, Paris with a pianist and a white tablecloth.
Three rivers that are the trip, not a day out from it.
Most river trips here last an hour. These three take a day or a week, and the river decides the route.
The Nile
Cruise boats work the stretch between Aswan and Luxor, three or four nights in either direction, mooring at Kom Ombo and Edfu on the way. The temples come in the cool of the morning; the afternoons belong to the sundeck while the green strip of farmland slides past. Book the direction that ends where your flight leaves.
- 14-Days Nile Cruise From Aswan To Luxor including Abu Simbel and Hot Air Balloon★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 3,142 reviews
- 2Dinner Cruise on the Nile River with Entertainment★★★★★★★★★★ 4.2 · 2,190 reviews
- 34-Day 3-Night Nile Cruise from Aswan to Luxor&Abu Simbel+Balloon★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 2,023 reviews
The Douro
Upriver from Porto the valley closes in and the port-wine terraces climb straight out of the water. A day out usually pairs an hour on a boat at Pinhão with two cellar tastings and a long lunch at a quinta. September is harvest, and the busiest month to go.
- 1Douro Valley w/ Boat Tour, Wine Tasting & Lunch★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 19,061 reviews
- 2Complete Douro Valley Wine Tour with Lunch, Wine Tastings and River Cruise★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 12,920 reviews
- 36 Bridges Douro River Cruise★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3 · 6,472 reviews
The Mekong Delta
Two hours south of Ho Chi Minh City the river splits into a maze of channels, coconut islands and floating markets. Day trips swap the big boat for a rowed sampan down the narrow canals, with honey tea, fruit and a tuk-tuk ride between landings.
- 1CuChi Tunnels&Mekong Delta-Boat,TukTuk,Coconut Village SmallGroup★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 3,113 reviews
- 2Mekong Delta Islands Boat & Tuk-Tuk Tour with Tastings★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 2,285 reviews
- 3Mekong Delta Discovery Tour from Ho Chi Minh★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 1,427 reviews
What a river trip costs, from an hour on deck to a week aboard.
Every sailing on the site, grouped by fare. Most of the great river hours in the world cost less than the dinner you eat afterwards.
City loops, canal boats, sunset sails and the hop-on river buses.
Dinner cruises, Douro valley days and the candlelit Danube.
Multi-night Nile boats, private charters and shore days from the cruise ports.
Five river rules that settle your sailing before you do.
A boat leaves on the minute and runs at the river’s mercy. Water levels, seasons, dress codes and timetables decide more river trips than the forecast does.
- 011-Hour Seine Cruise departing from the Eiffel TowerIn a wet winter the Seine can rise too high for boats to pass under its bridges, and sailings stop at short notice. Between December and March, book a ticket you can move.
- 024-Days Nile Cruise From Aswan To Luxor including Abu Simbel and Hot Air BalloonNile boats sail a fixed weekly rhythm between Aswan and Luxor, queueing at the Esna lock. The boat sets the departure day, not your flight.
- 03Bateaux Mouches Dinner Cruise on the Seine River in ParisThe evening dinner sailings on the Seine ask for smart dress. Shorts and trainers get turned back at the gangway.
- 04Chicago Architecture River CruiseThe architecture boats run from spring into late autumn and stop for the winter. The summer evening departures sell out first.
- 05Heated Canal Cruise with Unlimited Drinks & BiteAmsterdam boats sail all year, but from November to March take a covered, heated one. Open boats are the first to cancel when the wind gets up.
The river cruises more people book than any other.
Every river trip we have reviewed →From the Seine to the Chicago River, the sailings with the longest queues at the pier, and what earns each one its place.
1
1-Hour Seine Cruise departing from the Eiffel Tower
Start at Port de la Bourdonnais beneath the Eiffel Tower and cruise past Les Invalides, Notre Dame, the Louvre, and more. Choose the open top deck or warm indoor seating, then follow commentary in 14 languages or use the onboard app. Plan extra time in peak season, when queues can be long.
Boarding from · $20
Read our review →
2
Bosphorus Dinner Cruise & Show with Private Table
from $28
3
Amsterdam Luxury Canal Cruise + Unlimited Drinks & Bites option
from $18
4
Evening River Cruise with Music
from $27
5
Heated Canal Cruise with Unlimited Drinks & Bite
from $18
6
75 Minute City Canal Cruise with Audio Guide
from $18
7
Douro Valley w/ Boat Tour, Wine Tasting & Lunch
from $82
8
City Centre Canal Cruise including Audioguide
from $17
The Bosphorus is the one strait every river lover sails.
Europe on one bank, Asia on the other, Ottoman palaces and wooden yalı mansions on both. Go at sunset on a yacht, or after dark on a dinner boat with a folk show and a table by the window.
Every Bosphorus sailing →
Six river cities where the boat is the best seat in town.
A capital built along the Seine, a canal ring made for boats, temples at every Nile mooring, six bridges over the Douro, the Thames under Tower Bridge and a Danube lit gold at night.
By river city
By kind of sailing, or by river
The newest river cruise reviews.
The rest of the new ones →
From Ho Chi Minh: 2-Day Mekong Delta to Phnom Penh by Boat
Read our review →
From Ho Chi Minh: Cai Be Boat & Bike Mekong Delta Experience
Read our review →
From Hazyview: Blyde River Canyon Highlight & Boat Cruise
Read our review →
Darwin: Mary River Wetlands Wildlife Cruise with Lunch
Read our review →
From Gaia Douro Valley Tour Wine Tasting River Cruise Lunch
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From Cairo by Plane: 5 Days & 4 Nights Nile Cruise to Luxor
Read our review →
Da Nang/Hoi An: Coconut river boat tour & Lantern Festival
Read our review →
5-Day Tour with Nile Cruise, Balloon, & Flights
Read our review →
5-Day Nile Cruise to Aswan & Balloon by Flights
Read our review →
4-Day Nile Cruise to Luxor with Balloon Flight
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4-Day Nile Cruise to Luxor with Balloon & Flights
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4-Day Nile Cruise to Aswan w/ Balloon & Flights
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4-Day Nile Cruise from Aswan to Luxor with Meals
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