What month to do Amsterdam to Basel?

[tnr]

We are wanting to do a Rhine and Moselle cruise in 2013. The available dates are July 1, Aug 19, Aug 26, or Oct 2. Which date would you choose and why? This will be our first river cruise. I would like to stay away from the "summer crowds" but don't like to be too chilly either. Would Oct tend to be too cold? Do the crowds in July and Aug really make a difference? :confused:

[SunLover05]

We will be on the October 9th Rhine & Moselle cruise this year. We wanted to go during 'comfortable' weather. Hopefully, it will cooperate! Better flight prices in October than summer.

[docBarb]

We did that cruise in the opposite direction a few years ago in October. The weather with perfect! We needed light coats and sweaters. The leaves were changing which made the scenery even more spectacular. I vote for October. Have a great time.

Barbara

[RvrCrzr]

My preference would also be October. Cooler weather, less crowds, possibly less expensive.

[orchestrapal]

May or October are our favorite times for that part of the world. :)

[caviargal]

The scenery is gorgeous on the Moselle in fall. It was one of our prettiest cruises for scenery. I would choose October.

 

We never travel to Europe in summer. July and August are too hot, too crowded and pricier than the fall season, our preference.

[tnr]

Thanks everyone. My first instinct was October, but then started worrying about low water levels. I guess perfect levels is never a sure thing. And I hadn't thought about the fall colors. Living in S. California (and now Arizona), I don't get much of a chance to see those beautiful colors.

[jmurray33]

We plan to do this cruise in early May. What type of weather can we expect?

[caviargal]

And I hadn't thought about the fall colors. Living in S. California (and now Arizona), I don't get much of a chance to see those beautiful colors.

 

We live in FL and forgot how pretty the fall colors were til last November on our river cruise. Scenery wise, the Moselle was our favorite river of our 5 cruises.

[orchestrapal]

We plan to do this cruise in early May. What type of weather can we expect?

 

May is generally in the high 60's-80 with beautiful sunny days. After 25 years of May European travel we had more rainy days than ever this year.

Still going in May next year.:)

[Riviera bound]

We went in April this year and the flowers at Keukenhof Gardens near Amsterdam were fabulous. I think late March, April and May are the only months they are open. We had very little rain, but the weather required light weight jackets most days and some days a hat and gloves even felt good. If you go in October, go prepared for cooler weather just in case.

[beverlyjack]

I am going to go counter to most of the other recommendations. We went Oct. 2, 2009 from Amsterdam to Vienna. For most of the trip, it was damp and cool, with morning temperatures in the 40s. We're from the Boston area, so we are used to cool temperatures that time of year, but we would have preferred it warmer. The water levels were also quite low. Our ship, Grand Circle's River Aria, pumped out all excess fluids before leaving Amsterdam and had to be very careful on certain stretches of the Rhine. A Viking ship was sailing shortly after us and could not make it to Cologne. Of course that was another year.

 

Late August might be preferable as it is coming into the shoulder season, both for American and European travelers, with schools opening.

 

Jack

[Condocat]

We traveled this past April 28-May 10 and encountered very rainy and cool weather. If possible I would travel the last two weeks of May or early June before summer crowds start and it becomes too hot.

 

Enjoy, it's a beautiful trip, despite what Mother Nature has in store for you!

[BPCruiser]

We have done 2 river cruises, 1st on the Mosele/Rhine river in early Oct. and our 2nd on the Danube in mid-late November. Both were great weather wise for us. Our October cruise we had lovely Fall Foliage and many of the vineyards were in Harvest season along the Mosele River. We were unusually lucky with our November cruise.......2 weeks from Budapest to Prague and not a drop of rain. We did encounter some low water levels last Fall on the Danube but they were in the midst of a European drought. We don't mind jackets and cooler weather as we live in Texas where we have about 6 months of warm weather. We would not hesitate to go back in the Fall, crowds are less and we love the cool crisp days of sightseeing. :)

[Sylve1]

We are doing Prague to Budapest starting 5th September 2012. We have not been to Europe before and we prefer warmer weather rather than cool weather. We know we can expect all sorts of weather and will be prepared. After lots of reading we decided just out of summer would give us more chance of having warmer weather. :) hopefully we may get some fall colours as well. So I guess late August or October will depend on how warm or cold you prefer. but of course people who have been before will give you a better idea.

[caviargal]

We don't mind jackets and cooler weather as we live in Texas where we have about 6 months of warm weather. We would not hesitate to go back in the Fall, crowds are less and we love the cool crisp days of sightseeing. :)

 

We love fall and early winter as we have no seasons here in FL so enjoy experiencing them in Europe and getting to actually wear boots and coat. :D

[delraydoll]

The old saying, if you don't like the weather, wait a bit, it'll change. We lived in Europe for 16 yrs., and if you waited for good weather to do anything, especially in Belgium and Luxembourg, you could wait forever. You just never know with Europe. May can be lovely; ditto October. October has lots of wine festivals in Germany. Just bring clothing so you can layer, and especially an umbrella just in case.