Rhine - When to go?

[abredt]

Looking into going on the Rhine in 2013. And maybe the Moselle.

 

How are the water levels? Weather not too hot? Not too cold?

 

Thanks, cb

[swamp1sg]

We did the Rhine in 2009 in December. It was not too cold(we are Florida natives) and the river level was fine. However, in December in 2010, half of our cruise on the Danube was changed because of high river levels (melting snow). We took silk underwear and were never too cold. We just went with the flow, even though we spent nearly an extra week in Germany before we could get a flight out and that was really because Heathrow could not get the snow off their runways. We will be cruising the Main this year the week before Christmas.

[Alex71]

I'd say timing depends on what you would like to see and to do. The weather is best between June and September. In July and August it can sometimes get hot an humid along the Rhine. In fall, there are many wine fests. Chistmas markets usually start at the beginning of December, some already in late November.

 

For me, the time between Christmas and Easter would be te least attractive since it may be cold and rainy, especially in Holland and the Cologne Dusseldorf area and you won't find any of the seasonal activities such as the Christmas markets.

 

Let me know in case you have any specific questions, we live in Speyer, which is a frequent stop on many Rhine river cruises.

[caviargal]

We did the Rhine in 2009 in December. It was not too cold(we are Florida natives) and the river level was fine. However, in December in 2010, half of our cruise on the Danube was changed because of high river levels (melting snow). We took silk underwear and were never too cold. We just went with the flow, even though we spent nearly an extra week in Germany before we could get a flight out and that was really because Heathrow could not get the snow off their runways. We will be cruising the Main this year the week before Christmas.

 

 

We are also Florida residents and enjoy November and December the most. We pack for a wide range of weather and have traveled to Europe many times in these months.

 

Last Thanksgiving we did the "Vineyards of the Rhine and Moselle" with AMA. The scenery along the Moselle was stunning and there were several ports we really enjoyed, especially Koblenz. We had lovely weather.

 

In 2010 we did the Christmas markets in late November, early December and had 22 inches of snow - we were traveling at the same time as swamp. It was gorgeous but did disrupt the plans of others I know. We were not affected.

 

This year we are cruising Budapest to Prague for the Christmas markets with time on our own before and after in Europe. And we will spend NYE in Berlin, a city we love.

[abredt]

How is early September or early October? My husband is afraid early Oct will be cold. I can't tolerate being hot.

 

cb

[YoungDubFan]

I did the Rhine this year, the last week of May into 1st week of June. It was wonderful. We had sunny days and very nice weather. It was usually mid to high 70s during the day and cooled down in the evening. We only had rain for 1/2 of a day. We also had no issues with high or low river levels. However, because we had no rain, many trips that left 2 weeks after us, and for 2-3 weeks, had issues with very low river levels. It is so hard to predict what the temp and weather will be.

 

For travelling to Europe, I really like mid May - mid June and Sept - Oct. I've been to different countries during this time and have always lucked out. Plus, crowds aren't as heavy as during July and Aug.

 

Good luck. Hope you have a wonderful trip.

[tvmovielover]

We went on a day Rhine cruise 40 years ago on our honeymoon in July and again last year in early November. The scenic part of the Rhine cruise is much prettier in the sun than when it is foggy and overcast as it was in Nov when we were there (this was not true for all Nov cruises but there was still enough water when we were there which was not true for late Nov cruises in 2011). If the Christmas markets had been up, that might have made up a little for the less gorgeous Rhine gorge in the fog. So I agree with those above who say try May/June or Sept/Oct for smaller crowds and maybe good weather and enough water or go on a Christmas markets cruise because the Christmas markets are great.

[va2pa]

We went on a Rhine River cruise the first week of November in 2010. We had no problems with water level, but the weather was chilly and rainy. When it rained, it was usually misty; never a downpour. Personally, I didn't mind the weather one bit - I like the cooler weather and just wore a fleece jacket. My mother thought it was very cold and wore her winter coat everywhere. I did wear a winter jacket when we were cruising through the Middle Rhine Valley - we were up on deck seeing the gorgeous scenery and it did get cold. One other thing - there were no crowds at any of the places we stopped so that was very nice.