River tips

River cruise line American Queen Voyages has shut down, canceling all future cruises and instructing future guests to apply for refunds.

Riviera Travel is set to launch two new river ships, the 178-guest Riviera Radiance and 114-guest Riviera Rose, in March and April 2025.

Uniworld Boutique River Cruises is celebrating the extra calendar day in February with a special leap year flash sale. Travelers can save up to 50 percent off select European river cruises with two-for-one fares.

With its immense buttress roots and leathery green leaves, the northern rātā tree isn’t to be underestimated. Carried on the wind, its seeds land in the canopies of neighbouring trees and begin to germinate. Then, over hundreds of years, each individual seedling’s spidery roots wrap around its host, eventually entombing it and consuming the rotting trunk. 

The brand offers innovatively-designed ships, outstanding service and a focus on active shore excursions and wellness through their signature EmeraldACTIVE program.

Lots of our most beloved global cities have underground rivers, long forgotten by most. In London, there is the river Tyburn that runs under Buckingham Palace and the river Walbrook running under the Bank of England. New York has several, such as Minetta Brook in Manhattan, which can still give today's residents problems with flooded basements. In Sydney, there is Tank stream which is today an underground stormwater channel. Many of these streams became polluted by tanneries and other livelihoods of days gone by, serving eventually as sewers or drains, before being permanently diverted underground to make way for buildings and above ground life.

Standing astride a bike on a sunny morning in Austria, I waved goodbye to the AmaSonata, the river cruise ship I’d been on for the last few days, as it continued sailing west on the Danube River.

New River Gorge National Park and Preserve has flown under the radar since earning its designation at the end of 2020. Carved by the New River and framed by sheer sandstone canyons, rafting and climbing have propelled tourism in this part of West Virginia. Hiking, biking, fishing, and golfing are also on the table while leashed dogs are permitted on the trails. A longer trip can be supplemented by exploring the neighboring Hawks Nest and Babcock state parks.

Every generation travels a bit differently, with their value systems and expectations setting the tone for their well-earned journeys. While river cruising has been associated with older travelers, award-winning AmaWaterways has revolutionized the river cruise experience, expanding its appeal across generational divides. Innovations such as active hiking and biking excursions, as well as the introduction of AmaMagna—the most luxurious and innovative ship cruising the Danube River—have made AmaWaterways river cruises attractive to travelers of all ages.

Does gliding past medieval villages, vine-clad valleys, and historic landscapes as you explore communities along storied waterways like the Danube and the Rhine sound appealing? If so, river cruising could be for you.

They say you can never go back, but that’s only true in part, and doesn’t apply to travel at all. Visit a place a second time, and you go with a seasoned pair of eyes, and all the buoyancy and confidence of familiarity. My second time in Saint-Louis, Senegal, I was better at fending off the touts, better at finding the best grub, better at dealing with the heat. I picked a better hotel—the La Résidence, with its antique whiff of cigar smoke, its old-world comforts, and its rooftop views of the city. And this time, I would go further—I’d be spending a week gliding up the Senegal River, 125 miles from Saint-Louis to the trading town of Podor, on a river cruiser, the Bou el Mogdad.

There have been songs written about La Seine, movies set alongside her quays, and masterpieces painted about her. While the Seine is definitely Paris’s favorite river, there is its lesser-known, black-sheep sibling: the Bièvre River.

When Muchi Gubwe was a fledgling hotel concierge in Cape Town, he would often refer to his seasoned colleagues as “moving encyclopedias.”

WHY IT RATES: The new experiences will celebrate Black history and culture in some of the world's most beloved destinations.—Patrick Clarke, TravelPulse Senior Editor

These days, you need only bring the bare essentials to enjoy a river cruise; there’s no need to over-pack. It’s always a good idea to start by making a list of things that you use on a daily basis. Once you have the base, cross off non-essentials and add in items you think you might need—or wouldn’t want to be stuck without. In other words, toiletries, medications, comfortable clothes, and your photo ID. 

Longer vacations are trending within the travel industry, not only offering your clients unforgettable getaways to their dream destinations, but also presenting you with an opportunity to increase your commissions. In response to increasing consumer demand for longer vacations, AmaWaterways has introduced a collection of specially curated 14-night Grand River Cruises. 

Riviera River Cruises is offering a $500 per person discount on a selection of European river cruise departures in April and May of 2024 for those who book by October 31, 2023.

Marble floors, an emerald-green Murano chandelier, a life-size glass horse set against the backdrop of a cascading waterfall: Boarding the S.S. Catherine was like stepping into a meticulously curated room featured on the cover of Architectural Digest.

A journey along southern Albania’s Vjosa River, one of Europe’s last undammed waterways, means traversing a landscape that looks much as it has for centuries. Flowing from Greece’s northwestern border to the Adriatic Sea, the Vjosa rushes into box canyons and gorges formed by steep forests of maples, oaks and firs. Ancient stone bridges connect its banks, spanning turquoise water. Sheep graze the valley floor, and vineyards, family farms, orchards and olive groves intermingle with fields of dandelions and red poppies.

WHY IT RATES: Pleasant Holidays and its luxury brand, Journese, has added new Egypt, Jordan and Nile river cruise itineraries that can be customized to include such iconic destinations as Cairo, Luxor, Amman, Petra and the Dead Sea. — Laurie Baratti, TravelPulse Associate Writer

The Nile River has long been one of the most mysterious, glamorous, and legendary destinations in the world. It has attracted well-heeled travelers and adventurers for centuries, well after the Pharaohs roamed. In 1933, writer Agatha Christie immediately put the Nile River on everyone’s bucket list when she sailed from Cairo to Aswan. Her experiences were documented in one of her most well-known novels Death on the Nile.