All products and services
Contact us
Brochures
Seek out Heidelberg- Amsterdam
- Middle Rhine
- Scenic Strasbourg
- See Lake Titisee
River Cruise from
£1,499 per person
7 nights Including optional travel insurance or a price reduction of £20 if not required
Castles and Vineyards of the Rhine: Amsterdam to Basel
The Rhine and her Tributaries
-
VIP on selected river cruises
-
Full board
Experience the best of the Rhine
Step aboard Saga’s brand new luxury ship, Spirit of the Rhine, for her first 7-night voyage down the river which lent the ship her name. Your cruise begins in Düsseldorf where an included city tour explores the highlights.
Then cruise to the historic cities of Cologne and Koblenz, and raise a glass in the traditional wine town of Rüdesheim. Another included excursion visits stately Heidelberg before you cruise into France to explore Strasbourg’s cobbled streets and picturesque half-timbered houses on an included guided tour and canal cruise. Return to Germany to spend the day in Breisach before your journey concludes in Basel…
Including...
20 meals: 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 7 dinners
Free bar open 15 hours a day† (2023 deaprtures only)
Wine, beer and soft drinks with lunch and dinner
Saga Team
Plus...
- Drinks reception and Captain’s dinner
- Complimentary Wi-Fi on board
- All gratuities on board
- Return flights and transfers
Included Excursions
- Amsterdam city tour and canal cruise OR Amsterdam culinary walking tour
- Heidelberg and Castle visit
- Strasbourg tour and canal cruise
Interactive maps and audio headsets for independent exploration
†The free bar available in 2023 is open from 9am to midnight and serves alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
Humanitarian and author Terry Waite
Terry Waite will join this cruise departing on July 24, 2022. He travelled the world in the 1960s and 70s establishing aid and development programmes and supporting health and education initiatives.
As the Archbishop of Canterbury's Assistant for Anglican Communion Affairs Waite negotiated the release of hostages in Iran, Libya and Lebanon. He was taken hostage in Beirut in 1987 and held for 1,763 days before his release.
He is now a best-selling author and lecturer.
Comedy impressionist and after-dinner speaker Jon Culshaw
Performing twice on board during the October 2, 2023 departure, Jon is recognised as one of the best impressionists in the United Kingdom.
He has appeared on BBC’s Dead Ringers and ITV’s The Impressionable Jon Culshaw, Jon Culshaw’s Commercial Breakdown and many more.
Jon first rose to fame in 1998 while working for London’s Capital Radio, during which time he made the famous phone call to 10 Downing Street, impersonating William Hague to have a lengthy conversation with Tony Blair.
View Full Itinerary
Day 1 UK to Amsterdam
Travel to Amsterdam and transfer to the port to embark Spirit of the Rhine, which remains moored here overnight.
Enjoy a welcome reception and dinner on board.
Day 2 Amsterdam 🎧
The Dutch capital is rightly popular for its friendly welcome, picturesque canals, world-class museums and galleries and laid-back cafes and bars. This morning you can join an included excursion focusing on the local food and culture. After disembarking your ship and meeting your guide, take a tram to Central Station from where you will begin a walking tour of the Dutch capital. Along the way look forward to tasting local delicacies including herring, cheese and croquettes and rounding it off with a sweet treat from a bakery.
Alternatively you could join an included tour of Amsterdam by coach and see the Royal Palace on Dam Square, the floating flower market, the Central Railway Station, which is built on thousands of wooden piles, and the grand 19th-century Rijksmuseum.
Afterwards, enjoy a canal cruise to see the city centre with its pretty bridges and attractive gabled houses up close and view such treasures as the famous Skinny Bridge, the Montelbaanstoren tower and the Jewish Quarter. Spirit of the Rhine sets sail at lunchtime and you will spend the rest of the day and night cruising towards Cologne. B, L, D.
Interactive maps and audio headset tours available for exploring independently in Amsterdam.
Day 3 Cologne 🎧
Arrive at lunchtime in Cologne, Germany's cultural capital where you can see some of the city’s attractions during an optional sightseeing city coach tour.
Alternatively, spend the afternoon exploring using our state-of-the-art interactive map – don't miss the vast Gothic cathedral, started in 1248 to house the relics of the three Magi but not finally completed until 1880! You can see the shrine to Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar – now among the patron saints of Cologne – behind the high altar.
Depart later this evening and cruise overnight towards Koblenz.
Day 4 Koblenz to Rüdesheim 🎧
Having arrived before breakfast, you can spend the morning in Koblenz, at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle.
Discover the attractive riverside promenade and several historic churches, all set beneath the Festung Ehrenbreitstein citadel on top of the hill, which you might choose to visit on an optional excursion this morning. Later this morning your cruise continues through the UNESCO-listed Middle Rhine to the charming wine town of Rüdesheim, passing the fabled Lorelei Rock en route. This evening, perhaps visit one of the 'olde-worlde' taverns in the famed Drosselgasse for a glass of local beer or wine.
Alternatively, join an optional excursion that visits the extraordinary Siegfried's Museum of Mechanical Music or another which features a wine tasting.
Your ship remains moored here overnight.
Day 5 Rüdesheim to Ludwigshafen
This morning an included excursion visits the home of Germany's oldest university, the city of Heidelberg. Highlights include the Old Bridge across the River Neckar and the ruined castle high above the city.
Its rather random appearance is due to it having been added to through different periods of German architectural styles. Virtually destroyed by lightning in 1764 it was cannibalised by locals who used stones from it in their own houses!
Sail overnight for Strasbourg, pausing briefly in Mannheim this evening.
Day 6 Kehl (for Strasbourg) 🎧
You'll arrive this morning in the beautiful capital of Alsace, with the whole day to discover its cobbled streets, picturesque half-timbered houses and magnificent cathedral.
This morning an included city tour and canal cruise will help you get your bearings, then this afternoon you can explore further independently.
Your ship departs for Breisach this evening.
Day 7 Breisach 🎧
Arrive in the early hours with a day to explore Breisach, an important medieval town of the Holy Roman Empire during the 16th century.
It's overlooked by a 12th-century cathedral – St Stephansmünster – set high on a hilltop above. It's also known as the 'gateway to the Black Forest' and you'll have the chance to join an optional excursion to picturesque Colmar with its well-preserved old town, and the wine town of Riquewhir.
Another optional tour visits Lake Titisee, in the Black Forest for a short cruise.
Depart later tonight and cruise to Basel.
Day 8 Basel to UK
Disembark Spirit of the Rhine after breakfast and travel to the airport (a journey of approximately one hour and 15 minutes) for your return flight to the UK.
🎧 Interactive maps and audio headset tours available for exploring independently in Amsterdam, Cologne, Koblenz, Rüdesheim, Strasbourg and Breisach.
Some of the highlights may only be seen on optional excursions at an additional cost, or by exploring independently.
£1,499 per person
2 passengers
7 nights
Including optional travel insurance or a price reduction of £20 if not requiredThe Rhine and her Tributaries
£1,499 per person
2 passengers
7 nights
Including optional travel insurance or a price reduction of £20 if not required