Rivers are fascinating natural features that often enrich the city’s landscape. They have both a natural charm and a usefulness that serves for a vast array of activities. For centuries, rivers have provided great environments to play, explore, and relax; but for some reason, they haven’t played an active role in the tourism industry until recent decades.
River cruising is increasingly becoming a popular way to explore a destination. Rivers can now be seen not as the backdoor of a city, but as the front door that gave birth to its settlement.
Some of the most rich and interesting parts of many cities can be found near rivers or facing the riverside. Why? Allow me to get a bit technical here. Think about this; have you ever wondered why most cities are built near rivers? The answer is simple. Water is life.
Throughout history, the main purpose of settling a city near a river was to be close to the rich supply of water and food. Its flood plains have served as fertile soil for farming. In addition, rivers have served their purpose in energy production, sanitation, and defense.
Rivers provided a means of transportation and communication between cities before the time of railways and road transportation. Still today, river navigation provides a cheap means of transport – by transporting greater amounts of goods in an efficient way. This is the logic behind the development of river-facing cities.
Thanks to these reasons –among others– city centers have been developed with rivers being the central and most important part of their urban planning. Thus, river edges often tend to be the oldest and most interesting parts of the city.
Now, back to river cruising (after a short rambling). River cruises are a good alternative to experience a city from a different perspective and at a soothing pace. Rivers provide easy access to city centers; allowing you to sail directly to the heart of your destination and dock in the middle of the town. River cruises allow you to walk right off the ship and join the day’s activities. You spend less time getting there, and more time being there.
But, River cruising is not just about the city, its center, and its historical development. River cruises also allow you to see and experience remote towns and villages, off the beaten path areas, dense wildlife, or the chance to just relax in the flowing waters as you move along your journey. The experience and the journey is completely different compared to other land-based transportation methods.
River cruising is also an alternative method of adventurous travel. Rivers have always been a place of exploration and adventure by ancient explorers, so why not continue that tradition as modern day travelers. You don’t have to be a hardcore adventurous traveler or an “Indiana Jones” explorer to enjoy the off-the-beaten-path feel river cruises have. These journeys can bring many unique and memorable experiences, even when you’re relaxing on the deck while cruising the Rhine River or just enjoying the scenery and ancient monuments along the Nile River.
There is something uniquely pleasant in the hidden powers of water. You can relax watching the scenery, the reflection of the sky in the calm waters, and the unimpeded view of the sunset. You can do these with the company of fellow and likeminded travelers while hanging on the cruise deck or on your own at the tranquility of your room.
World-renowned companies like Viking River Cruises work on creating these unique experiences and immerse you into an adventurous way of travel. They offer a wide variety of cruises on many popular rivers like the Nile, Mekong, Rhine, Danube, Volga River, among others. Cruising along them can give you a relaxing, convenient, and gracious way to see and discover many of the world’s most fascinating destinations.
Have you experienced a destination through a river cruise?
Original images from lacitadelle and David Berkowitz respectively; taken from Flickr’s Creative Commons.
Would love to cruise down the Danube right to the Black Sea.
And here’s another exciting way of river ‘cruising” , the way we do it downunder.
.http://www.clarenceriverrafting.co.nz/
Ha! I love whitewater rafting! My way of “cruising” a river too!
I agree. River cruises are the best! Sometimes I’m too cheap and have missed out on a few cruises while traveling because they can be pretty expensive at times.
I grew up around rivers in Northern California and there is something about a nice, clean river that is unlike anything else.
That’s true. Sometimes they can be somewhat expensive. In some cases, that big upfront cost includes “extra” activities and amenities on the destinations. It all depends if the upfront cost fits your needs and wants.
Ahh… clean rivers with crystalline waters… how I love those. I grew up in Puerto Rico, and even though most of the rivers there are not fit for cruising, most of them have a clean and pristine natural look that is really amazing.
One of my favorite river cruises was in Phalaborwa, South Africa. From our rust bucket of a boat, we gently glided along the Oliphants River and saw hippo, buffalo, crocodile, elephants and other animals right up close. It was so peaceful and magical watching the animals in their natural environment. People often go for the land safaris, but don’t neglect the river either!
Wow! That sounds really cool. It’s true what you say about land safaris in South Africa and Africa in general. Is is most common to hear people talk about land safaris but so little about river safaris/cruising. Ha! I bet the rust bucket was an experience on itself… would love to do a river cruise like that!
I’ll put a post up on my site soon with a video and photos from the cruise. It’s been in the queue for a while, perhaps it’s time to get published!
Nice! Would love to see it.
I’ve never been on a cruise but I find taking a boat down a river to be so calming and relaxing. I really enjoy it.
It truly is… It’s so easy to relax and lose track of time by staring at the scenery and sunset, or just staring at the water… lol
Very interesting post! I love the idea of river cruises. In my blog, I rant about vacations I won’t take. And a month ago, I wrote about 8 reasons why a river cruise is better than an ocean cruise and even gave information about the top 5 river cruise lines.
Needless to say, I like your take on river cruising.
Good reasons you gave there, Jeremy. Having grown up in the Caribbean, I have experience ocean cruises more than river cruises, so I can say your points are spot on. In the end, it all depends on what type of cruise experience you want. I personally like both… but for different purposes and trip style.
Really good angle for a piece! This could become a series…
This article has reminded me of a nice river cruise I did up the Harrison river in British Columbia. Once upon a time it was the route thousands of gold prospectors found their way up here from Seattle. Here at the Harrison they would take a boat tour up the river to Harrison Lake and then into Lillouet lake. They then walked to Seton Lake into Lillouet town and joined thousands of others as they traveled to the mighty Fraser where the gold rush took place back in 1870.
Oh wow, sounds really interesting. The gold rush played an important role in the development of that area in the late 19th century. I imagine the rivers at that time must have been very active and highly trafficked by the new-money seekers. It must have been interesting to watch, and I’m sure today’s river scenery must look beautiful.