Cruise itinerary
20-Night Europe Cruise from Bucharest
20 nights · Europe · 25 ports of call
20-night Europe cruise aboard Avalon Impression, departing Bucharest and calling at Sinaia, Brasov, Oltenita, Ruse, Vidin and Iron Gates and 18 more.
- Free advisor
- No booking fees
- 10,000+ sailings
At a glance
- Cruise line
- Avalon Waterways
- Duration
- 20 nights
- Region
- Europe · Western Europe · Danube
- Departs
- Bucharest
- Returns
- Prague
How NestCruise works:we're advisor-led, not a booking engine. No fares are listed and there are no booking fees — tell an advisor your dates and party and they price your exact Avalon Impression sailing, typically within 24 hours.
Where this voyage takes you
- History & Culture
Day-by-day itinerary
- Day1
Bucharest
Romania's capital, set on the plains of the lower Danube basin and reached by river from the nearby port towns. Grand boulevards and the colossal Palace of the Parliament reflect its 20th-century rebuilding, alongside surviving belle-époque streets once dubbed 'Little Paris'.
- Palace of the Parliament
- Old Town
- Herăstrău Park
- Day2
Bucharest
Romania's capital, set on the plains of the lower Danube basin and reached by river from the nearby port towns. Grand boulevards and the colossal Palace of the Parliament reflect its 20th-century rebuilding, alongside surviving belle-époque streets once dubbed 'Little Paris'.
- Palace of the Parliament
- Old Town
- Herăstrău Park
Sinaia
Brasov
A medieval Saxon town in the Carpathian mountains of Transylvania, Romania. Its walled centre gathers around a Gothic Black Church and a wide council square, with the fortress town of Bran and its castle a short drive into the surrounding hills.
- Black Church
- Council Square
- Bran Castle
- Day3
Brasov
A medieval Saxon town in the Carpathian mountains of Transylvania, Romania. Its walled centre gathers around a Gothic Black Church and a wide council square, with the fortress town of Bran and its castle a short drive into the surrounding hills.
- Black Church
- Council Square
- Bran Castle
- Day4
Brasov
A medieval Saxon town in the Carpathian mountains of Transylvania, Romania. Its walled centre gathers around a Gothic Black Church and a wide council square, with the fortress town of Bran and its castle a short drive into the surrounding hills.
- Black Church
- Council Square
- Bran Castle
Bucharest
Romania's capital, set on the plains of the lower Danube basin and reached by river from the nearby port towns. Grand boulevards and the colossal Palace of the Parliament reflect its 20th-century rebuilding, alongside surviving belle-époque streets once dubbed 'Little Paris'.
- Palace of the Parliament
- Old Town
- Herăstrău Park
Oltenita
A Danube port town in southern Romania, set on the river's north bank across from Bulgaria. A quiet agricultural centre on the Wallachian plain, it serves as a river crossing and a stop on cruises bound for Bucharest, which lies a short drive inland.
- Danube waterfront
- Bucharest day trip
- Wallachian plain
- Day5
Ruse
A Bulgarian port on the Danube, facing Romania across the river in the country's northeast. Known for grand nineteenth-century architecture that earned it the name Little Vienna, it centres on a neo-baroque square and serves as a stop toward Bucharest.
- Freedom Square
- Neo-baroque architecture
- Danube riverfront
- Day6
Vidin
A Danube river port in northwestern Bulgaria, opposite Romania across the water. Its medieval Baba Vida fortress stands on the riverbank, and the town serves as a gateway inland to the dramatic rock formations and monasteries of the Belogradchik region.
- Baba Vida fortress
- Danube riverfront
- Belogradchik rocks
- Day7
Iron Gates
A dramatic gorge where the Danube cuts between Serbia and Romania, forming the river's narrowest and deepest stretch. River ships pass beneath sheer cliffs, the rock-carved face of the Dacian king Decebalus and the locks of the great Iron Gate dams.
- Danube gorge
- Decebalus rock carving
- river cliffs
Golubac
A small town on the Danube in eastern Serbia, set where the river narrows toward the Iron Gates gorge. It is dominated by a large medieval riverside fortress, and lies at the edge of the Đerdap National Park along the Romanian border.
- Golubac Fortress
- Iron Gates gorge
- Đerdap park
- Day8
Belgrade
The capital of Serbia, set where the Sava River joins the Danube in the Balkans. The hilltop Kalemegdan fortress overlooks the meeting of the rivers, with the bohemian Skadarlija quarter and a lively riverside nightlife below.
- Kalemegdan Fortress
- Skadarlija quarter
- River confluence
- Day9
Novi Sad
Serbia's second city, set on the Danube in the northern Vojvodina plain. The riverside Petrovaradin Fortress overlooks the water, the old centre keeps elegant squares and cafés, and the EXIT music festival fills the fortress each summer.
- Petrovaradin Fortress
- Danube quay
- City squares
- Day10
Ilok
A small hilltop town in eastern Croatia, set where the Danube meets the wine-growing slopes of the Fruška Gora. Its medieval fortress and Franciscan friary overlook a wide bend of the river, marking the country's far eastern frontier with Serbia.
- Ilok fortress
- Danube vineyards
- Odescalchi cellars
Vukovar
A town on the Danube in eastern Croatia, where the river forms the border with Serbia. Once heavily damaged in the 1990s war and since rebuilt, it sits in the flat, fertile Slavonia region known for its vineyards and baroque waterfront.
- Danube waterfront
- Slavonia wines
- Baroque architecture
- Day11
Mohács
A town on the Danube in southern Hungary, near the Croatian and Serbian borders. It is remembered for the 1526 battle that shaped Hungarian history and for its Busójárás carnival, when masked figures parade to drive off winter.
- Busójárás carnival
- Danube riverfront
- Battle of Mohács
- Day12
Budapest
Hungary's grand capital, split by the Danube into hilly Buda and flat Pest. River ships moor in the centre, within reach of the neo-Gothic Parliament, the thermal baths at Széchenyi and the panoramic ramparts of Fisherman's Bastion.
- Parliament Building
- Széchenyi Baths
- Fisherman's Bastion
- Day13
Budapest
Hungary's grand capital, split by the Danube into hilly Buda and flat Pest. River ships moor in the centre, within reach of the neo-Gothic Parliament, the thermal baths at Széchenyi and the panoramic ramparts of Fisherman's Bastion.
- Parliament Building
- Széchenyi Baths
- Fisherman's Bastion
- Day14
Bratislava
Slovakia's compact capital on the Danube, within sight of both Austria and Hungary. A hilltop castle overlooks a small, walkable old town of pastel facades, baroque squares and the Gothic St. Martin's Cathedral where Hungarian kings were once crowned.
- Bratislava Castle
- Old Town
- St. Martin's Cathedral
- Day15
Vienna
Austria's imperial capital on the Danube, long the seat of the Habsburgs. River ships call within reach of Schönbrunn Palace, the Hofburg and St. Stephen's Cathedral, in a city famed for coffee houses, classical music and grand ringstrasse architecture.
- Schönbrunn Palace
- St. Stephen's Cathedral
- Coffee houses
- Day16
Dürnstein
A village in Austria's Wachau valley, set among terraced vineyards on a bend of the Danube. A blue-and-white baroque abbey tower marks its skyline, and the ruined castle above town is where Richard the Lionheart was once held captive.
- Baroque abbey
- Castle ruins
- Wachau vineyards
Wachau Valley Austria
A stretch of the Danube in Lower Austria between Melk and Krems, a UNESCO cultural landscape. The Wachau Valley is known for its terraced vineyards, riverside villages, hilltop abbeys, and apricot orchards along a famously scenic reach of the river.
- Terraced vineyards
- Dürnstein village
- Apricot orchards
Neuhofen an der Ybbs
A small market town in Lower Austria, set in the rolling farmland of the Mostviertel where the Ybbs river runs down from the Alps. The region is known for its orchards and cider, with the abbey of Seitenstetten and the foothills of the Eisenwurzen nearby.
- Mostviertel cider
- Seitenstetten Abbey
- Ybbs valley
- Day17
Linz
An Austrian city on the Danube between Salzburg and Vienna, with a large baroque main square at its heart. A pair of funiculars and a tram climb the Pöstlingberg hill above town, and it serves as a river gateway toward the Salzkammergut lakes.
- Main Square
- Pöstlingberg hill
- Danube promenade
- Day18
Schlögen
A hamlet on the Danube in Upper Austria, known for the Schlögener Schlinge, a dramatic double loop where the river doubles back between forested hills. River ships pass through this quiet stretch of the valley, prized for its walking trails and views.
- Schlögen Loop
- Danube valley
- Forest trails
Passau
A Bavarian city where the Danube, Inn and Ilz rivers meet, near the Austrian border. Long a starting point for Danube cruises, its baroque old town centres on St. Stephen's Cathedral, home to one of the largest church organs in the world.
- Three rivers
- St. Stephen's Cathedral
- Baroque old town
- Day19
Vilshofen
A small Bavarian town on the Danube in Lower Bavaria, often a river-cruise stop for its preserved historic core. Vilshofen's pastel market square and riverside setting make it a gateway into the surrounding Bavarian Forest countryside.
- Stadtplatz square
- Danube promenade
- Bavarian Forest
Regensburg
A Bavarian city on the Danube with one of Germany's best-preserved medieval centres. River ships call within walking distance of the 12th-century Stone Bridge, the Gothic cathedral and a tangle of lanes lined with patrician towers.
- Stone Bridge
- Regensburg Cathedral
- Medieval old town
Prague
The Czech capital, a near-intact medieval city on the Vltava in central Europe. Its hilltop castle, the Charles Bridge and the astronomical clock in the Old Town Square draw river travellers calling along this stretch of the continent.
- Charles Bridge
- Prague Castle
- Old Town Square
- Day20
Prague
The Czech capital, a near-intact medieval city on the Vltava in central Europe. Its hilltop castle, the Charles Bridge and the astronomical clock in the Old Town Square draw river travellers calling along this stretch of the continent.
- Charles Bridge
- Prague Castle
- Old Town Square
- Day21
Prague
The Czech capital, a near-intact medieval city on the Vltava in central Europe. Its hilltop castle, the Charles Bridge and the astronomical clock in the Old Town Square draw river travellers calling along this stretch of the continent.
- Charles Bridge
- Prague Castle
- Old Town Square
Upcoming departures
- 7 Aug 2027
Upcoming sailings of this itinerary — a NestCruise advisor confirms current availability and your fare.
20-Night Europe Cruise from Bucharest FAQ
Which ports does this cruise visit?
This 20-night Europe cruise calls at Bucharest, Sinaia, Brasov, Oltenita, Ruse, Vidin, Iron Gates, Golubac, Belgrade, Novi Sad, Ilok, Vukovar, Mohács, Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Dürnstein, Wachau Valley Austria, Neuhofen an der Ybbs, Linz, Schlögen, Passau, Vilshofen, Regensburg and Prague.
How many days are spent at sea?
This is a port-intensive itinerary with no full days at sea.
Where does this cruise depart from?
It departs from Bucharest and ends in Prague.
How long is this cruise?
20 nights aboard Avalon Impression.
When does this itinerary sail?
Upcoming departures include 7 Aug 2027. A NestCruise advisor can confirm current availability.