Danube - Danubio

The Danube it is the second longest river in Europe. It starts in the Black Forest in Germany and flows west to the Danube Delta on the western coast of the Black Sea. From west to east, it flows through:

The main Danube river
Tributaries not shown

Understand

Today it is a major tourist attraction and in recent years it has played an important role in the history of Europe. It passes through four capital cities, as well as a number of influential, historic and beautiful towns, and breathtaking landscapes.

At the height of the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD, the Danube marked the northern border of the country.

The Danube also coincides with a climatic frontier; large crops such as grapes generally grow poorly north of the river.

To get

There are a few cruise ships that travel from the Rhine via the River Main and the Rhine-Main-Danube Danube Canal, making it possible to travel from the North Sea to the Black Sea.

Boat

There are some cruise ships that travel from the Rhine via the River Main and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal to the Danube, allowing travel from the North Sea to the Black Sea.

Cycling

  • The Danube cycle route runs its entire length, with the German and Austrian sections being very popular.

Walking

  • Donausteig from Passau to Grein (between Linz and Melk).
  • Route of the Sultans from Vienna to Smederevo (between Belgrade and Požarevac)

By canoe or kayak

Some ambitious canoes or kayakers try to travel the "length" of the river. While some undertake the journey independently, others participate in the Tour - International - Danubien (TID). It runs annually starting in Ingolstadt and ending in the Black Sea, some join the TID for specific sections, while some attempt the entire journey from Ingolstadt to the Black Sea. However, this trip is a major undertaking and requires skill and experience.

On cruise

There are many cruises along the river, some short sections and others, such as Avalon, Uniworld and Viking, that go from Passau to the Delta. Most of the river is navigable, but cruises typically don't start further west of Passau, because the water is often too high for boats to safely pass under some bridges, especially during the flood-prone spring season. During the dry summer months, the water level can be too low, commonly resulting in itinerary changes, such as the need to change boats or travel by bus between two ports.

Germany

Upper Danube water gap near Beuron

  • Source of the Danube: Confluence of the Brigach and Breg headwaters near Donaueschingen. The InterRegioExpress railway line from here to Ulm follows almost exactly the course of the Donau.
  • 1 Tuttlingen near the Danube sink
  • Sigmaringen
  • Ulm. End of the Donaueschingen IRE line. Train passengers can transfer to Agilis to Ingolstadt, which again follows the course of the river.
  • Ingolstadt. End of the Agilis line from Ulm. Another Agilis line roughly follows the Danube to Regensburg (but bypasses Kelheim).
  • Kelheim. This is where the main Donau Kanal meets the Danube.
  • Regensburg. End of the Agilis line from Ingolstadt. Another railway line runs parallel to the Danube (but a few kilometers from its right bank) through Plattling to Passau (bypassing Deggendorf on the left bank). You can use the ICE high-speed train or a local train to Plattling and then a regional express to Passau.
  • Deggendorf
  • Passau. From here, the rail route continues parallel to the Danube to Linz, but does not follow the course of the river. If you take the ICE or regional train to Linz, you won't see much of the Danube. Travelers who value following the course of the river exactly have to take buses to Jochenstein on the Austro-German border (only twice a day), cross the stream by ferry to Engelhartszell and continue by bus to Linz.

Austria

  • Linz. From here, intercity trains roughly follow the Danube to Vienna, but take a shortcut and therefore do not go through Wachau. So leave IC at Amstetten and continue on regional express (REX) to Melk. View from Aggstein Castle Ruins, Wachau
  • Wachau - Cultural landscape that is considered one of the most picturesque sections of the Danube and one of the most beautiful parts of Austria.
    • Melk: huge baroque Benedictine abbey, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. From Melk, buses take you through Wachau to Krems an der Donau, exactly following the course of the Danube.
    • Spitz
    • Weißenkirchen in der Wachau
    • Durnstein
    • Krems. Here you can take a regional express train directly to Vienna (stopping in Tulln, but not in Klosterneuburg).
  • Tulln. You can change to the Vienna S40 commuter line which stops in Klosterneuburg.
  • Klosterneuburg
  • Vienna. There are frequent rail connections directly to Bratislava, but they overlook the beautiful Danube floodplains east of Vienna, as well as the archaeological site of Roman Carnutum and the small town of Hainburg an der Donau that is worth seeing. So you better take the S7 S-Bahn (suburban train) to get past these attractions.
  • Hainburg an der Donau. From Hainburg or Wolfsthal (the S7 terminal), continue by bus to Bratislava.

Slovakia

  • Bratislava. From here there are direct Eurocity trains to Budapest (via Štúrovo, Visegrád and Vác). However, they do not follow the course of the river directly and the twin cities of Komárno / Komárom would be lost. Instead, you can get off the EC at Nové Zámky and change to an ordinary train to Komárno.

Slovakia / Hungary

  • Komárno / Komárom. From the Hungarian half of the twin city, you can take an intercity train directly to Budapest (via Tatabánya), but you will miss the old royal city of Esztergom and the picturesque bend of the Danube, so this is not a real option. So it is better to continue by the Slovak bank where there is a bus connection to Štúrovo.
  • Štúrovo / Esztergom. Eurocity trains follow the course of the Danube from Štúrovo via Szob, Nagymáros / Visegrád and Vác to Budapest.

Hungary

  • Visegrád. You can take a bus to Szentendre, but bypass Vác, which is on the opposite side of the Danube. It is difficult to visit so much Vac What Szentendre, as they are separated by an island between the mainstream of the Danube and a branch and there is no bridge over the Danube in this section. So it is better to decide on one side (and visit the other next time).
  • Vac. If you plan to visit Dunakeszi then opt for a regional train as Eurocity doesn't stop there.
  • Szentendre. The H5 suburban train line connects Szentendre with Budapest in 40 minutes. It also has a stop at the ancient Roman site of Aquincum .
  • Dunakeszi
  • Budapest. From Budapest there are international trains to Belgrade via Novi Sad, but their route runs quite far from the course of the Danube, bypassing the Duna-Dráva National Park in the border triangle of Hungary, Croatia and Serbia. Regional trains to Dunaújváros or buses to Baja (via Kiskunlacháza and Kalocsa) bring you closer along the river.
  • Rackeve
  • Dunaújváros. You can continue along the right bank of the Danube by bus to Mohács (via Szekszárd) or cross the river to Dunavecse, where you can take the bus to Baja.
  • Short
  • Mohács: small town near the Duna-Dráva National Park.

Croatia / Serbia

  • Sombor: Serbian town close to the Gornje Podunavlje nature reserve. Buses to Vukovar
  • Vukovar (Croatia): buses panturists to Novi Sad three times a day

Serbia

  • Novi Sad: Train or Bus to Belgrade
  • Belgrade: buses Arrive to through the Iron Gate to Kladovo (opposite Drobeta-Turnu Severin) three times a day

Serbia / Romania

Danube near the iron gate

  • Iron Gates Nature Park
  • Orșova (Romania)
  • Kladovo (Serbia, opposite Drobeta-Turnu Severin): buses from Bortravel to Negotin
  • Drobeta-Turnu Severin (Romania): buses from Nikolic Prevoz to Negotin
  • Negotin (Serbia): buses from Nikolic Prevoz to Vidin

Bulgaria / Romania

  • Calafat (Romania, opposite Vidin): Buses to Turnu Magurele
  • Vidin (Bulgaria): Buses to Kozloduy
  • Kozloduy (Bulgaria): Buses to Pleven where you can change to a bus to Nikopol
  • Turnu Magurele (Romania, opposite Nikopol)
  • Nikopol (Bulgaria): Buses to Svishtov
  • Zimnicea (Romania, opposite Svishtov): Buses to Giurgiu
  • Svishtov (Bulgaria): Buses to Rousse
  • Rousse (Bulgaria, opposite Giurgiu): Buses to Silistra via Srebarna
  • Giurgiu (Romania)
  • Srebarna Nature Reserve (Bulgaria)
  • Silistra (Bulgaria, versus Călărași)
  • Călărași: Buses to Ciulnita from where there are trains to Fetești

Romania

  • Fetești: Trains to Galați via Brăila
  • Brăila: Bus to Tulcea
  • Galați
  • Tulcea: ferry to Sulina (mouth of the Danube)
  • The Danube Delta in Romania is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Watch

Cities

external links