Guide
When to go
Most river cruises, most of the year, sail exactly as planned — so this page is less about avoiding trouble than about picking the water at its best. Spring sails on snowmelt: May and June are reliably the fullest months on the Rhine and Danube. Late summer and fall ride on rain, so they reward flexible plans and a glance at the live forecast. December's Christmas market season, the busiest and most magical weeks of the year, runs on winter's leaner water, and most years it runs just fine.
The calendars below are live: water height is each month's chance of going as planned, months with a dot use the current forecast, and everything updates as the gauges and rainfall move. Click through to a river for the detail behind it.
Rhine
we watch: low water
Most likely to go as planned March (83%), May (80%) and June (87%).
Sep*
Oct*
Nov*
Dec*
Jan*
Feb*
Mar*
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Last five years, month by month
The five years before each month, most recent on top · marks are months that hit low water · solid = a week or more
Danube
we watch: low water
Most likely to go as planned April (90%), May (93%) and June (83%).
Sep*
Oct*
Nov*
Dec*
Jan*
Feb*
Mar*
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Last five years, month by month
The five years before each month, most recent on top · marks are months that hit low water · solid = a week or more
Elbe
we watch: low water
Most likely to go as planned March (88%), April (87%) and June (90%).
Sep*
Oct*
Nov*
Dec*
Jan*
Feb*
Mar*
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Last five years, month by month
The five years before each month, most recent on top · marks are months that hit low water · solid = a week or more
Seine
we watch: high water
Most likely to go as planned October (99%), July (100%) and August (100%).
Sep*
Oct*
Nov*
Dec*
Jan*
Feb*
Mar*
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Last five years, month by month
The five years before each month, most recent on top · marks are months that hit high water · solid = a week or more