AmaWaterways 7 Day Danube Cruise: Five Countries to Check Off Your Bucket List

Affectionately known as the "City of a Hundred Spires" since the 18th century, Prague offers a mesmerizing blend of history, culture and scenic beauty. Your adventure begins today with a captivating walking tour to Prague Castle and the magnificent St. Vitus Cathedral. As you descend toward old town, enjoy breathtaking views of the city while wandering through charming streets towards the iconic Charles Bridge. Continue your journey to the bustling Old Town Square, where you can marvel at the extraordinary Astronomical Clock and the historic Powder Tower nearby. In this vibrant area, you'll find a diverse shopping experience, from unique souvenirs to exquisite Bohemian glass and jewelry at Erpet Crystal in the square.

Discover everyday favorites along Na Prikope Street and at Palladium Mall or indulge in high-end designer fashion on the elegant Parizska (Paris) Street. Each corner of Prague’s old town offers a blend of history and modernity, ensuring an unforgettable experience. In the afternoon, attend the planned Czech beer tasting. In the evening, attend the Folklore Dinner to listen to traditional folklore music, see traditional dance, and eat a traditional Czech meal. Alternatively, have dinner on your own and buy tickets to a classical show in Municipal Hall.

Today you will take the bus about fifty minutes outside the city to Terazin, a former Jewish ghetto and concentration camp primarily for the Jews of Czechoslovakia during World War II. At the museum, you will see parts of the propaganda film the Nazis made to convince the world that Terezin was a model Jewish encampment. Later in the day, explore the Jewish quarter of the old city on your own. It’s the only Jewish community outside of Jerusalem that is part of a UNESCO world heritage site and boasts several points of interest, like the oldest surviving synagogue in Europe, a town hall and cemetery.

On your way to board the ship in Vilshofen, you will get to spend a few hours in Regensburg, Germany, to experience an authentic Bavarian town. Its original medieval and gothic architecture is well preserved. Make your way into the old city via a beautiful stone bridge from the 12th century and make sure to visit St. Peter’s Cathedral, a World Heritage Site. Next to the stone bridge, don’t miss Wurstkuchl's sausage kitchen, which is over 500 years old.

There’s also Prinzess, Ragensburg’s first coffee and chocolate store dating back to the 1600s. No matter the time of year, Ama guests are treated to an Oktoberfest celebration their first evening on board!

After your voyage from Vilshofen to Passau, you can see the city of Passau on a City of Three Rivers (Danube, Inn, Ilz) two-hour walking tour or venture off the beaten path along the Inn River with a 14-mile, two-and-a-half-hour round-trip bike ride to a pub in Austria. Alternatively, you can take a two-hour hike up Passau’s Castle Hill for amazing views of the city and the Danube.

After an overnight voyage from Passau to Linz, Austria, you will have your choice of full-day excursions visiting the town of Salzburg or the Czech town of Cesky Krumlov. On the way to Salzburg, you stop for a quick tour of the town of Mondsee, including the wedding church in The Sound of Music. Then onto Salzburg, where you have a town tour with notable stops of Mozart’s birthplace and Tomaselli, the cafe where he dined as well as a famous candy store, several scenes from The Sound of Music, Mirabelle Gardens, Residenz Square and Fountain, Salzburg Cathedral, Hohensalzburg Fortress and Getreidegasse, the historic shopping square.

Notable stops in Cesky Krumlov include the Church of St. Vitus, Castle Gardens, Landstrasse, the Old Market, Mozart’s House, Landes Theater, the Trinity Column, City Hall, and St. Mary's Cathedral. Other shorter excursions for the day include a 1.5-hour excursion of Linz as the “UNESCO City of Media Arts” walking tour, a six-mile (one and a half hour) bike tour and a three-hour Peter Affenzeller Distillery tour.

Dock in the lovely town of Weissenkirchen in the Wachau Valley, known for its wine, and spend the morning at leisure. In the afternoon, choose from a Dürstein walking tour and visit to the Melk Abbey, an apricots and sweets tasting, a Dürnstein fortress hike, or a 20-mile bike tour along the Danube. In the evening, enjoy a short walk into Weissenkirchen for a wine tasting. Dürnstein is a famous small village known for a castle in ruins where Richard the Lionheart was once imprisoned, as well as a blue facade church, apricot jams and liquors, as well as delicious chocolates. Cruise overnight to Vienna.

Vienna is a world-class town known for offering the best quality of life in the world for its residents. There is so much to see that the tour starts first thing in the morning so that you can explore on your own in the afternoon. There are lots of museums—something for everyone, in fact. I was intrigued by the history of the Hapsburg family and chose to spend the day seeing the Imperial Treasury at Hofburg Palace as well as Schonbrunn Palace, the Hapsburg’s second home. We also visited St. Stephen's Cathedral and the Belvedere Palace to see a wonderful collection of art by Gustav Klimt, including “The Kiss”, as well as many other artists. Other places to note are the Sisi Museum, Imperial Apartments, Spanish Riding School and the Opera House, just to name a few. Stop by Demel Café for a wonderful breakfast, lunch or snack.

Set sail this morning for Bratislava, Slovakia! Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia. In the afternoon enjoy a Coronation City Walking Tour, a Beer Tasting or a Bratislava Castle Hike. Bratislava is a small, charming town built around a town square with several visible embassies.

Sail overnight for Budapest, Hungary, arriving first thing in the morning. Enjoy the scenic arrival from the top deck. The town is split into two sides — the” Buda” side with historic government buildings and a church on a hill and the ”Pest” side, which is more residential. On the Buda side, you will get to explore the Castle District, Mattias Church and Fisherman’s Bastion on the Pest side, you will see Hero’s Square, the Jewish Quarter, Market Hall and Vajdahunyad Castle, just to name a few. “Shoes on the Danube” is a poignant memorial of bronze shoes along the banks of the Danube close to the Parliament building in remembrance of the massacred Hungarian Jews.