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One of my favorite tours on this itinerary, Top of Cologne, backstage and up high in the Cologne Cathedral. © 2017 Ralph Grizzle
Following last week’s post, What I Learned About Viking River Cruises While Cruising The Rhine, many readers asked about excursions along the Rhine river on Viking River Cruises eight-day Rhine Getaway. There are two things you should know. First, there are optional excursions. For those, I’ve listed prices and my advice, based on my own experiences and  conversations with other guests. There are also included excursions.
Viking’s Rhine Getaway Optional Excursions
Updated during my May 2017 eight-day Rhine Getaway cruise on Viking Hlin, from Basel to Amsterdam.
| Destination | Optional Tour | Cost per guest | My Take |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breisach | World War II: Museum & Memorial | €49 | Great tour, a better choice for most than Medieval Village of Colmar |
| Breisach | Medieval Village of Colmar | €49 | Good tour but my preference is the World War II tour, even for those who are not history buffs |
| Breisach | Black Forest & Colmar | €149 | Don’t bother. You can do the included Black Forest tour, come back to the ship for lunch and do the Colmar tour for €49 (or the World War II tour) |
| Strasbourg | Taste The Best of Alsace | €189 | Great tour, always number one rated from guest surveys at the end of each cruise. Maximum 18 guests, but typically has only 10 to 12 who sign up. Do it. |
| Strasbourg | Alsatian Wine Tour & Tasting | €79 | Do Taste the Best of Alsace instead of this one |
| Strasbourg | Mercedes Factory Tour | €49 | Great tour, but only offered on select sailings. See how the Mercedes CLX is made |
| Rudesheim | Wine Tasting & Dinner at Johannisberg | €149 | Beautiful setting, good wine tasting in a beautiful wine cellar but just so-so food (Viking has let the operators know that the food has to be improved so the food situation may change in the coming months) |
| Rudesheim | Rhine Wine Tasting & Dinner at Eberbach | €149 | So-so setting with great food and wine. Alternates on itineraries with the Wine Tasting & Dinner at Johannisberg. |
| Rudesheim | Dine in Rudesheim | €79 | In a restaurant on the famed Drosselgasse, okay food, okay wine and a few drinking games. Dine on the ship and take a long hike through the vineyards afteward. |
| Koblenz | Ehrenbreitstein Fortress | €49 | Two-hour tour that begins with a gondola ride near where the ship docks. Good for those who want nice photos of Koblenz from high above. |
| Koblenz | Romans Along The Rhine | €59 | Don’t bother. |
| Koblenz | Koblenz Walking Tour & Romanticum | €59 | Runs on select voyages only. |
| Cologne | Bruhl UNESCO Palaces | €59 | Good tour for those who appreciate palaces |
| Cologne | Top of Cologne | €69 | Great tour with an informative guide who takes you behind the scenes and up high at the Strasbourg Cathedral |
| Cologne | Cologne’s Beer Culture Dinner Tour | €89 | Great evening tour with German pub food and lots of good beer. Those who do this one rave about it. |
| Kinderdijk | Kinderdijk Windmills & Dutch Cheese Making | €59 | Love cheese? Go for it. Otherwise, you’ll see the windmills on the included tour. |
Viking’s program directors tell me that if you sign up for an optional excursion on myvikingjourney.com the tour will run, even if the minimum number required to run the tour is not met. This is one advantage of using Viking’s online trip planner. Another advantage is by using the online planner, you won’t have to spend time thinking about the tours once underway on your trip. You can simply sit back and enjoy the scenery.
The big surprise for me was Top of Cologne. Back in September, I had climbed the 533 steps to a platform on the cathedral’s south tower. Viking’s Top of Cologne tour took us up the cathedral’s north tower using exterior elevators used by the restoration crew and a 104-step spiral staircase. What made this tour extra special was the local guide, who also works with the cathedral’s restoration staff. Her knowledge gave us a behind-the-scenes look at this backstage tour.
You could, of course, do only the included excursions and have an enjoyable experience, spending nothing extra.
Viking Rhine Getaway Included Excursions
Updated during my May 2017 eight-day Rhine Getaway cruise on Viking Hlin, from Basel to Amsterdam.
| Destination | Excursion | My Take |
|---|---|---|
| Basel | Welcome Walk | Good for shaking off the jetlag. Join a local guide for some fresh air on a leisurely walk through Basel’s city center. |
| Breisach | Black Forest Tour | Not great, but free and definitely a scenic ride that takes you to a village where you will visit a local workshop and see a cuckoo clock–making demonstration. |
| Strasbourg | Strasbourg City Tour | Since the ship docks in Kell, Germany, a few miles from Strasbourg’s city center, this is a good way to get into the city and to get an overview. |
| Heidelberg | Heidelberg Excursion | Disembark in the morning for a transfer to Heidelberg, including a tour, and join the ship again in Gernsheim or in Mannheim, depending on the direction of your cruise. Or stay on board if you have visited Heidelberg before. The scenic sailing is gorgeous. |
| Rudesheim | none offered | |
| Koblenz | Marksburg Castle | Great tour to a beautifully preserved, 700-year-old hilltop fortress and enjoy fantastic views. |
| Cologne | Cologne City Tour | Good tour that visits the Old Town, Cathedral and St. Martin’s Church and other attractions. |
| Kinderdijk | Kinderdijk Windmills | Easy two-hour tour to the Kinderdijk Windmills, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. |
The post Viking River Cruises: Rhine Getaway Excursions, My Favorites appeared first on River Cruise Advisor.
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