• Tullnerfelder Donau-Auen - On the way to the Wachau valley, we first take the A22 Danube riverside motorway and then the S5 Stockerau motorway through the Tullnerfeld Danube wetlands, which stretch along the Danube from Vienna to Krems on the Danube. The town of Krems is the eastern gateway to the Wachau valley. The Tullnerfeld Danube wetlands are mainly located on the northern bank of the Danube, but also to a lesser extent on the southern bank. The Tullnerfeld Danube floodplains, one of the largest contiguous alluvial forest areas in Austria, are a European nature reserve, which was declared a bird sanctuary in 2004 and a fauna-flora habitat area in 2011. European protected areas are also called Natura 2000 areas after the European Union issued two directives for the protection of nature, which provide for the establishment of protected areas in which endangered species and habitats are to be preserved for the future. On the way back to Vienna we pass through the Tullnerfeld Danube wetlands again.
• Kreuzenstein Castle - Kreuzenstein Castle is a museum castle, situated on a hilltop north of the Danube, not far from the Danube bend at the Korneuburger Gate. Opposite, on the south bank of the Danube, lies Greifenstein Castle. The origins of Kreuzenstein Castle date back to the 12th century. Kreuzenstein Castle came into the possession of the Habsburgs in 1278 after the death of Ottokar II of Bohemia. In 1645, towards the end of the Thirty Years’ War, the Swedes blew up the castle. In the 18th century, Kreuzenstein Castle came into the possession of Count Wilczek, a Middle Ages collector, who in 1874 began to rebuild the castle in a way that did not resemble the former castle, but incorporated existing remains of the medieval castle. Today, Kreuzenstein Castle is a popular excursion destination and can be visited as a museum with a Middle Ages collection. When travelling from Vienna to the Wachau valley Kreuzenstein Castle can be seen from afar on the right-hand side on a hilltop.
• Wachaubahn - On the Premium Wachau Valley Tour we drive by car from Vienna to Krems on the Danube. Krems is on the eastern end of the Wachau Valley. Here we change from car to railway. The Wachau railway runs for 34 km along the left bank of the Danube between Krems and Emmersdorf on the Danube. The Wachau railway was built in 1908. During the construction of the Wachau railway, the Venus of Willendorf, an eleven-centimetre-high, approximately 30,000-year-old figure carved from oolite, was discovered that is the most famous object in the collection of the Natural History Museum in Vienna. The Wachau railway route lies above the high water marks of 1889. This elevated route provides a good view of the landscape and the historic buildings of the Wachau. In 1998, the railway line between Krems and Emmersdorf was placed under protection as a cultural monument and in 2000, as part of the Wachau cultural landscape, it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
• Melk Abbey - In 1089, Benedictine monks from Lambach Abbey moved into the monastery on a 60 metre high cliff above the Melk. Until the 13th century, Melk Abbey experienced a cultural, spiritual and economic boom and a monastery school is documented as early as 1160. Melk was a regional centre of the Counter-Reformation and in 1700 Berthold Dietmayr was elected Abbot of Melk Abbey, whose aim was to emphasise the religious, political and spiritual significance of the monastery by rebuilding the monastery complex by the Baroque architect Jakob Prandtauer. To this day, Melk Abbey presents itself as the building completed in 1746. The monastery library still holds the copy of the rule that the monks brought with them from their home monastery in 1089. Melk Abbey Church is considered one of the most beautiful baroque churches in Austria. As a landmark of the Wachau region, Melk Abbey is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Hotel-Restaurant zur Post - The Hotel Restaurant Zur Post in Melk has been run by the Ebner family at Linzer Straße No. 1 since 1893. In the early days, it was an inn, cattle dealership and butcher’s shop, and the premises were also used as stables for the stagecoach horses of the old post office. Linzer Straße, the arterial road from the main square to the south-west, was laid out at the end of the 13th century and was a favoured location for innkeepers, i.e. inns that were allowed to display a sign permanently to advertise their trade, e.g. at stagecoach stops. The Hotel Restaurant Zur Post is housed in a 2-storey, eaves-standing building with a hipped or gabled roof, whose wall core dates back to the 16th century with groined, segmental and barrel vaults. In this beautiful, historic setting, we enjoy a 3-course traditional Austrian lunch with either Wiener Schnitzel or Tafelspitz.
• DDSG Blue Danube Schiffahrt GmbH - After a traditional Austrian lunch at the Hotel Restaurant Zur Post in Melk, we board the MS Dürnstein and cruise on the Danube through the Wachau valley from Melk to Dürnstein. Shortly after setting off, we pass Schönbühel Castle on the right bank. Shortly afterwards, on a rock 300 metres above the Danube, we see the ruins of Aggstein Castle, the first of the 3 Kuenring castles that we will encounter on this trip. After the old churches of St. Johann and Schwallenbach, we approach Spitz on the Danube with its Thousand Bucket Hill. After Spitz comes the church of St Michael from 800, the mother parish of the Wachau valley. Weißenkirchen, the largest wine-growing community in the Wachau valley, follows in the centre of the Wachau valley. Our journey through the Wachau valley at the foot of the vineyards rising steeply from the Danube ends in Dürnstein, where the English King Richard the Lionheart was once held prisoner for a short time.
• Durnstein Abbey - Dürnstein, situated on a rocky cone sloping steeply down to the Danube with the ruins of a castle high above, is a castle town of the type of medieval minor towns in a narrow spandrel on terrain that rises gently to the steep vineyard terraces. In 1410, the Augustinian canons’ monastery was founded in an elevated position above the Danube, with the high baroque blue tower in front of the church visible from afar. The collegiate church in Dürnstein, which has a uniform, richly decorated Baroque interior with panel paintings by the Austrian Baroque painter Martin Johann Schmidt, whose father was already involved in building the church in Dürnstein, was consecrated in 1724. Dürnstein is a wide pilaster church with a three-bay nave and chapel spaces between the pilasters, which contain altarpieces by Martin Johann Schmidt depicting the beheading of St Catherine on the right and St Monica in front of St Augustine on the left, with gilded wooden figures of saints on the sides.
• Domäne Wachau - Domäne Wachau is a co-operative of Wachau valley winegrowers that presses its members’ grapes centrally in Dürnstein and has marketed them under the name Domaine Wachau since 2008. The Starhembergs, a noble family originally from Upper Austria, bought the vineyards from the estate of the Augustinian canon monastery of Dürnstein, which was secularised in 1788, around 1790. Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg sold the Wachau Domaine to the vineyard tenants in 1938, who subsequently founded the Wachau winegrowers’ co-operative. The vineyards in the small plots on the steep terraces 16 kilometres along the Danube from Loiben to Aggsbach are cultivated by the families of the members of the Domaine Wachau in painstaking manual labour. In the Domaine Wachau vinotheque in Dürnstein, you can taste the entire range of grapes vinified, especially from the world-famous vineyards such as Achleiten, Kellerberg and Singerriedel.

• Driver and Tour Guide English, German
• Wine tasting at the Domaine Wachau in Dürnstein. From the age of 16 people are allowed to drink wine in Austria. Minor travelers below 16 years will be served non-alcoholic drinks.
• Private transportation
• Tea and coffee
• In-vehicle air conditioning
• Lunch
• Carbonated beverages

• Beverages on the cruise from Melk to Krems

This tour provides a driver and a guide who live in the Wachau valley all year. Another special feature of this tour is that you first take the Wachau railway through the Wachau valley from Krems on the Danube. Due to the elevated position of the railway line, you can see the sights of the Wachau valley very well. On the way back by boat you will see the Wachau valley from a different perspective. What makes this tour even more special is the stop in Dürnstein with a visit to Dürnstein Abbey followed by a tasting of wines from the best Wachau vineyards, such as the Kellerberg in the Domäne Wachau vinotheque.

• We can accommodate dietary restrictions such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc. If you have dietary requirements, please indicate them when booking.

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.