Top five adventurous river cruise activities
Wildlife watching, wild swimming, fishing and paddle sports promise a river cruise to remember, writes Sarah Freeman
From spotting nesting bald eagles on the Lower Mississippi to fly fishing in Portugal’s ‘River of Gold’ and sunset kayaking in a spectacular gorge, the world’s waterways are primed for adventure.
These river activities are guaranteed to whet your appetite...
Make a splash
The landlocked Swiss are masters of urban river bathing.
For a literal change of perspective, allow the current of Basel’s clean-as-a-whistle Rhine to lead you past its picturesque Old Town.
Confident swimmers can follow a well-marked three kilometreroute from Museum Tinguely to Dreirosen Bridge.
The Department of Sports of Basel City holds supervised swims every Tuesday between July and September, too.
In 2025, you will also be able to take a dip in a European river that’s been off-limits to swimmers for a century.
Cruisers bound for the ‘City of Light’ can submerge in the once-polluted Seine thanks to three new designated swimming zones in Paris’s 4th, 15th and 12th arrondissements.
On the fly
Better known for its antiquities, the Nile offers ornithological wonders, too.
From November to February, overwintering greater flamingos flock in their hundreds to Qarun – one of Egypt’s largest saltwater lakes – which cruisers can visit on a full-day birdwatching tour from Cairo with Viator.
Meanwhile, exploring the mangroves and indigenous cajeput forests of Vietnam’s seasonally-flooded Gao Giong – which is home to rare Asian Boats - openbill storks – is a one-of-a-kind excursion offered on Pandaw’s Classic Mekong cruise.
The Lower Mississippi’s wetlands are also a magnet for bird enthusiasts. Viking’s 14-night America’s Great River trip brings cruisers up close to nesting bald eagles in Minnesota’s river town of Wabasha, which is home to the National Eagle Centre.
The perfect catch
Sections of North America’s Snake River teem with trout – think brown, rainbow and native Yellowstone cutthroat – making it an anglers’ paradise.
GetYourGuide’s eight-hour spincast fishing trips traverse a 21km stretch of the legendary river outside Jackson, Wyoming.
The 2,850km-long Danube also brims with biodiversity. Cruisers can responsibly fish for wild carp in Novi Sad, a one-hour drive north of Belgrade, with a Viator tour.
Another European natural treasure is the port-producing Douro. Portugal’s ‘River of Gold’ is well stocked with giant zanders and barbel, and cruisers can fly-fish surrounded by vineyards and olive groves on a half or full day excursion in the region with companies such as Minho Fly Fishing.
Paddle power
Amsterdam is a popular port on Rhine cruises, and Canal SUP offers self guided paddle boarding trips along its canals, themed around everything from pizzas to parks and offering a new perspective on this 800-year-old city.
Swap merchant houses for meltwater kayaking on the Columbia River’s namesake gorge: a 120kmlong, 1,200m-deep canyon that divides Washington and Oregon.
Launching from the sheltered Nichols Basin, Gorge Paddling Center’s two-hour guided excursion includes foraging for blackberries as the sun sets on a secluded beach.
The river wild
In northeastern India, the transHimalayan Brahmaputra River overflows with rare species such as smooth-coated otters and swamp deer, which wildlife-lovers can watch from tenders on a Noble Caledonia cruise.
Meanwhile, a safari-style visit to Unesco-listed Kaziranga National Park guarantees glimpses of Assam’s greater one-horned rhinos.
About 16,100km away in Ecuador’s Amazon jungle, a community-run conservation programme promises passengers aboard Anaconda’s fournight Manatee Amazon Explorer cruise an ethical excursion with endangered pink dolphins.
