Elbe River Cruises

Cruises cost from $25 to $61 per person. The Full-Day Meissen Round Trip and the Meissen To Dresden Steamer start at $25, while the Evening Cruise with dinner included starts at $61. Every price is per person, no cruise varies by group size, and free cancellation is offered on all of them except the Evening Cruise, which needs 2 days' notice.

Durations range from 1 hour 30 minutes for the City Center To Loschwitz Bridge Cruise to 8 hours 30 minutes for the Saxon Wine Route Steamer Day. In between are a 2 hour Bridges River Tour, 3 hour trips such as the Pillnitz Castle Round Trip, and the Saxon Switzerland Boat Trip at 4 to 7 hours depending on the option. The Full-Day Meissen Round Trip runs 2.5 to 8.5 hours.

The Evening Cruise includes dinner; the other cruises do not include a meal. No cruise includes hotel pickup, so plan to reach the departure point yourself: most use Servicestation Terrassenufer, the Saxon Switzerland Boat Trip gives two option-dependent meeting points such as Bad Schandau or Dresden piers, and the Meissen To Dresden Steamer starts from Servicestation Meißen. Since river levels and the season timetable decide whether a cruise runs, check your date before you plan around it.

Start with your time budget: the City Center To Loschwitz Bridge Cruise takes 1 hour 30 minutes, the Pillnitz Castle Round Trip takes 3 hours and is rated 4.5 from 2,681 reviews, and the Saxon Wine Route Steamer Day takes 8 hours 30 minutes. Then choose a destination, from Loschwitz Bridge and Pillnitz Castle to Meissen and the Saxon Switzerland stretch. Whatever you pick, river levels and the season timetable decide whether it runs on your date.