I’ll share today’s adventurous trip to the Wachau Valley, Lower Austria. Let me start by saying that while piecing together the itinerary for my trip, I came across the comment, “If you want to see authentic Austria, go to the Wachau Valley.”
Wachau Valley (Wachau) is a unique valley in Lower Austria, stretching along the Danube for 40 kilometers from east to west between the towns of Krems and Melk. Since 2000, the valley has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This picturesque valley is very popular among tourists, and for good reason. First, the valley’s natural beauty is captivating: the majestic Danube flows smoothly through it, and its banks are adorned with the forested hills of Dunkelsteinerwald and cliffs that rise over half a kilometer. Second, there are numerous historical and cultural landmarks. Third, the region is renowned for its excellent wines and abundant orchards.
Some of the most famous sights in Wachau include the Dürnstein Castle, the ancient monasteries of Melk and Göttweig, as well as various castles and ruins. The towns of Melk and Krems emerged in this region between 4500 and 1800 BC, and in 15 BC, this land, formerly part of the Celtic Kingdom of Noricum, became part of the Roman Empire.
The valley stretches for about 40 kilometers. There are several small settlements nearby, but the nearest large city is Vienna, located 80 kilometers away.
I started Googling – found reviews and guides on how to get there, along with many excellent reviews. But! They were all dated from 2015-2018.
I’ll admit, traveling 80 km from the city with two kids, then taking a boat and returning to a different station without precise information was quite a risky endeavor, but the adventure was definitely worth it.
Perhaps someone, like me, is looking for this kind of activity during their trip to Vienna, so I’m writing in detail about how everything works today.
Getting up a bit earlier than usual, we arrived at the Westbahnhof station, went to the information center on the first floor, and bought a Kombiticket, which includes a train ticket to the town of Melk, a ticket for a cruise ship from Melk to Krems (there are four departures daily: at 11:00, 13:50, 14:35, and 16:25), entrance to Melk Abbey, and a return ticket from Krems to Vienna.
This ticket for three (myself, a 15-year-old teenager, and an 8-year-old) cost me 206 euros.
The suburban train, which runs about once an hour, took us to Melk in an hour, and with 2 hours to explore the town before the cruise ship departure, we rushed to see the famous abbey. It is absolutely worth a visit—an incredibly beautiful place.
The Wachau Valley is famous for its apricot growing and winemaking, so in the shop at the abbey’s exit, you can find many delicious apricot-based products and various wines (surprisingly, not more expensive than in the souvenir shops in town). We bought nectar and liqueur (I had read many times that it’s very tasty). We had to go back for more juice—such juice can only be found here and in Sicily! We also visited the panoramic viewpoint and the abbey garden (kids will enjoy feeding the fish in the fountain, which practically jump out of the water begging for bread).
Forty minutes before the boat’s departure, we hurried to the dock. There, we had to exchange the ticket from Vienna for a boat ticket at the counter. And so began our journey through the Wachau Valley.
Of course, predicting the weather is always tricky. We set off under bright sunshine and a clear blue sky, but as we got closer, clouds began to roll in. The valley is stunning, and you feel like taking a photo every two minutes. But when the clouds finally parted and the blue sky reappeared, the feeling of serene natural beauty was overwhelming. And, of course, it made for some beautiful photos too.
We boarded the boat at 13:50. We had time to get off and wander around a bit in Dürnstein before catching the next boat and continuing our journey to Krems.
Krems turned out to be a large but stunningly beautiful city. We barely had time to grab some ice cream before we were caught in such a downpour that we were soaked to the bone. A tip: the train station is quite a distance from the pier. If you’re tired, don’t do what we did. Look for the bus to Krems Bahnhof—it’s bus number 1, and it starts running at 5 a.m. Monday through Friday. It has nine stops, so you can even treat it as an additional mini-tour.
