6 river cruise destination trends to boost your sales pitches

20 Jan 2025by

Katherine Masters

From the benefits of travelling in green season to a lesser-explored part of India, these are the hottest trends inspiring the creation of new itineraries this year

There are several advantages to travelling to south-east Asia in the green season (Credit: Scenic Cruises)

It’ll take a lot to knock the Rhine, Danube and Rhone off their perch as the most popular destinations, but there’s no doubt that river cruise product offerings are diversifying, with more varied itineraries on sale to snare returning travellers. These are the key destination trends that are shaping the way your potential customers are booking this year.

Green season

River cruise lines are reporting a trend towards more exotic destinations, and beefing up their programmes accordingly. For example, Scenic Group is offering its most comprehensive collection of south-east Asia river sailings in 2025/26. This includes a choice of sailings departing during the increasingly popular off season, known as the green season. A stand-out addition is Scenic’s 23-day cruise and land journey, Indochina Explorer and Luxury Mekong Cruise (from £9,736pp including flights). The itinerary takes in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, with seven nights onboard Scenic Spirit. This is available during the green season, with departures on 8 October and 5 November 2025. Although the green season is marked by intermittent monsoonal rains, it’s a more serene time of year to travel, with fewer crowds and the spectacle of lush green landscapes to enjoy.

Land of a thousand rhythms

This spring AmaWaterways will become the first river cruise line to operate on the Magdalena River in Colombia. From its colourful cities to its lush rainforests, clients are sure to be fascinated by the “land of a thousand rhythms”, which is a tribute to its rich musical heritage.

Andrea Stafford, sales director, says: “The geography means that some of the more remote areas are hard to reach by land but are easily explored from the river. We have been collaborating closely with local communities and officials to develop the infrastructure along the river, making it accessible to many travellers for the first time. The first few months of the programme are now completely sold out, but we have pockets of availability in the second half of the year.”

Luxury rail and river

Fish and chips, rock ’n’ roll, Ant and Dec – some doubles are destined to be together. And now we can add river and rail to that list, given the sector’s recent growth.

Agent Mundy Cruising has curated a range of exclusive departures that combine rail and cruise, to meet what it terms “sky-rocketing demand”, while Uniworld Boutique River Cruise has launched its first dedicated brochure of rail and river journeys, in response to research that 73% of its guests were interested in luxury rail.

Places on a new 14-day Paris to Istanbul journey, departing 18 May, have been snapped up fast. The itinerary visits seven countries by river and land, combining the Super Ship Joie de Vivre and the Golden Eagle Danube Express. The line is also running an additional departure of the 16-day Sacred Ganges and the Maharajas’ Express, due to popular demand (from £23,219pp sharing, based on departures on 1 November and 6 December).

Chris Townson, managing director of Uniworld Boutique River Cruises, UK and Europe, says: “We’re offering some of the world’s most spectacular journeys on river, rail and land as holistic and carefully crafted itineraries, staying in the most iconic hotels and onboard the most luxurious river ships and trains in the world, from Italy to India. Bookings need to be made early, because demand for these kind of holidays has never been higher – guests are looking to take bucket-list trips in comfort, style and knowing that all the details have been taken care of.”

Uniworld's new itinerary links Paris and Istanbul by river and rail

Cutting out flying

The rail and river fusion is not only about iconic trains. It’s also growing in popularity as a way to cut out flying and make the journey more of an experience.

Riviera Travel’s Rhine Cruise to Switzerland blends Eurostar/TGV travel, a seven-night river cruise, and a scenic railway journey in the Bernese Oberland mountains. The itinerary includes visits to six historic towns and cities including Strasbourg and Lucerne and a scenic drive through the Black Forest. It’s priced from £1,799pp for eight days, based on two sharing, which includes Eurostar out and full-board with drinks package. A three-night extension on the Glacier Express is also available.

Will Sarson, product director, says guests enjoy the blend of rail and sail on the tour: “This is a fairly new tour for us, and it is proving extremely popular. We find the price point is achievable as an entry point cruise for those who haven’t been with us before, and represents exceptional value for a tour of the area, with the pinnacle being the Black Forest and the Alpine scenery. This one almost sells itself.”

Just You is also reporting the popularity of the no-fly cruises, with the eight-day Cruising the Seine – Paris & Northern France, providing a seamless travel experience for solo travellers (from £3,099pp including return rail travel by Eurostar).

Tom Morgan, trade sales director, says: “The Seine is a great option for customers who want a no-fly cruise, as they travel by Eurostar to and from Paris.

“It is one of the hidden gems of river cruising, with a great mix of scenery, history and architecture. Honfleur is a beautiful seaside town, and another real gem is Rouen, with its historic churches and cobble-stoned centre. Visiting places such as this is what makes river cruising so special.”

Lesser-explored Ganges

We’ve already touched on the growth of the Lower Ganges with Uniworld, and APT is also expanding into this lesser-explored region of India for the first time, with the addition of a 12-day Kolkata and Lower Ganges itinerary. This includes a seven-night cruise onboard Ganges Voyager, with highlights such as a rickshaw ride through Kalna, the City of Temples and a visit to the village of Mayapur to learn about the Hare Krishna community. From £5,795pp, with departures in September and November.

Brad Bennetts, head of sales and business development, also reports that the Mekong will be a big focus for the operator’s long-haul activity in the year ahead, with Asia rebounding strongly for APT and Travelmarvel.

Egypt’s grand opening

Jules Verne reports that Egypt continues to be a favourite among its customers, accounting for a quarter of river bookings in 2025. Clients keen to visit the newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum are able to do so on itineraries such as Secret Nile and the Original Nile by Royal Steamer.

Tui launched the Nile in the November 2024 with the addition of the refurbished Tui Al Horeya, sailing seven-night Legends of the Nile round-trip river cruises from Luxor. A second ship, Tui Al Bahareya, is set to follow at the end of this year. Katy Berzins, head of Tui River Cruises, says: “We are confident that given sales for our first Nile cruise, the launch of Tui Bahareya will go down really well with current and prospective customers.”