Since the debut in 2010, Santana’s Rhine and Moselle itinerary has remained a clear favorite amongst our veteran participants. Great word of mouth caused rapid sell outs of our encores in 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2022.

While Jan and I enjoy scouting new and exotic destinations, the romanticism of the castle-lined Rhine and Moselle Rivers is just too enchanting to pass up.

For 2025, Lüftner offered one of their newest cruise ships for Santana’s exclusive all-cyclists charter. Introductory pricing will be exceptionally attractive, actually less than some of the shorter cycling tours that require you to repack for each change of hotels.

Paris PreTour: Our group will meet in Paris for an optional 3-Day PreTour, before taking the high-speed TGV to embark.

During our time in Paris we’ll explore the Petit Palaces and gardens of Versailles, Marie Antoinette’s cottage, and a special Tour de France day where we’ll ride the final mile of the closed off Champs-Elysees just hours before the pros!

While watching the finale of the Tour de France from a Parisian sidewalk is free, we’ll offer tickets to our own private Tour de France VIP-Box section for those who wish to get up close to the action.

Embark Day — Built on a large island where France’s Île River spills into the Rhine, the narrow streets of Strasbourg’s “Petit France” are blocked to cars—and perfect for our bikes.

Our tour’s first stop is Strasbourg’s perfectly preserved Cathedral. Over 500 years in construction, until 1847 this middle-ages masterpiece was our planet’s tallest building.

During this time Strasbourg became the hub of European commerce. Canals from Strasbourg allowed Rhine barges to reach the English Channel or Mediterranean Sea. Crossing over an 1852 canal that still reaches Paris, we’ll ride along the 1831 canal that connects to Lyon.

Continuing South through a series of Alsatian wine villages, our ride ends when we reach the Rhine to find Lüftner’s brand-new Amadeus Queen. The rest of the afternoon, while we settle into our spacious staterooms, the cruise ship passes through three locks.

Day 2 — Our second day of cycling leaves Strasbourg to pass through flowered villages adorned with storks’ nests. If you haven’t yet visited Alsace, this is the part of France you’ve dreamed of (with half-timbered architecture, clean streets and friendly residents who are quick to smile and wave). On the German side of the river, we’ll reboard the Amadeus Queen for lunch. As will be the pattern for most days, after dropping us off each morning the Queen will move ahead 25-40 miles, and tie up for two hours to serve lunch.

Later, she’ll move another 15-30 miles to reach the intriguing village where we end our afternoon rides. On most days of this bike tour, you can ride in the morning, afternoon, both, or neither. On this day, our afternoon ride uses a ferry to cross back to Alsace, and continues on the left bank to where the Rhine flows out of France. This evening we’ll find the Queen tied up in the city of Speyer, where the old walled section has a lively walking district.

Day 3 — Our floating five-star hotel not only bids us farewell each morning, meets us for lunch, and waits for us at the end of our rides, she can also glide through the night to reach a spectacular ride start for the following morning.

While we slept last night the Queen traveled 100 miles downriver to Bingen. Today’s morning and afternoon rides explore a fabled fifty-mile stretch of the Rhine where hills on both sides are covered with vineyards and crowned by castles.

To preserve the natural majesty of this castle-lined segment, bridges are banned. Instead, convenient ferries connect the dozen villages on either bank. You’ll love this day, which includes a guided exploration of the Rhine’s most formidable castle.

Day 4 — What could possibly be more amazing than the finest stretch of the Rhine? Those who’ve cruised or cycled both prefer the Moselle. From its source in the mountains above Strasbourg, this smaller parallel river flows through Luxembourg before joining the Rhine at Koblenz. Because the navigable portion of the Moselle is a mere 120 miles long, most Rhine River itineraries skip it. What a shame!

On our upriver Moselle day even the slowest riders will have time to explore the delightful bridge-joined villages of Traben-Trarbach before the Queen arrives to serve lunch. In the afternoon most will find time to sample Moselle wines before the Queen reaches the magnificent twinned towns of Bernkastel-Kues. This unhurried day of Moselle River cycling is as perfect as it gets.

Day 5 — While we slept the Queen climbed through additional locks to reach Luxembourg, and the highest ride-start of our entire tour. Here we’ll leave the Moselle and follow an old railroad grade to enter Luxembourg where we’ll pedal through tunnels to reach a morning bakery stop in the charming town of Echternach.

From there our downhill ride crosses back into Germany to reach Trier. Never heard of Trier? Settled centuries before the first Caesar conquered the area in 50 BC, Roman emperors enjoyed the Moselle so much that Trier would remain Rome’s north-of-the-Alps capital for over 500 years.

Amazingly well preserved, Trier has Roman baths, Roman walls, Roman amphitheater, Roman palaces, Roman gate, Roman Christian church, and a pre-Christian temple that’s the largest remaining Roman building outside Rome’s city limits.

Following a late-afternoon guided walking tour through Trier, we’ll reboard our floating hotel and stand on the top deck so we can duck as the Queen cruises beneath Trier’s 1800-year-old Roman Bridge (the oldest trafficked bridge north of the Alps). In all our years of Santana’s tours this day offers the best combination of relaxed cycling and amazing history.

Day 6 — Our final day of Moselle cycling stops for a morning coffee in the storybook town of Cochem. On our first visit here a local artist stumbled upon our colorful group on the way to his morning performance. Pausing to share a short conversation, he then climbed the ancient carillon tower to honor our presence with a ringing rendition of The Star Spangled Banner. This afternoon we’ll park our bikes for an enchanted streamside hike through gnome-infested woods to reach a magical castle for a guided tour.

According to travel expert Rick Steves, the 800-year-old Burg Eltz is Europe’s finest and best-preserved fairy-tale castle. While a paved road through the hills allows cyclists and motorists to reach the castle’s back door, Mr. Steves believes the forested hike from the Moselle is an essential part of the castle’s magic.

This afternoon we’ll reboard the Queen just above the Rhine River confluence. If you stay up late enough, tonight we’ll pass beneath the spotlit spires of Cologne’s gothic Cathedral.

Day 7 — This morning we’ll wake up in Emmerich (Germany) and ride through an abandoned border station to reach nearby Arnhem (Netherlands). In Holland’s eerily beautiful Hoge Veluwe National Park we’ll cycle through heaths and dunes to find the amazing Kröller-Müller Museum.

In 1935 Helene Kröller-Müller, a modern art aficionado who was among the first to recognize Vincent van Gogh’s genius, left her vast collection to the National government with the stipulation that they continue to enhance the world’s finest collection of modern art.

After lunch in Arnhem, another insightful highlight of this Santana cruise will be an exploration of Operation Market Garden, the tragic World War II battle memorialized by the Hollywood classic, A Bridge Too Far. We’ll ride across the battle’s two final bridges to reboard the Amadeus Queen in the Dutch city of Nijmegen.

Day 8 — After cruising through the night, we’ll tie up at the very center of Holland’s capital. Having seen an art museum yesterday, this morning we’ll ride past fragrant bakeries and “coffee shops” to Zaanse Schans, to visit a fascinating array of working antique windmills. If you want to treat your feet, you can get measured and watch while your pair of traditional wooden Dutch klompen is custom carved in five minutes.

Back at the ship, lunch and bike packing precedes a free afternoon. Because we’re docked at the very center, a short walk or tram ride can get you to any of Amsterdam’s top sights.

Disembark Day — On Disembark Day, when we need to vacate the ship by 9AM, our earliest shuttle will leave at 6 to get you to Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport (AMS) in time for a 9AM departure. If you’re headed elsewhere in Europe, the Centraal Train Station is nearby. If you wish to spend an extra day or two in Amsterdam, hundreds of hotels are within a five minute walk or short cab ride.

The Rhine and Moselle Rivers is the perfect place to replace a string of hotels with a no-repacking week aboard the luxurious Amadeus Queen.

On most days the Amadeus Queen will move through the night to find a perfect place to start a morning ride. After we are off, it will move ahead 25-40 miles to where it docks and waits to serve a late lunch. The day’s shortest and easiest rides use riverfront bike paths. Longer options loop inland. Our late afternoon tie-ups are always at the center of a town that merits your pre-dinner exploration. Once everyone is seated for dinner in the panoramic dining room, the ship unties and moves up to 100 miles to our next day’s ride. Instead of spending your precious vacation time re-packing and moving between hotels each day, this floating resort transports you overnight while you sleep.

Newer than most of Europe’s river ships, the Amadeus Queen’s staterooms are the largest and nicest we’ve found. Instead of French balconies, most staterooms on this ship feature an innovative wall of glass that allows both of you to lean-out and share beautiful views up and down the river.

At 188 square feet, the Mozart & Strauss Deck staterooms are not only large by cruise ship standards, they’re twice as large as what you’ll find on a European barge.

Suites on the Amadeus Queen are not only 50% larger than staterooms, they include a walk-out balcony and enough room to entertain your friends.

The Haydn Deck staterooms, large by cruise ship standards, measure 172 square feet. They have a high-and-wide fixed window and plenty of space for a luxurious king-width bed (that can be converted into a pair of full-width twins).

Compared to an inn-to-inn tour, you’ll visit additional regions while gaining an hour a day by not having to repack and change hotels. The panoramic view staterooms on the Amadeus Queen are not only cleaner, fresher, and quieter than most hotel rooms, on this bicycle tour you’ll sleep better by not having to adjust to a new mattress, pillow, and thermostat each night.

On any day you don’t feel like riding, an inland cruise comes with fascinating scenery. While aboard you can nap, read, use the wifi, catch some rays on the sundeck, or enjoy a massage or spa treatment.

Another daily option is to hop aboard Sergio’s picture-window coach to reach and enjoy the mid-ride attractions without pedaling.

Meals? The ship’s panoramic dining room accommodates all, and serves three gourmet-quality meals per day curated by our 5-star chef, each with enough choices to please everyone.