Danube cruises: five of the best Join performers from the London Festival Opera next September for an 11-day Musical Journey along the Danube with Noble Caledonia (noble-caledonia.co.uk). It takes in Budapest, Bratislava and Vienna and costs from £3,995 per person. Explore the lower reaches of the Danube with Scenic Tours (scenictouris.co.uk) on a10-day Black Sea Explorer cruise. Ports of call include Kalocsa, Svistov in Bulgaria and Cernavoda (for Constanta) in Romania. It also visits Belgrade and the "Iron Gates" river gorge. Book by November 15 to save £2,100 per couple for departures in March 2014. From £1,795 per person, including excursions. Keen to explore Prague in depth? Consider a 13-day Blue Danube Discovery trip with Avalon Waterways (avaloncruises.co.uk), which includes guided sightseeing in Budapest, Regensburg, Passau and Vienna and three nights in the "Golden City." From £2,585 per person, departing in October 2014 . Saga (travel.saga.co.uk/cruises), which has exclusive charters on Filia Rheni II, has a week-long Splendours of the Danube trip from Budapest to Bucharest. Highlights include the Iron Gates gorge and the Danube Delta and there are guided tours of Budapest and Bucharest. From £1,299 per person departing in May 2014. Linger in the upper Danube, with a backdrop of the Austrian Alps, on board the River Beatrice as it sails to Budapest, Vienna, Dürnstein, Melk, Linz and Passau. Titan's (titantravel.co.uk) eight-day Enchanting Danube itinerary also navigates the scenic Wachau Valley. From £1,899, departing in March 2014. All include flights.