email Email Subscribe 
Telephone 020 7752 0000
MONDAY TO SATURDAY 9AM - 5PM
  • Book Now 
  •  Complete Booking Form 
  •  Contact Us
logo

020 7752 0000
MONDAY TO SATURDAY 9AM - 5PM
  • Ships & Hotels
  • |
  • Regions & Rivers
  • |
  • Voyages & Tours
    • All Tours & Cruises
    • Small Ship Cruising
    • Expedition Cruising
    • River Cruising
    • Voyages Under Sail
    • Escorted Tours
    • Journeys by Private Train & Jet
    • British Isles Tours & Cruises
    • Music Tours
    • Garden Tours & Cruises
    • Polar Cruises
    • Wildlife & Safari Tours
    • Special Offers
    • Fleet Calendar
    • UK Escorted Garden Tours
    |no-parent=true
  • |
  • About Us
    • Our History
    • Contact Us
    • Commodore Loyalty Club
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Noble Caledonia Experience
    • Our Onboard Experts
    • Charitable Trust
    • The Travel Post
    • Email Subscribe
    • Testimonials
    • Responsible Travel
  • |
  • Brochures
  • |
  • Charitable Trust
  • |
  • Videos
Which?
NCCT
  • Home
  • Voyages and Tours
  • River Cruising
  • Elbe

Elbe

The River Elbe is 1094 km (680miles) long and it has one of Europe’s biggest river basins, nearly 150,000 sq km (57,000 sq miles). It has many tributaries including the Vitava, Saale, Havel, Mulde, Schwarze Elster and Ohre. Its source is in the Giant Mountains (Krkonose) in the Czech Republic and in its early stages it comprises falls and rapids through gorges and glens and it passes through the region known historically as Bohemia. The river continues through Germany, flowing through major cities including Dresden and Hamburg towards the North Sea in a region characterised by flat marshlands and farms. Due to the river’s flooding in the past, dikes and canals have been constructed, while viaducts have been built above it and tunnels below. It flows past the entrance to the Kiel Canal and thence into the North Sea at Cuxhaven.

The Elbe has long been important for commercial traffic and, besides the Kiel Canal, it connects to the Elbe-Lubeck Canal (and the Baltic Sea) and numerous canals that link it to cities throughout Germany including Berlin. For much of its length in Germany it was the frontier between East and West before reunification during the Cold War and, as a result, its banks are surprisingly rural and untouched for a commercial waterway in the heart of Europe. However, cruising on the Elbe and connected waterways is mostly focused on its historic cities – Berlin, Prague, Dresden, Wittenberg, Magdeburg and Potsdam – as well as the many sites situated along the river’s banks, including castles and towers, museums and churches and the scenes of battles from the Second World War and going back to Napoleon.

Sorry, we do not currently have any tours on this river.

Here are some other rivers that may be of interest.

  • Garonne

    Garonne

    View Garonne Cruises

  • Rhone

    Rhone

    View Rhone Cruises

  • Oder

    Oder

    View Oder Cruises

Search Voyages & Tours

Search Voyages & Tours

  1. Booking Assistance
    • Make A Booking
    • Complete Your Booking Form Online
    • Pay Balance Online
    • Contact Us
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Commodore Loyalty Club
    • Booking Form & Conditions
  1. Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Package Travel Regulations
    • Disclaimer
    • Modern Slavery Act
  1. About Us
    • Our History
    • Our Onboard Experts
    • Useful Links
    • Testimonials
    • Noble Caledonia Charitable Trust
    • Responsible Travel
    • Working for Noble Caledonia
  1. Further Inspiration
    • Brochures
    • Videos
    • The Travel Post

The air holiday packages shown on this website are protected by the ATOL scheme, operated by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL licence number is 3108.
Please note that not all of the holiday services shown on this website are protected by the ATOL scheme and that the scheme does not provide protection to passengers who live outside the United Kingdom (including those who live in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man).
Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking.  

{MEDIA GALLERY DEFAULT}{MEDIA GALLERY DEFAULT}   Which?    Noble Caledonia Charitable Trust

© 2025 Noble Caledonia