Three boats compared
A Vienna boat tour on this site costs $46 for two hours on the Danube: a round trip from the Reichsbrücke ship station with the DC Tower and the Danube Tower in view. $55 buys two to three and a half hours on the water with a freshly prepared Wiener Schnitzel. The third boat is a speed boat that brings you back after a guided day in Bratislava, $100 for eleven and a half hours with a bus on the way out. Three listings, rated 4.0 to 4.2 on 2,855 reviews between them.
Quick answer
The short answer. Book the panorama round trip at $46 for the cheapest Vienna boat tour here and the only one with a named boarding point. Pay $55 for the schnitzel boat if you want a meal on the water. If the boat should be part of a bigger day, the Bratislava trip at $100 ends with the speed boat.
What you see
The one boat on this page that names its route.
The panorama listing is the specific one. A round trip on the Danube from the Reichsbrücke ship station, passing the DC Tower, the Millennium Tower and the Danube Tower among other buildings. It runs two hours and is rated 4.0 on 628 reviews. Of the three, it is the Danube boat tour Vienna visitors can fit into an afternoon for the least money.
What the route is about: the modern skyline along the river. The listing does not name the cathedral, the palaces or the old town, so if those are what you came for, the guided walks and the hop-on hop-off bus among the 65 tours on the homepage are the better buy. A Vienna boat tour is for the river itself.
Book direct
Two boats in the city and one speed boat back from Bratislava. Live prices and ratings.
★ 4.0 · 628 reviews
★ 4.0 · 696 reviews
★ 4.2 · 1,531 reviews
A meal on the water
Same river, a plate of schnitzel, no named route.
The cruise and schnitzel listing is short: the city seen from the water, and a freshly prepared Wiener Schnitzel. It runs two to three and a half hours and is rated 4.0 on 696 reviews. It names no pier and no route, so check the meeting point on the listing before you plan the rest of the day around this Vienna boat tour.
Against the panorama boat, the extra money buys the meal and up to ninety minutes more on board. If the schnitzel matters more than the boat, the hands-on Wiener Schnitzel and strudel cooking class is a different purchase at $207: three hours, rated 4.9 on 151 reviews.
Speed boat
The one boat ride on this site that crosses a border.
The third listing is a guided day trip with a boat at the end. A bus takes you to Bratislava, you stroll through the old town, and you return past the river landscapes by boat. Eleven and a half hours, $100, rated 4.2 on 1,531 reviews, the most on this page.
One detail matters for anyone after a boat tour Vienna to Bratislava: on this listing the boat runs the other way, from Bratislava back to the city. The outward leg is by bus. Other ways to reach Bratislava, via Devín Castle or together with Budapest, are on the Bratislava page.
Every trip, current fare
All three listings with cost per hour worked out; where the listing gives a range of hours, the hourly figure is left blank.
| Tour | Length | Price | What you get | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vienna: 2-Hour Danube Panorama TourFrom Reichsbrücke ship station | 2 h | $46 | Danube round trip by ship | $23.00 | 4.0 · 628 |
| Vienna: Cruise and Schnitzel TourFreshly prepared Wiener Schnitzel | 2 - 3.5 h | $55 | Vienna from the water | — | 4.0 · 696 |
| From Vienna: Guided Tour to Bratislava with Speed Boat RideReturn by boat along the river | 11.5 h | $100 | Bus to Bratislava old town | $8.70 | 4.2 · 1,531 |
Which boat
Five situations, each matched to one listing from the table above.
The panorama round trip at $46, two hours.
The panorama round trip again: it is the one listing that names its ship station, Reichsbrücke.
The schnitzel boat at $55, with a freshly prepared Wiener Schnitzel.
The Bratislava day at $100: bus out, old town, speed boat home.
The Bratislava day again: 1,531 reviews at 4.2.
The honest answer
The ratings, read against the walk and the bus.
On ratings, the two boats in the city sit at the bottom of this site: both are rated 4.0, and no other of the 65 listings here is rated lower. The guided walk through the city centre highlights costs $27 and is rated 4.7 on 5,658 reviews; the hop-on hop-off bus is $37, rated 4.4 on 4,126. A Vienna boat tour is not the efficient way to see the sights.
It is worth it for what the walk and the bus cannot give: two hours on the Danube with the towers along the river, or a schnitzel served on the water. Book it for that, with the 4.0 in mind. The speed boat is easier to recommend: 4.2 on 1,531 reviews, and the boat is the return leg of a full day with a second city in it.
No private boat tour Vienna listing is on this site; the private options here are guides on foot, by bike or by car. For a full day on the river in the Wachau Valley, see the Danube trips page.
Want more than a two-hour Vienna boat tour?
Compare the Danube days→Common questions
$46 for the two-hour panorama round trip, $55 for the boat with schnitzel, and $100 for the Bratislava day that returns by speed boat.
Neither boat on this site names the Danube Canal. The panorama round trip, $46, starts at the Reichsbrücke ship station on the Danube; the schnitzel boat, $55, does not name its route.
The panorama listing names the Reichsbrücke ship station and runs a round trip from it. The schnitzel listing gives no pier, so check its meeting point on the listing.
Two hours on the panorama boat and two to three and a half hours on the schnitzel boat. The Bratislava day takes eleven and a half hours, and the boat is its return leg.
On the schnitzel boat: the listing includes a freshly prepared Wiener Schnitzel. The panorama listing does not mention food.
Not on this site. The two Budapest listings here pair it with Bratislava as a day trip and do not mention a boat.
By count, the Bratislava day: 1,531 reviews at 4.2. The two boats in the city are both rated 4.0, on 696 for the schnitzel boat and 628 for the panorama boat.
Go deeper
Day trips from Vienna compared: Hallstatt, Salzburg, the Wachau Valley, Bratislava and Budapest, by price and length.
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OperaVienna opera tickets on this site: opera and ballet concerts and opera shows, what each one includes.
ConcertsVienna classical concerts compared: Vivaldi in Karlskirche, Mozart at the Musikverein and more.
River cruisesVienna river cruises on the Danube compared: panorama cruises, cruises with a meal and the Wachau.
SchönbrunnSchönbrunn Palace tours from Vienna: guided entry to the palace and gardens, what each listing covers.
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