Wachau Valley day trip from Vienna: five tours compared

By ship, $114. The listing takes you by ship from the city into the Wachau Valley to see the region from the water, with a relaxing evening and food options on board along the Danube. A full day, rated 4.5 on 376 reviews. It is the cheapest Wachau day trip from Vienna on this site. Dürnstein is in the title; the listing does not say how long you spend ashore.

By bus and boat, $133. A bus and boat tour of the Wachau and the Danube Valley, with scenic views on the way and Melk Abbey as an upgrade. Eight and a half hours, rated 4.5 on 1,644 reviews; the next most reviewed tour on this page has 666. As a Danube Valley day trip from Vienna it is the one most people have reviewed.

With wine tastings, $223. Villages, historic sites and the valley landscape, with the culture of the area explained, wine tastings and local products to try. Nine hours, rated 4.7 on 450 reviews. Of the three, it is the Wachau Valley day trip from Vienna with the highest rating, and the most expensive.

Two listings on this site name Melk. On the bus-and-boat day at $133, the visit to the Benedictine Abbey of Melk is an upgrade: the base price covers the bus, the boat and the valley, and the abbey is added on top. Check the upgrade price on the listing before you compare it with the others. For a day trip to Melk from Vienna with the most reviews behind it, this is the one: 1,644 at 4.5.

The second is a private day at $885: Melk Abbey, Hallstatt and Salzburg in thirteen hours, with a private guide and door-to-door transport. It is rated 4.4 on 23 reviews, a small sample. As a Melk Abbey day trip from Vienna it is the most expensive tour on this site, and the abbey is one stop of three. Hallstatt on its own is compared on the Hallstatt page.

The half-day countryside wine tour, $129, is a small-group wine tasting near Vienna: you meet local winemakers, taste Austrian wines and finish with a traditional Austrian lunch or dinner. Four to five and a half hours, rated 4.7 on 666 reviews, with pickup in the title.

By its listing it is not a Wachau tour: the description says near the city and does not name the valley. Book it for the wine without a full day on the road; book the $223 day if the valley itself is the point.

On the numbers, yes. The three Wachau days are rated 4.5 to 4.7 on 376 to 1,644 reviews. The cheapest and the most reviewed are $114 and $133, close in price; the choice between them comes down to Melk (bus and boat, with the upgrade) or a day on the water (ship). For a day trip to Wachau Valley from Vienna built around tastings, the $223 day has the highest rating of the three, at a higher price.

Where it is not the right purchase: if you want the Alps and the lakes. A Wachau Valley day trip from Vienna stays on the Danube; Hallstatt and Salzburg are compared on the day trips page, and all 65 tours are on the homepage.