Following the River: Cruises on the Amazon, Yangtze, Nile and Zambezi

The world’s great rivers set the course and tone of river cruises and form the backbone of multi-stage journeys. Here are some of them.

The Amazon

&Beyond Amazon Explorer will make its maiden voyage in the Peruvian Amazon in December 2026. This luxurious five-deck expedition yacht has 15 spacious suites, a spa, a gym, a pool, a science centre with talks by experts, a media room, a restaurant and bar, a wine cellar with vintage wines and a boutique of handmade Peruvian-inspired clothing and accessories. You can charter as many cabins as you need or the whole yacht. It carries a maximum of 32 guests, with butler service.

The yacht offers 3-, 4- and 7-night cruises in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, the largest protected area in Peru, famous for its rich flora and fauna. In the rainy season, from December to June, the jungle becomes a maze of channels that can be explored by canoe or skiff. In the dry season, from July to early December, there are more trails for hiking, and wildlife gathers along the main rivers, making encounters more frequent.

You will visit the confluence of the Marañón and Ucayali rivers, where the Amazon gathers its strength. You will see toucans and macaws, sloths and monkeys, anteaters and capybaras, watch river dolphins, fish for piranhas, visit a butterfly farm, learn about indigenous communities, meet shamans and healers (curanderos), discover local medicinal plants, take night river trips and gaze at the clear starry sky. You will visit Iquitos, the largest city in the Peruvian Amazon, reachable only by water or air. There you will see the Iron House and the cathedral and browse markets selling textiles, woodwork and jewellery handmade by Peruvian artisans, while the food market reveals the riches of a cuisine shaped by Spanish, African, Chinese and Japanese traditions – and you can learn popular recipes in cooking classes. A seaplane transfer lets you admire the majesty of the river and jungle from above.

Abercrombie & Kent offers the elegant river vessel Pure Amazon, launched in mid-2025: the same cruise lengths and the same reserve as &Beyond, but with just 12 cabins and no more than 22 guests. A&K has also created multi-stage programmes including Lima and Machu Picchu, and on some itineraries Bolivia’s Uyuni salt flat. One option combines the Galapagos, Lima and the Amazon in 16-18 days of lifelong memories.

The same national park can also be explored with naturalist guides aboard Aqua Expeditions’ Aqua Nera (20 suites) and Aria Amazon (16 suites). Aqua Nera has a gym, pool, spa and cinema; Aria Amazon has a Jacuzzi and massage room. The menus on both were created by Pedro Miguel Schiaffino, one of Peru’s leading chefs and founder of the “jungle to table” concept, and excursions run twice a day.

CroisiEurope Cruises has 50 years of experience in the European market. It offers unusual river and canal cruises, themed itineraries (for hikers, classical music lovers, festive seasons) and multi-stage programmes. Its collection also includes cruises on the Mekong, Ganges, Nile and Zambezi, and from 2027 on the Amazon in Brazil. The 14-cabin catamaran RV Brazilian Dream is built from eco-friendly materials and powered by solar panels. Its 32 passengers enjoy a restaurant, lounge bar, spa, pool and conference room. The cruises form part of 11- to 17-day programmes starting in Rio de Janeiro, with visits to coastal towns and villages and the Iguazu Falls from both the Brazilian and Argentine sides.

The Yangtze

The highlight of a cruise on the Yangtze, Asia’s longest river, is the Three Gorges – not only a natural wonder but an open-air museum. Ancient temples, cities built at the dawn of the Common Era and rock paintings survive on both banks. These places remember legendary battles, and the virgin forests are home to golden snub-nosed monkeys, leopards, Asiatic black bears and other animals.

You can discover the Three Gorges on 4-day cruises from Chongqing to Yichang aboard the new Century Vision. Its 236 spacious cabins include family cabins with a real children’s room. The 650 guests enjoy Chinese and international restaurants, an interactive museum, a library, a photo studio for editing your travel pictures, a hall for lectures, shows and cooking demonstrations, a fitness centre and a spa. Activities include tai chi and an introduction to Mandarin.

If you prefer a more intimate cruise, consider the new Yangzi Explorer, carrying 148 passengers. It is the only ship on the Yangtze where every cabin is a suite. The staff-to-guest ratio is 1:1, and guests in Celebrity Suites have a personal assistant. An all-inclusive format with drinks and snacks around the clock adds to the comfort. Its restaurants and lounges serve traditional and refined Chinese cuisine, international dishes and tasting menus. On board are a spa with traditional Chinese and modern beauty treatments, a kids’ club with educational programmes and a cinema, and activities include tai chi, tea ceremonies, an introduction to traditional Chinese medicine, dumpling-making classes and lectures.

Cruises from Yichang to Chongqing (one way or return) last 4 or 7 nights respectively. You will visit nature reserves and old towns, descend into the world’s largest man-made military cave and an underwater museum with 8th-century rock carvings 40 metres below the surface, climb to Yangzi Explorer’s private viewpoint overlooking the river and 12 peaks, and see the world’s largest ship lift, which raises vessels 113 metres.

The Nile

In ancient Egypt, traditional wooden sailing boats called dahabiyas plied the mighty river, carrying pharaohs and nobles. In 1873 Amelia Edwards, one of the founders of Egyptology, described such a voyage in her book “A Thousand Miles up the Nile”. Today many companies offer cruises from Luxor to Aswan or the reverse on modern luxury dahabiyas such as Al Mourad and the 2024-built Princess Farida, with eight suites including two royal suites with private terraces. They are perfect for romantic escapes, family holidays and celebrations, and a memorable addition to a beach or sightseeing holiday in Egypt.

At the end of 2026, two dahabiyas, Melouk and Malekat, will join The Oberoi Hotels and Resorts collection. The company already offers 4- to 7-day cruises with Egyptologists aboard the luxurious classic vessels The Oberoi Zahra (28 cabins) and The Oberoi Philae (22 cabins), with full spas, swimming pools, cinemas and a variety of cuisines.

Viking Cruises has the new 82-passenger Viking Ptah and Viking Sekhmet, sailing the 12-day “Pharaohs & Pyramids” itinerary from and to Cairo. A hot-air balloon flight and tea in a botanical garden above the river complement the discovery of ancient Egypt. Viking’s pre-cruise extensions include five days in Morocco (Marrakech, Casablanca and Rabat), Istanbul, Jerusalem or London with an Egyptologist. The London option includes the ancient Egyptian collection of the British Museum, the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology with 80,000 objects and Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum, plus Highclere Castle, familiar to many from “Downton Abbey”. After the Nile cruise you can continue to Jordan to relax by the Dead Sea and see ancient Petra and the Roman theatre in Amman.

AmaWaterways offers voyages on the new AmaNubia (38 cabins, 76 passengers) on the 12-day “Secrets of Egypt & the Nile” itinerary from and to Cairo. You will see the capital’s main sights, including the Grand Egyptian Museum, board the ship in Luxor, see the UNESCO-listed temples of Abu Simbel, sail on a felucca, visit Saqqara, the Giza pyramids and Memphis, the Valley of the Kings and Karnak Temple, learn to make papyrus and admire Luxor Temple after sunset.

From 2027, Nile cruises will also join the Century Cruises collection. Its 20-suite Sunrise Terramar Nile Cruiser will feature on the 11-day “Treasures of the Nile” and the 15-day “Legends of Egypt” with four extra days in Hurghada.

The Chobe and Zambezi

Several companies, including CroisiEurope and AmaWaterways, offer cruises on the Chobe and Zambezi rivers and on Africa’s lakes, usually as part of multi-stage programmes with safaris, vineyard visits and even luxury train journeys.

For example, CroisiEurope’s 15-day Zambezi safari cruise covers South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. The journey begins on the Cape Peninsula and includes:

• a trip up Table Mountain;
• a visit with tasting to Groot Constantia Wine Farm, South Africa’s oldest wine estate, producing wine since 1685;
• an excursion to UNESCO-listed Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison;
• the Cape of Good Hope and a ride on the Flying Dutchman funicular;
• game drives and boat safaris in Chobe National Park, home to a quarter of Africa’s elephants;
• a boat trip on the Zambezi in Namibia;
• a private flight over the savannah to Lake Kariba, the world’s largest reservoir, on the Zambezi;
• a 4-day cruise on Lake Kariba with a water safari and a visit to the dam;
• a game drive in Matusadona National Park (Zimbabwe), home to lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, antelopes, zebras and more;
• stargazing over Lake Kariba;
• Victoria Falls and a helicopter flight over them.

The cruise operates on various dates in 2027 aboard two vessels, RV African Dream and RV Zimbabwean Dream, each carrying 16 passengers.

AmaWaterways’ 14-day Rivers & Rails of Africa journey includes:

• Cape Town and surroundings: the Cape of Good Hope, Boulders Penguin Beach, the Bo-Kaap district, Table Mountain and the Cape winelands;
• a 4-day safari cruise on the Chobe River aboard the elegant Zambezi Queen;
• a game drive in Chobe National Park;
• visits to local villages;
• a vintage steam train ride, its highlight being the bridge over the Zambezi with views of Victoria Falls;
• a tour of Victoria Falls and a sunset cruise on the Zambezi;
• a Rovos Rail journey to Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe’s largest protected area, with a safari there;
• crossing the Limpopo River from Zimbabwe into South Africa;
• crossing the Tropic of Capricorn and watching white rhinos in the Polokwane reserve.

Would you like to take a river cruise? Our travel consultants will find the right ship and itinerary, combine your cruise with a safari, sightseeing or a beach holiday and arrange your flights.