3 July 2009 | The Danube River was at the top of the list of the best 10 rivers for cruising recently compiled by the CruiseCritic.co.uk website.

Cruising is becoming an ever more popular way to travel, as holiday-makers’ decisions continue to be influenced by the global economic crisis. “With the current economy, traveling around Europe -- or most places for that matter -- just isn't cheap anymore. All those little expenses really add up,” Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor-in-chief of CruiseCritic.co.uk said. “With river cruising, most costs are paid up front, so it's easier to budget.”

The Danube River, with cruises sailing from Germany to the Black Sea and going through Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria, was rated a great choice for first-timers by the website.

Cruise lines that operate routes on the Danube, according to the website, include include Peter Deilmann Cruises, Viking River Cruises and Uniworld.

In the top 10 rivers for cruising list, the Danube was followed by: the Duoro – which travels from Spain through the rural scenery of northern Portugal to the city of Porto; the Yangtze in China; the Rhine, which flows from the Alps into the North Sea, through Switzerland, Germany, France and Holland; the Rhone - through Provence and the south of France; the Nile; the Murray – through Australia's outback; the Volga – which connects Russia's two old imperial capitals, Moscow and St. Petersburg; the Mekong River - through Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand; and the St. Lawrence Seaway – which flowing from the Great Lakes that border the United States and Canada.

Read more about cruising along the Danube on BalkanTravellers.com