1 February 2010 | In an effort to respond to the increased competition, the Bulgarian Dunav Tours company will offer trips all the way to the Danube Delta, company representatives told national media recently.

During the new tourist season, which begins in April, the motor ship Rousse Prestige will start cruises to the town of Vylkove, located in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta. The cruise, beginning in the German town of Passau, will be over 16 days.

Traditionally, the company’s cruises last between a week and 10 days and concentrate on the Upper Danube – which starts at the river's source in the Black Forest in Germany and flows through Bavaria and Austria to the tip of the Carpathians at Devin near the Slovak capital Bratislava, with only some routes reaching Bulgaria.

The company now aims to show its customers the stark contrast between the cities along the Upper Danube and the Lower Danube, which flows more than 1,000 kilometres through Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and the Ukraine. Unlike the former, which has been significantly modified, the nature in the latter part of the river is still largely preserved, with floodplain forests, wetlands and a rich diversity of plant and animal species.

The town of Vylkove is known as "The Ukrainian Venice" because of the many channels excavated inside its territory, making boating a more common method of transport than an automobile. The town’s old part is located on a series of small islands.

According to the Dnevnik newspaper, one of the Ukraine’s best wines is produced in the town, with tastings planned as part of the new cruise routes.

Another draw for tourists going on the new cruises is bound to be the ‘0 km,’ the place where the Danube River flows into the Black Sea.

Read more about cruising along the Danube River on BalkanTravellers.com