Dutch Waterways

Many of the waterways and of the Netherlands and Belgium are actually branches of the Rhine, which breaks up into several arms as it nears the North Sea. An intricate network of canals and channels links these rivers to the Maas, the other important commercial river of the low countries. Several river cruises operate in this compact region in spring and summer, taking in the pastoral scenery, the bulb fields of the Netherlands, medieval towns and villages and important centres like Antwerp and Rotterdam. Distances are short, so these cruises offer plenty of opportunity for sight seeing and evenings a shore. Other cruises call at some Dutch and Belgian ports before heading south on the Rhine.