Summer holidays in Europe are a bummer!
Prolonged heatwaves and droughts are leaving tourists and the river cruise industry high and dry. Lowering water level in canals and rivers is prompting the river cruise lines to amend their itineraries.
Viking, and Transcend are operating vessels throughout the year on the Rhine. Other cruise lines are narrowing their own annual, mid-winter shutdown periods, and year-round river cruising is gaining ground.
Central and Western Europe are bracing for the worse, southern England, northern Italy and parts of Central Europe among the hardest-hit areas. Drought conditions, according to the Global Drought Observatory, remained stable and critical in most of Europe in early August 2026. Europe experienced above-average temperatures, with a heatwave, hitting most of the Mediterranean, the Balkans, and central-eastern Europe.
Key compounding factors have been the observed temperature anomalies, much warmer than average over central-western Europe, and the severe heatwaves that affected large areas of Europe. River flow forecasts from the European Flood Awareness Systems indicate low to extremely low discharges across most catchments in France, the Alpine region, eastern Europe, the Baltic Sea regions, and the southern UK. It points to a progressive worsening of drought conditions.
The June heatwave and drought in Italy affected especially the northern rivers and lakes. Similar situation in Hungary – smaller rivers and streams are close to dry out. Water level of lake Velence, the third biggest lake of Hungary, is about one meter below the average. And in Romania, the Danube River is experiencing severe low – one of the worse in the last two decades.
River Cruise: Water Running Low
An expert highlighted that major rivers like the Rhine and Danube are critical trade corridors and sources of water for industry and energy generation, so when water levels fall, the effects extend far beyond the waterways themselves.
“Low water levels have prevented farmers from shipping their crops and stopped cruise ships from reaching ports such as Budapest. These are early examples of how increasingly unreliable water supplies can ripple through the economy, affecting trade, energy security, supply chains and local businesses.”
An industry insider stated that commercial freight traffic is heavily disrupted, with vessels unable to travel fully loaded or stranded by shallow channels. “And of course River cruises face major disruptions, including grounded passenger ships requiring emergency passenger evacuations and mandatory itinerary shifts to buses.” The ongoing drought has prompted travellers to make last-minute changes as an adventure, while others have been considerably less enthusiastic.
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