In some instances you will find traveling by some form of boat your best transportation option and maybe even your only option. Europe has many peninsulas separated by large bodies of water. The quickest way to get from one to other is by water or air. To travel by car or train would require go around this body of water adding on needed time to your travel. This is especially true in Scandinavia or the British Isles. Then there are areas like the Islands of Greece, Croatia, Sicily and others. Some cities like Venice rely almost exclusively on water transportation, like small water taxis to travel around. You may find that by traveling by water may be your best solution when you’re in proximity to a lot of water.

Water Transportation Options…

We look at water transportation in two main categories, primary or temporary transportation.

PRIMARY WATER TRANSPORTATION

This is were you will travel for the majority of your trip by ship or boat. These are typically cruises vacations from start to finish. You may depart from one port and end at another or even return to the starting port at the end of the cruise. You will spend almost all of your overnight says on the ship and leave the ship when it stops at a port of call. When shopping for these cruises may sure your ship stops at the sights you want to see. Also, how much time will they allow you to visit as some only stop for a day. 
Additional amenities such as guided tours while in port, tickets for entrances to sites and activities. 
Many people prefer this form of travel as it can be very relaxing as it takes the tress out traveling. Checking in and out of multiple hotels, driving a car and the hustle of airports and train stations. 
Go below to find links to cruise line operators.

TEMPORARY WATER TRANSPORTATION

This is water transportation that will get you from one point to the another. These boats function like a train, metro, bus or taxi would on land. This type of transportation is used in cities that are prevalent along the coastlines or on large rivers. You can hop on at one end of the city and hop off at another end. This is especially true in Venice with its canals, London on the river Thames or Stockholm with its archipelago of islands. In some of these cities the citizenry find water transportation as the best way to travel to and from work everyday.
This water transportation also serves as forms of entertainment and pleasure. Cities like Bruges and others, have sightseeing boat trips up and down the canals or rivers for a minimal fee. Depending on how much you want to spend, in Venice you can hire a Gondolier for a half hour trip or longer with someone singing arias or playing an accordion on the Grand Canal. Other cities have night cruises with or without a dinner package. These are popular in river cities like Paris, Berlin, Budapest, Prague, London and Amsterdam. Viewing a city from a boat on the river with everything lit up under the flood of lights can certainly be breathtaking and give one another perspective. Other cities located on lakes like Como in Italy or Lucerne in Switzerland offer breathtaking cruises with the Alps as a background.
View some city transportation links below.
Many of these you can book through an online ticket agency, with your hotel concierge or directly with the transport operator. Some boat transportation is free when you purchase a transportation, city, tourist or visitor pass. You can review all of these passes at our pages for ➾ Tourist Cards & Passes or ➾ Public Transit/ Transit Passes

Primary Water Transportation…

SEA CRUISES

There are Cruises of every kind to fit every pocket book. Some are smaller than others that will have the capacity to accommodate 50 couples and provide 5-Star luxury service. Then there are large ships that are transferred from the Caribbean by the major cruise lines that can accommodate hundreds of travelers. You can expect the same level of service and amenities that you would receive with a Caribbean cruise, some that are all inclusive. A fair amount of these cruises in the Baltic and Mediterranean will last more than a week.
Mediterranean cruises are also popular because of the important ports they stop at. Venice, Rome, Barcelona, Athens and some stop in Egypt. Some can spend more time in the Adriatic taking in Italy and the Dalmation coast of Croatia. Others can cruise to just the western Mediterranean stopping in Spain, France, Italy with Corsica and Sicily. Of course others, will spend time in the Aegean with stops at the Greek Isles, Athens, Istanbul and Turkey. Whatever your desire, cruise companies will have a cruise for you.
The Baltic is another area of fine cruises, stopping at ports like Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn and St. Petersburg. There is a wonderful cruise from St. Petersburg that winds its way through Russian lakes and channels until it reaches Moscow.
A fair amount of the Mediterranean and Baltic cruises will run more than a week.

Large Cruise Ships

Small Luxury Ships

RIVER CRUISES

Boats that travel the rivers are called long boats. They are smaller being narrow but, very long. The most popular of these are the river cruises on the Rhine and Danube rivers. 
The river cruises are popular because they stop in the famous cities and the scenery along both rivers is wonderful. Rhine cruises can start in Basel, Switzerland and go up the Rhine past castles and vineyards. Stops in Strasbourg, Heidelberg, Cologne and ending up in Amsterdam. The trip could also start in Amsterdam and end up in Basel making the same stops and viewing the same scenery and landmarks. Danube cruises can start in Germany with stops in Salzburg, Vienna, Bratislava and ending in Budapest. Danube cruises can also include Prague as a start or end point.

BARGE CANAL CRUISES

Barging on canals is another way to travel. Barges are typically 6 days covering abound 50 miles of canals and traveling within one country. A river cruise travels hundreds of miles between multiple countries during the same 6 days. Barges are usually all inclusive as opposed to a river cruise boat. River cruise boats can carry over hundred passengers where a barge may carry eight. Barges are like being on a floating cottage, small and quint and river boats a floating hotel with more amenities. The majority of barge cruises are in France but, Belgium, Germany and Netherlands also offer several choices. Barges tend to be more exclusive and costly than a river cruise boat.

These are the most popular canals to go barging on in Europe.

Temporary Water Transportation…

SERVICES IN MAJOR CITIES…

City cruises can vary from a taxi like service or day, night and dinner cruises. You may also find other boat services available at a city’s tourism site or through their tourist office. These services can be called Ferries, Water Buses, Water Taxis, Vaporettos. To find more services offer by the local transit systems go to our Public Transit page for cities services and click on the links for transportation options.

Ferry & Ship Directory…

The areas that require the most boat and ferry service are the Mediterranean, Baltic, Black Sea countries and the British Isles to continental Europe.

Company / Line	Sea Region	Service Areas
Sochi	Black Sea	Russia, Georgia
Rosmorport / Yuzh-Flot Ltd	Black Sea	Russia
RG Line	Baltic Sea	Operates between Umeå/Sweden and Vaasa/Finland
Paradise Cruise & Ferry	Black Sea	Russia – Georgia – Turkey – Ukraine
Oz Star Denizcilik	Black Sea	Russia – Turkey
Kerch Ferry Passage State Shipping	Black Sea	Russia
Horgen – Meilen Ferry	Lake Zürich	Zürich, Switzerland
Blue Line Ferries	Adriatic Sea	Croatia
Albanian Ferries	Mediterranean Sea	Italy- Albania
Akgünler Shipping	Mediterranean Sea	Northern Cyprus / Turkey / Lebanon
Aegeon Pelagos	Aegean Sea	Greece
Zegluga Gdanska	Baltic Sea	Service from Poland to Sweden & Russia
WightLink	English Channel	England – Isle of Wight
Western Ferries	Firth of Clyde	Scotland
Viking Line	Baltic Sea	Service between Sweden and Finland and Tallinn.
Unity Line	Baltic Sea	Service between Poland (Świnoujście) to Sweden (Trelleborg & Ystad)
UKR Ferry	Black Sea	Ukraine – Turkey – Georgia
TT Line	Baltic Sea	Operates between Travemünde and Rostock in Germany and Trelleborg in Sweden.
Trasmediterránea	Mediterranean Sea	Spain (Balearic & Canary Islands) Algeria / Tunisia / Morocco
Traghettifacile.it	Tyrrhenian Sea	Italy – Sardinia – Sicily
Toremar	Ligurian Sea	Italy – Tuscan archipelago
The Majestic Line	Scottish Coast	Scottish Hebrides
Thames Clippers	Thames River	London
TESO	North Sea	Netherlands
Stena Line	Baltic / North / Irish Sea	Service in Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland & Sweden.
Steam Packet Company England	Irish Sea	Isle of Man – Northern Ireland/Ireland
Isle of Man Steam Packet Co.	Irish Sea	Isle of Man – Liverpool, Dublin, Belfast, Heysham
Strandfaraskip	Atlantic Ocean	Faroe Islands
SNAV	Tyrrhenian & Adriatic Sea	Italy – Croatia
Red Funnel	English Channel	England / Isle of Wight
TS Laevad	Baltic Sea	Estonia
Northlink Ferries	North Sea	Scotland, Orkney & Shetland Islands
Naviera Armas	Atlantic	Canary Islands, Spain, Morocco
Navibulgar	Black Sea	Bulgaria – Ukraine – Georgia
Molslinjen	The Kattegat	Denmark
Moby	Mediterranean Sea	Italy, France, Corsica, Sardinia
Minoan Lines	Aegean & Adriatic Seas	Greece – Italy
Mersey Ferries	Mersey River	England
Maregiglio	Ligurian Sea	Tuscan Isles
Levante Ferries	Ionian Sea	Greece
La Méridionale	Mediterranean Sea	France – Corsica – Morocco
Jadrolinija	Adriatic Sea	Croatia – Italy
Inter Shipping	Mediterranean Sea	Spain – Morocco
ido	Sea of Marmara	Turkey
Hurtigruten	North Sea / Norwegian Fjords	Bergen to various Norway ports and fjords
Hellenic Seaways	Aegean Sea –	Greece
G & V Line	Adriatic Sea	Croatia
Grimaldi Lines	Mediterranean Sea	Italy – Spain – Greece – Tunisia
Gosport Ferry Ltd	English Channel	Gosport to Portsmouth
GNV	Mediterranean Sea	Italy – Spain – Morocco – Tunisia – Albania
Fred.Olsen Express	Atlantic	Canary Islands
ForSea Ferries	Baltic Sea	Sweden – Denmark
Fjordline.com	North & Baltic Seas	Norway – Denmark – Sweden
Fjord1	North Sea & Norwegian Fjords	Norway
Finnlines	Baltic Sea	Serves most countries to Baltic Ports
Finnlines	Baltic Sea	Finland – Sweden – Germany – Denmark – Poland
FastFerry Bulgaria	Black Sea	Burgas- Nessebar – Varna
Erturk Lines	Aegean Sea	Turkey – Greece
Eckerö Line	Baltic Sea	Finland – Estland – Sweden – (Åland Islands)
DFDS Ferry Crossings	English Channel	France / UK
Destination Gotland	Baltic Sea	Gotland Island – Sweden
CTN Tunis Ferries	Mediterranean Sea	Tunis – Spain – France – Italy
Corsica Ferries	Mediterranean Sea	Corsica – Sardinia – France – Italy – Balearic – Elba
Color Line	Baltic / North Sea	Norway / Denmark / Sweden / Germany
Caledonian MacBrayne	Irish Sea	Scotland – Firth of Clyde, Outer Hebrides, Inner Hebrides
Brownsea Island Ferries	English Channel	England – Isle of Wight
Bristol Ferry Boats	Bristol Harbor	Bristol Harbor, UK
Bornholmer Faergen	Baltic / North Sea	Germany, Sweden, mainland Denmark and Bornholm/Rønne
Bodrum Express Lines	Aegean Sea	Turkey – Greece
Argyll – Bute	Scottish West Coast	Scottish Isles
ANES	Aegean Sea	Greece
Anek	Aegean Sea	Greece
Alilauro	Naples Bay	Naples
algerie ferries	Mediterranean Sea	Italy, Algeria, France, Spain
Ålandstrafiken	Baltic Sea	Finland to Åland
Aegean Flying Dolphins	Aegean Sea	Greece
Adria Ferries	Adriatic Sea	Italy- Albania
Dodekanisos Seaways	Aegean Sea	Greece – Turkey
TransRussiaExpress	Baltic Sea	Germany, Russia
Baltic Scandinavian Lines	Baltic Sea	Estonia – Sweden
Waxholmsbolaget	Swedish coast	Stockholm archipelago
Kihnu Veeted	Baltic Sea	Estonia
TTSL	Tagus River	Lisbon, Portugal
Trans-Exim	Baltic / Black Sea	Germany, Russia
Woolwich Ferry	Thames River	Woolwich – North Woolwich London
St Peter Line	Baltic Sea	Helsinki, Finland to Tallinn, Estonia
Caremar	Tyrrhenian Sea	Naples Coast locations
Sea Lines	Black Sea	Romania – Turkey
Pentland Ferries	North Sea	Scotland / Orkney Islands
NTS ASA	Norwegian Coast	Namdalen, Norway
Kolobrzeska Zegluga Pasazerska	Baltic Sea	Service to Kołobrzeg (Poland) – Bornholm/Nexo.
Ionian Cruises	Ionian Sea	Greece – Albania
Hansa Destinations	Baltic Sea	Sweden – Germany
European Seaways	Ionian Sea	Italy – Greece
tirreania	Mediterranean Sea	Sardinia – Sicily – Tunisia
Tallink / Silja Line	Baltic Sea	Finland – Estonia – Sweden
Smyril Line	Baltic , North & Atlantic	Denmark to Scandinavia, Iceland and the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic
Bura Line	Adriatic Sea	Croatia
Birka Cruises	Baltic Sea	Non-car ferry service between Stockholm and Mariehamn(Åland)
Aegean Speed Lines	Aegean Sea	Greece
Adriatic Lines	Adriatic Sea	Venice, Slovenia, Croatia
Wasaline	Baltic Sea	Sweden , Finland
Venezialines	Adriatic Sea	Venice and Croatian ports on the Adriatic
Ulusoy Sealines	Black Sea	Turkey – Russia – Ukraine
Trasmapi	Mediterranean Sea	Balearic Islands Spain
Tallink Silja	Baltic Sea	Service between Sweden, Finland and Baltic states
Scandlines	Baltic Sea	Serves Denmark, Germany, Latvia & Sweden
Polferris	Baltic Sea	Świnoujście – Copenhagen, Świnoujście – Ystad, Gdańsk – Nynäshamn/Stockholm.
P & O Ferries	Irish Sea / Atlantic	England – France/Belgium/Netherlands – Irish Sea
Orkney Ferries	North Sea	Scotland / Orkney Islands
Norfolk Line	Irish Sea / English Channel	Dover to Dunkirk, Liverpool to Dublin, Liverpool to Belfast (operated by DFDS Seaways)
Manche îles-Express	English Channel	Service to the Channel Islands from France
LD Lines	Atlantic / Irish Sea	Spain, France, Ireland & UK
Irish Ferries	Irish Sea / Atlantic	Irish Ferries Holyhead-Dublin, Pembroke-Rosslare, Rosslare-Roscoff , France
FRS Iberia	Mediterranean Sea	Tangiers – Italy, France, Gibraltar, Spain
Fjordline ferries	Baltic / North Sea	Service between Denmark & Norway
Balearia	Mediterranean Sea	Spain, Balearic Islands, Gibraltar to Tangiers Africa
DFDS Seaways	Baltic / North Sea / Atlantic	Denmark / Norway / Estonia / Lithuania / England / Scotland / France / Belgium / Netherlands
Condor Ferries	English Channel	Service in the Channel Islands Jersey, Guernsey from France and England
Brittany Ferries	Atlantic	UK (Poole /Plymouth /Portsmouth) to France (Normandy /Brittany) Spain (Bilbao /Santander)
Superfast Ferries	Mediterranean Sea	Services between Greece & Italy , Aegean Isles
Blue Star Ferries	Mediterranean Sea	Services between Greece & Italy, Turkey
Agoudimos Lines	Aegean Sea	to Aegean Islands from Greece
Adler-Schiffe GmbH & Co. KG	Baltic / North Sea	Germany, Poland, N. Frisian Islands, Rügen
Ventouris Ferries	Adriatic Sea	Bari, Italy – Durres, Albania
Siremar	Tyrrhenian Sea	Naples – Sicily
Meis Express	Mediterranean Sea	Greece – Meis Island
Sea Jets	Aegean Sea	Greece
Saronic Ferries	Aegean Sea	Greece
Sea Dream Yacht Club	Mediterranean Sea	France – Italy – Spain
Turkish Sealines	Aegean Sea	Turkey
Turyol	Sea of Marmara	Istanbul, Turkey
TP Line	Adriatic Sea	Croatia
Virtu Ferries	Mediterranean Sea	Malta – Sicily
Yesil Marmaris Lines	Aegean Sea	Greece – Turkey
Zante Ferries	Aegean Sea	Greece
Golden Star Ferries	Aegean Sea	Greece
SeaSpeed ferries	Aegean Sea	Greece
Fast Ferries	Aegean Sea	Greece
Corsica Linea	Mediterranean Sea	Corsica – France