For your next vacation, consider packing your bike and booking a cruise

One day might consist of cycling through vineyards in Austria, by churches and ruins of castles, including one near the quaint hillside town of Durstein with buildings that date to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It had the distinction of being the spot where Richard the Lionhearted, king of England, was kept captive in 1192. He was on his way back from the Crusades when he was imprisoned by an Austrian duke he offended.

Not too far away in the same Wachau Valley, is the village of Willendorf where a world renowned 25,000-plus-year-old Venus figurine was found, an ancient full-figured symbol of fertility. Described as the oldest piece of European art, it was uncovered during railway construction more than a century ago. A replica now sits close to where it was found, with the original artifact housed in a museum in Vienna.

Speaking of Vienna, we ditched our bikes there in favor of a hop-on, hop-off bus, and even made it to Sigmund Freud’s home and office where he pioneered the use of psychotherapy before the Nazis drove him out.

There were plenty of other noteworthy attractions during the week, including in Melk, Austria, site of a massive Benedictine abbey overlooking the small town, a UNESCO World Heritage site where monks have lived since 1089.

The existing abbey, built in the early 1700s, has an ornate, golden-colored facade and grand towers with all the trappings of a Baroque palace ­— sumptuous altarpieces, sculptures and frescoes.

It was just one of the extravagant palaces with terraced gardens we visited, including the Schloss Hof, a former hunting “lodge” converted to a country home for the Habsburgs under the rule of Maria Theresa. An inscription on the facade described the aim of the property: “To relieve the soul from the burden of ruling.” (Ah, those over-stressed royals).

The week-long excursion met with positive reviews from all the fellow travelers we spoke to.

“I’m looking at all the castles and churches along the way, riding under the canopy (of trees) the green archway. It feels pretty awesome,” said Steve Shorey, a 51-year-old Australian doctor who was on his first bike-and-boat tour.

“I reckon this is a holiday that stretches your brain a bit,” he said, adding that it was not like a sheep herd mentality because you could ride on your own, not always joined by fellow passengers from the boat.

“You have to be thinking about what you’re going to do, particularly when you’re navigating around,” he said.

His wife, Julie Shorey, said she liked being able to take things at her own pace, returning to the boat to take a dip in the pool, or shower.

“I loved the bike paths and the fact most of them are by the river,” she said, “and it’s not too challenging: the inclines and declines, they’re few and far between.”

We took a five-day break to soak up the rich sights in Prague before flying to Split, Croatia to start our second bike-and-boat jaunt.

Our vessel, the 130-foot-long, deluxe “Melody” with its 15 cabins was smaller than our ship on the Danube, but the staff, food and guides were also first rate.

Croatia was distinct in that there were more hills, part of the reason we chose to pay a premium of about $120 each for an electric bike for the weeklong tour.