• River cruises provide the backdrop for an intimate experience with nature.River image by Sergey Yakovenko from Fotolia.com
  
  If you wish for an entertaining vacation aboard a cruise ship but would prefer to leave all the extravagance of ocean liners behind, consider a river cruise. A more intimate alternative, a river cruise provides guests with local history, scenic views, wildlife observation and cultural experiences of the waterway and its surrounding areas. Rivers have historically been the backbone of development, and river cruises are a wonderful way to experience the lifelines of societies.
  
  

Mississippi River

• According to the U.S. National Park Service, the Mississippi River, at 2,350 miles, is the longest in the U.S. The Mississippi River flows from Lake Itasca in Minnesota all the way to the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana. A cruise down this glorious river gives you a taste of American history and an area that has been the center of Native American navigational routes, slave transport and escape and the economic steamboat trade. You will find sights along the river's banks that include limestone bluffs, locks and dams, 326 species of birds and at least 50 species of mammals, according to the National Park Service.
  
  River cruises are available to tour limited areas of the river and typically last for one to three days. One cruise company offers a two-day Mississippi River cruise from the port of Dubuque to LeClaire in Iowa.
  
  River Cruises
  
  P.O. Box 172
  
  Scales Mound, IL 61075
  
  1-800-331-1467
  
  riverboattwilight.com
  
  

Yangtze River

• The Yangtze River is located in China, and is the world's third-longest river at 3,917 miles, according to Yangtze River.org. A cruise expedition down this river will grant you access to explore the development of human civilization. See historical sights including the Great Wall, imperial temples and palaces and the Three Gorges dam, the world's largest. Cities that are popular cruise stops are Nanjing, Wuhan, Yichang and Shanghai. River cruises typically end in Shanghai at the East China Sea, where you can experience ancient societies such as the Bund, or immerse yourself in the modern aspect of the bustling metropolitan area.
  
  Several cruise companies offer river cruises on the Yangtze River. Page and Moy offers a 14-day excursion, available from March through November.
  
  Page and Moy, Ltd.
  
  Compass House
  
  Rockingham Road
  
  Market Harborough
  
  Leicestershire, LE167QD, UK
  
  0844-567-6633
  
  pageandmoy.co.uk/river-cruises/yangtze
  
  

Nile River

• The Nile River in Eqypt is known as the cradle of civilization. According to Tour Egypt, the Nile is the world's longest river at approximately 4,000 miles, running from eastern Africa to the Mediterranean Sea. To take a river cruise on the Nile gives you a thorough tour of this birthplace of human development. Most of the cruises offered grant you access to ancient sites, such as the Valley of the Kings as well as temples of Horus, Queen Hatshepsut, Edfu and Ombo. Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Thebes and Minya are just a few of the cities along the Nile that invite you to discover ancient Egyptian artifacts, archeology and modern civilizations. Most cruises on the Nile also tour sites and relics onshore, including the pyramids and tombs of Egyptian pharaohs.
  
  One cruise company that offers seven- and nine-night river cruises of the Nile is Disney Travel Services.
  
  Adventures by Disney
  
  P.O. Box 61010
  
  Anaheim, CA 92803
  
  800-543-0865
  
  abd.disney.go.com