JaneB

I'm taking a river cruise for my 75th birthday in March and am wondering if anyone can give me a "best guess" about the weather we are most likely to incur.
Thank you,
Jane

PalenQ

Having been there several times during early spring I can say expect just about anything except real cold weather - I'd bet on 40s and 50s with a lot of wet weather - be prepared also for higher temps - layering is definitely the key IME - when sun pops out temps seem to soar - but good wet weather gear is a key.

Hopefully Dutch Fodorites like hetismij will chime in so keep topping the thread if they do not.

As the Dutch say Tot Ziens!

hetismij2

Beginning or end of March?
Generally March is still quite cold, at least in the first half, it can still be freezing, at least at night, and maybe 10C during the day. By the end of the month it has usually warmed up a lot - maybe up to 16C.
But it can be really cold or reasonably warm - never very warm or hot- or anything in between, windy, rainy, sunny.

Sorry - it just isn't possible to say what it will be like, we don't get set weather types per season I'm afraid.
As Pal says layering is the way to go, with some good water- and wind-proof layers.


Vienna could be quite a bit colder I expect.

quokka

Only a small part of your cruise happens in the Netherlands so you need the Germans and the Austrians as well.

Weather and climate have been totally weird for almost a year, so the usual weather rules are rather useless. There has been hardly any winter so far - in fact the snowdrops are already in bloom in the Rhine valley and the birds start singing. We have no idea if winter will miss out altogether this year and we get an early warm spring, or if we get a late winter with a load of snow in February and March. You may encounter sunny day of 15°C or more, you may encounter heavy snowstorms and temperatures notably below zero, you may encounter chilly rainy weather around 5-10°C, even gales may happen. All this is possible in March and reliable predictions are impossible for more than 3-4 days in advance. Mentally prepare for all eventualities, and pack clothes that can be combined and worn in layers.

nytraveler

Well I assume that you won;t need an icebreaker. but it is the end of winter or the very beginning of spring - so I would expect chilly with on and off rain. (I wouldn;t do that trip until May.)

JaneB

Thanks for all the advice. That's pretty much what I anticipated. I'll cope.