We fly to Vienna on 17 August arriving at 12 noon and leave from Vienna on 2 Sep at 10 am. We are doing a Danube River cruise starting in Budapest on 21 Aug and ends in Prague on 28 Aug. The cruise spends 2 days in Budapest but no excursions in Prague. We also spend 1 full day and an evening in Vienna. We would like help in planning the pre and post days. So we could spend 17, 18 in Vienna and take the train to Budapest on 19 and spend an extra 2 days in Budapest before boarding the cruise. End of cruise in Prague on 28 August and spend 28,29,30 in Prague and take train to Vienna 1 Sept to leave on 2 September. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Where to stay and what to do. I do have Rick Steve's Eastern Europe book for planning help. Thanks.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8158 posts
We often start in major cities taking "free walking tours" where guides work for tips. And they'll usually offer a "nightlife tour" or "pub crawl tour" where you can visit beer halls, restaurants and other off the beaten path places to go.
We took both tours in Prague, and had a great time. We also figured out other places to go the next day--off the tour.
Posted by
Cincinnati
23 posts
You really have a good plan to add time in both Vienna and Budapest. Are you committed to returning to Vienna to fly home? You will probably find little price difference if you fly to Vienna and return from Prague. We did a very similar trip this year in September and October and used Prague Airport Transfers to pick us up at the end of the cruise in Passau, Germany, and drive us to Prague-about 3 hours. They also included a 4 hour walking tour the next day which was excellent! We spent two nights in Budapest prior to our cruise, using Rick Steves as our guide, even spending an afternoon at the Szechenyi Baths, which cost about a third of doing this as an additional cruise excursion. We did not take any tours in Budapest, but found it very easy to walk, use trams and the metro. In both Budapest and Prague we stayed in airbnb apartments, both in convenient Old Town locations. We had the apartment in Budapest for two nights, then moving to our river boat, and the apartment in Prague for three nights. We did wish we had had more time in Vienna so adding a day is smart. It looks like the fast train from Vienna to Budapest takes about 3 hours, so you should be able to have a good afternoon to start to see things the day you arrive (in Budapest). Check out postings on this forum by James E.; he's the Budapest expert and very helpful. I know many on this forum don't feel you can accomplish anything the day you arrive from the US, but we (husband and I in our late 60's), find a walking tour or any other outside activity really helps us get on the new time schedule; we're excited and ready for action! And Vienna is beautiful! In addition to Rick Steves and other travel books, I like visitacity.com when planning what to see and do and how long it will take. Don't forget to relax, sit in a cafe, people watch, and have fun! We loved our first, but not our last, river cruise. It was a terrific "vacation" in the middle of a 3 week trip.Please let me know if I can give you any other specifics; wish I still had this trip to look forward to...
Posted by
1918 posts
This is kind of a strange itinerary, indeed. But if you are bound to flights to/from Vienna, you must try to make best out of it.
Having been in Budapest, Prague, and Vienna, my suggestion would be to plan the most time for Vienna. You can do both Prague and Budapest in two and a half days.
As Prague is far away from the Danube river I guess you will have a bus transfer of several hours from somewhere in Germany (e.g. Passau or Nuremberg).
The train ride from Prague to Vienna is 4 hours, from Budapest to Vienna 2 hours 40 minutes.
Besides the standard sights in Prague and Budapest, here are some off the beaten track, which we enjoyed very much.
Black Light Theatre: This art form was developed in Prague and brought to masterfulness over the years.
Try to get a ticket: http://www.srnectheatre.com/eng
Budapest:
Hospital in the Rock: http://www.sziklakorhaz.eu/en
Café Gerbeaud: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caf%C3%A9_Gerbeaud
Largest synagogue in Europe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doh%C3%A1ny_Street_Synagogue
Posted by
1918 posts
Free tours in Vienna:
http://www.welcometourvienna.at/
http://www.goodviennatours.eu/
http://www.primerooms.at/prime-tours/free-walking-tour/
http://www.viennagreeters.com/
A short remark:
Guiding tourists is a strictly regulated business in Austria. Working as a certified tourist guide requires 2 years of studying and a rigorous exam. Explanations given by people not having this education may lack accuracy and correct historical context.