Planning our trip at the end of this month (April) to Budapest. We're round-trip to & from Budapest - San Francisco. Traveling with my mid-30s daughter, son & DIL. We have a VRBO apt. near the Castle for 4 nights in Budapest. Need to get further accommodations ASAP I know. We were thinking of going to Brataslava next for 2 nights esp. if there's hiking nearby and a more rustic atmosphere? Then thought we'd go to Vienna for 2 nights. Then to Prague for 4 nights. Or maybe we should go from Budapest to Vienna and look for a country town in Czech Republic - any suggestions? Thought we'd return to Budapest 5/12 and spend the night near airport (?) for a 6:45 am flight back to San Francisco. Any and all suggestions for good itinerary with smooth public transportation (train?) would be greatly appreciated. Places to stay and all tips welcome. Many thanks, Robin
Posted by
Seattle
4637 posts
If you haven't been to Prague I think you should go. It's a real eye candy with two medieval neighborhoods. Cheapest and one of the best beers anywhere. If you would rather see small town after two big cities (Budapest, Vienna) and one semibig (Bratislava), then I would recommend Mikulov - small town in C.R. about one hour from Vienna. Less than ten miles from Mikulov are Valtice and Lednice (on UNESCO list). Lednice is well known for its chateau, greenhouse, park and minaret. Mikulov and Valtice are wine towns and also have chateaus. Read about these towns in Rick Steves book Prague and the Czech Republic.
If you are into wine check this website about wine tasting - you can taste 100 samples of the best wines in the C.R. :
http://www.salonvin.cz
The tasting is in the Valtice Chateau cellar.
Posted by
Bern, Switzerland
86 posts
Bratislava is very close and convenient to Vienna, but I think there's only enough to do there for one night, especially when you are seeing so many other wonderful places. If you stay in Bratislava, I can strongly recommend the Skaritz Hotel, which is right in the center of the old city and which offers excellent prices. However, the real beauty of Slovakia is away from the city, and the hiking in the Tatras Mountains is just stunning. If you want to go this route, It might make more sense to spend your two days in the Tatras, which is very close to Krakow. Then you could see Krakow and travel from there to Prague. The other possibility is to visit Vienna and then stay overnight in Cesky Krumlov (definitely worth seeing!) in the south of the Czech Republic and go to Prague from there.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you for your advice. We're definitely going to Prague. The question is where to visit in the 5 nights we have between Budapest and Prague. The Tatras sound great, but seemed out of the way. How would we get there? Train, bus? And from Krakow to Prague? We weren't planning on driving. I'll look into those little towns too. Anyone hike in the Bohemian mts? I appreciate these recommendations.
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
5372 posts
I do not associate Bratislava with either hiking or rustic. Skip it or make it as a day trip from Vienna. If it is hiking you are after, then miss Bratislava and go somewhere else as a day trip from Vienna - Schneeberg, Raxalpe, Neusidlersee, Vienna woods, Wachau. Spend 4 nights in Vienna, in my opinion.
Posted by
Prague, Czech Republic
356 posts
Compared to the grandeur and beauty of both Prague and Vienna, Bratislava is definitely the much poorer and uglier sister. However, it does offer some rather unusual and quirky experiences, like the tours that are run by these guys at Authentic Slovakia Tours. I recommend checking them out before dismissing Bratislava entirely. After all, there is only so much Sacher Torte that one can eat.