3 Weeks in Central Europe

I’ve never visited Bratislava or High Tatras, but was everywhere else on your itinerary on a month long trip in 2018. Cesky Krumlov is a great place to visit, but it’s quite small, and I’m not sure you need 2 nights there. On the other hand, when we were there big tour buses flocked in during the afternoon; morning and evening were much quieter and much more enjoyable. If you did choose to cut one night from Cesky Krumlov, I’d suggest another night in Vienna. Fewer huge tour groups than in some of the other cities, a very walkable central city area and easy to use metro system, and a great place to sit in cafes, people watch (and enjoy amazing pastries).
I think 4 nights in Krakow and 5 in Budapest sound about right. When we visited Krakow (also in May) the only groups we encountered were school children on field trips; both Budapest and especially Prague were full of tour groups. In Budapest it was the day trippers from the Viking cruise ships. Prague was just jammed morning, noon, and night. All wonderful places to visit; just go in with the mindset that you may not be able to escape the crowds.

Thank you so much for your feedback, Ruth! Nice to know that if we need to cut CK down to one night we would be okay.

I'm a teacher, so unfortunately we are limited to traveling during the high season, which of course means crowds! Can't wait until I retire and can travel in the fall and spring :)

My concern would be how you are getting from Budapest to the Tatra Mountains then to Krakow? There is not too good ground based transport links in that area on account of the mountains. Renting a car would be ideal for the region, but then you have to pay the $$$$ in foreign drop off fees.

I'd suggest flying low cost (like Wizz air) from Budapest to Krakow, then taking the direct train to Zakopane to use as a base to explore the Tatra mountains for a few nights before circling back to Krakow. I'd also add a night to Krakow, to really enjoy a less crowded yet equally charming central European city, compared to Prague and Budapest.

I've always stayed on the Polish side of the Tatra mountains as it's much more affordable compared to Slovakia, who use the euro.

Pretty sure you can do Budapest to Zakopane by train. Where you change, you spend the night. Might take 3 nights. Or resorts like Kimpinsky High Tatras (love the place) can provide transfers either all the way or to rail heads.

I also love Cesky Krumlov, but that can be one night.

So sorry that I somehow missed the last couple of replies! For the Tatra Mountains portion, I planned on using a private transfer. Mr. E had given me a suggestion for someone and I will also check with the Kempinski since that is actually where we plan on staying while in the High Tatras. I know that a private driver is not the cheapest option, but the convenience is worth it to us :)

We also plan on doing a transfer between Prague and CK that will stop in Kutna Hora (so that we don't have to do a daytrip on one of our Prague days). From CK to Vienna we hope to take a transfer that will stop in the Wachau Valley/Melk area. Due to our sightseeing stops, we might not arrive in CK until the evening and will need to leave in the morning, so we thought 2 nights in CK would be best.

I still keep going back and forth on my itinerary. I'm wondering if we should skip Bratislava (not a huge fan of 1-night stays, but will when needed) and go directly from Vienna to Budapest instead? If so, where would you add the extra night to the itinerary below - Vienna? Krakow?

We will have a total of 21 nights to work with.

4 nights Prague (arriving from the US)
2 nights CK
3 nights Vienna
5 nights Budapest
2 nights High Tatras
4 nights Krakow (departing to the US)

It's a good plan. If you have one more night, I think two good choices are Prague cause you will be jet lagged or Vienna if the activities speak yo you.

Your revised itinerary looks good. We’ve been all the places you mention except the high tatras. Skipping Bratislava is fine, not much there, an afternoon is sufficient. And the 2 nights in CK is perfect.

I like 2 nights in CK as well. Especially if you arrive there late in the day. We stayed for 2 nights, and that gave us one full day in CK. We toured the castle and took a boat ride on the river that was a lot of fun. CK is beautiful at night when the castle is illuminated. I remember having drinks at night at an outdoor cafe overlooking the illuminated castle! Beautiful!

You've got a very good itinerary planned out.

There are a number of very good tourist vans headquartered in Cesky Krumlov that can transport you reasonably from Prague. They can also transport you either into Vienna or down to Linz where you can catch a train to Vienna.

We stayed in Bratislava for a couple of nights after we took a train from Budapest. It's a lovely small river town with really nice sidewalk cafes overlooking the river. It's only 39 miles from Vienna, but we never heard one word of German in our time there.

If you're looking for accommodations in Budapest or V.ienna, PM me. We know some really good and reasonable places to stay in both cities.

Looks great! There's a combined Auschwitz and Wieliczka Salt mine tour which I highly recommend. It takes about 11-11.5 hours in total but its worth the historical significance. And if you have extra time in Krakow, consider a trip to Warsaw.

Hi, Jennifer.
I was in Cesky Krumlov September 24th & 25th (as part of RSE Berlin/Prague/Vienna tour, plus additional days on either end on my own). Possibly the highlight of the whole 3-week experience was my rafting trip from Voroplavba Wooden Raft Sightseeing in Cesky Krumlov. Michael provided information such as how the rafts are built, history of boating/boaters on the Vltava over the centuries, description of all castles/houses/breweries along the way. Reflections on the water were unmatched.
Since I was the only passenger, he navigated the front and aft of the boat alone by very adeptly walking back and forth.
Spoiler alert: mid-way down river, a woman in traditional Czech dress stands with a tray, serving you a drink as you raft over to retrieve it.
Lovely experience and recommend Voroplavba in Cesky Krumlov.