Advice on a September 2016 trip to Central/Eastern Europe

Why not? Sounds like a totally doable and enjoyable trip. Good luck with the trains!

BTW, I recommend arriving at the Salt Mine about 15 minutes before they open. If you get on an early tour you'll be headed back to Krakow while still relatively early in the morning. The lines can start to get lengthy fast in the morning.

I would spend at least one full day more in Warsaw than Krakow (Warsaw is much larger, more spread out, and has many more attractions; Krakow is a considerably smaller and more compact scale). I think 2 full days is too short - this is a major capital city with lots to do (including some places that most tourists don't see). Have you considered seeing the Polin Museum of the History of American Jews in Warsaw? It's a fairly new museum and gets very favorable ratings. In addition to the Rising (not Uprising - I don't know why Tripadvisor calls it that) Museum, those two are must sees (IMHO).

http://www.polin.pl/en
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g274856-Activities-Warsaw_Mazovia_Province_Central_Poland.html

Growing up in Warsaw as a child, I would also highly recommend strolls through Lazienki Park (one of the highlights of the city and beloved by locals and tourists alike) and Saski Garden (Saxon Garden with Tomb of the Unknown Soldier), and perhaps also seeing the Wilanow Palace Museum. All of these are bus/walk/transit accessible.

The train from Warsaw to Krakow will be a piece of cake - nothing to worry about. Look up Pol Rail for tickets. No need to buy way ahead of time.

http://www.polrail.com/en

Rick has excellent tours (so I hear). The only issue I see is that you go from Prague to Budapest then back to Vienna; but that’s minor. At $2,200 per person it’s a bargain.

If you do go, make sure you spend an extra night at the tail end for Budapest as 2 days really isn’t enough.

If you tried to copy the RS tour Budapest would cost well over $500 per person on a double occupancy basis; and as much as $900 if you did it up first class.

I’ve been to Prague a few times but I am no expert but I imagine that the RS tour of Prague will run maybe 15% more per day than the Budapest end, so maybe $750 to $1400.

Then throw in another $100 pp for trains and the full 8 days might range from $1350 for a RS sort of trip to $2400 for a higher end trip with 4 star hotels and private guides, etc (per person, double occupancy). But you don’t get any of the RS Added Value or the “Back Door” experience.

Budapest Shakes out like this more or less:

3 nights’ hotel

$150 total for a RS hotel pp double occupancy as they say
$250 for a very, very good 4 star hotel (depending on season) pp double occupancy as they say

Buda Castle district and Matthias Church tour

$10 (tip on a free half day walking tour)
$150 Full Day private tour pp double occupancy as they say

Pest walking tour • St. István's Basilica • Great Market Hall
$10 (tip on a free half day walking tour)
$110 Half Day private tour pp double occupancy as they say

Hungarian cooking class (not sure if it’s a good idea on such a short stay)
$100 without a tour of the market or $125 with a shopping tour of the great market (for two)
http://budapestcookingclass.com/cooking-class/

Hungarian State Opera tour
$15 including a mini concert.

Heroes Square walking tour
$10 (tip on a free half day walking tour)
$110 Half Day private tour pp double occupancy as they say

1 hour Danube cruise
$110 for a 2 hour dinner cruise

3-day Budapest transportation pass
$15

Thanks willhaysnoe for the tip about touring the salt mine. We have been considering a guided tour for that thinking that having the transportation from Krakow included would be worth it.

Good thoughts Agnes. It is great to hear from a native on the subject. I didn't consider the logistics of getting around Warsaw as to its size, just thought that from Krakow we want to visit Auschwitz and the salt mine and still have time to enjoy the city itself. But as I checked out the links you suggested and took another look at Warsaw I can see that we need to consider the time we plan there.

James what a great breakdown of the cost of a DYI visit to Prague and Budapest! Yes, I believe that a RS tour of these cities is a very good value. Having experienced a tour of Italy last year with this group, we know what kind of attention to detail and consideration the tour members receive making it a desirable way to travel.

Pat,
It seems like you can get tickets to the salt mine beforehand and it's easy enough to get there via public transport. You don't necessarily need a tour just to get you there (once there, you do go with a group since it's not an unsupervised tour).
http://www.wieliczka-saltmine.com/visiting/visitor-s-guide/how-to-get-to-the-mine/how-to-get-to-the-mine-tourist-route
When I said Warsaw is big, I meant relative to Krakow - it's definitely not as overwhelming and packed with stuff to see as say Berlin, but it still takes a bit of time to get from place to place. It's well connected by trams and a metro (more limited than the trams) but both are cheap and frequent.

Since you're flying into Warsaw first, I would do the easy/walking strolls on the first day while you're getting over jetlag. The Rising Museum (and Polin Museum) is very intensive visually and requires a lot of reading, so best to save for the following day.

Pat just a comment on Warsaw. Agnes is right about it being a bigger city with lots of things to see, but not but not necessarily big in getting around. You can walk from the old town square, past the castle (not worth going into, IMO) and then down one of the prettiest and most charming pedestrian friendly streets for a long way, with tons if shops and restaurants, the University, and a church with Chopin's heart in the wall. So if you pick a hotel on or near that main drag, much of it is walkable. The monument to the unknown and various other monuments are a few blocks west of the main road (it changes its name a few times over its length) and gets prettier as you go south. The Rising museum is a bit of an outlier, but very worth it.

We downloaded and used the guides "In Your pocket: Warsaw, and In Your pocket: Krakow" as good reference.s The website has interactive maps that can pinpoint the attractions, restaurants, hotels, etc for you.

PS LOT airlines (United partner) flies direct to/from Warsaw from Chicago.

I also suggest spending another day in Warsaw, and strongly suggest seeing the Museum of the History of Polish Jews. I particularly enjoyed the National Gallery, easily walkable from the Old Town area, discovered many wonderful Polish artists of the Mloda Polska era (Art Nouveau and Secession in France and Vienna, respectively). Warsaw was fun to explore on foot, lots of places to sit and observe, plenty of good restaurants and I usually visited Green Caffe Nero every morning for a latte and scrumptious sweet or savory pastries.

The train to Krakow was quick and easy, and you even get free beverages served in 2nd class. I bought my ticket ahead of time on the Polrail site, perhaps $20 US. You'll want at least 3 full days in Krakow if you're doing Auschwitz and the salt mines, too. Krakow is even more fabulous to explore on foot, I had 4 days there and felt that was about right. Don't miss a chance to have a meal in the Rynek Glowny (main square) at the stand where they're grilling all kinds of meat--within an hour of arriving I was digging in to an enormous kielbasa with potatoes and a beer. The Kazimierz district is quite interesting as well and you can walk it from Old Town, I spent a lot of time there and they have a great ethnographic museum.

Vienna is also a very compact and easily walkable city, with a very efficient U-bahn system to save your feet. Do some research to see if any of their incredible museums appeal to you--I visited 10, and saved the Kunsthistoriches for another trip. Schonnbrun is worth a consideration, too, found that more interesting than the Hofburg.

how about Munich for Oktoberfest

If you have a plan to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau camp i recommend to book a trip with some company. There is a one big reason, if would you like to visit both camps with the guide you will have to book now. The musuem cut down visiting camp. I recommend to check musuem website www.visit.auschwitz.org if the tickets for a tour will be available you should book. If will be impossible, i recommend to use company Krakowdiscovery. They have a regular English speaking guide in Auschwitz everyday so they can help you.