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Central Europe itinerary

Posted by NC (OH) on 03/05/26 09:29 PM

Hello! After a long break, the European travel bug has called and we are more than happy to oblige. Looking at Central Europe this time. Here is our preliminary : Fly into Budapest (3 nts) with day trip to Lake Balaton/Danube bend cruise, train to Vienna (4 nts) with d/t to Melk, train to Salzburg (2 nts),
train to Prague (4 nts), d/t to Kutna Hora. Should we do 1 night in Cesky Krumlov or add that 1 nt to Prague and do it as day trip? Our flight back home from Prague leaves at 10am. Thanks all!

Posted by GeoffB

below Canada / above Mexico

03/05/26 11:06 PM

356 posts

Based on our 2025 experience, I would do Salzburg-->Cesky Krumlov (stay overnight)--> Prague, riding CK Shuttle on both legs; we did the reverse direction. CK's door-to-door service really saved us time.
More info is in our trip reports (also including TR covering Budapest, Hungary, our first stop):

Posted by Mr É 🇺🇸 🇺🇦 🇭🇺

Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest

03/05/26 11:19 PM

25620 posts

Fly into Budapest (3 nts) with day trip to Lake Balaton/Danube bend
cruise,

You realize that the area of the city of interest to tourists is 7 timrs larger than that of either Vienna or Prague? 3 nights is two full days, one day going to Balaton and one day going to the Danube Bend. So, you really never see Budapest. That would take 3 full days alone. Skip the day trips and add a night.

train to Vienna (4 nts) with d/t to Melk,

The daytrip to Melk is stretching iy a bit. Just stay in Vienna.

train to Salzburg (2 nts),

You are adding about 5 hours of travel time to the trip with this detour. More like 7 with the time to and from the train stations. Salzburg is nice but does not begin to compare to the other cities.

train to Prague (4 nts), d/t to Kutna Hora.

Yes, sure. Of the 3 Prague takes the least amount of time.

Should we do 1 night in Cesky Krumlov or add that 1 nt to Prague and
do it as day trip?

You should add it to Budapest.

Our flight back home from Prague leaves at 10am. Thanks all!

Add 3 more nights to the trip and Salzburg and Cesky Krumlov work.

Posted by kmkwoo

Massachusetts, USA

03/05/26 11:24 PM

2238 posts

Three nights in Budapest is very, very little time, especially since you want to take a daytrip to Lake Balaton. That gives you only one whole day in Budapest. I wouldn't really count arrival day because you will have jetlag, and you will most likely arrive later in the day. We spent 5 nights in Budapest, and we didn't see everything. I originally thought we would take a daytrip to Szentendre, but we nixed that idea almost as soon as we arrived in Budapest and discovered what a wonderful, beautiful, and interesting city it is.

Would you consider eliminating Salzburg from your itinerary? And add those 2 nights to Budapest?

We spent 2 nights in CK, and we loved it. It's so beautiful in the evening when the castle is illuminated. One of my favorite travel memories is having drinks outdoors at night while admiring the gorgeous castle. I would spend at least one night in CK.

Posted by jkh

Northwest Arkansas

03/06/26 12:00 AM

1056 posts

I suggest that you list for yourself what you want to see and do in each city and look at how much time your are spending getting from one place to another. For example, you will spend the better part of a day seeing Melk. Well worth if if you want to see Melk. Not at all worth it if you don't have any interest in a Baroque Abbey. I know this may sound obvious, but my wife and I and friends we travel with all have different views on what is worth seeing.

IMO one or two days is enough time in a place where you only want to see one or two sites. Conversely, you can spend a week each in Budapest, Vienna or Prague if you want to see and experience all that those cities have to offer.

Posted by Mr É 🇺🇸 🇺🇦 🇭🇺

Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest

03/06/26 12:21 AM

25620 posts

What time of year?

Posted by acraven

Washington DC

03/06/26 03:24 AM

30307 posts

I totally agree with the other responses about how much there is to see in the three capitals. I would certainly not land in Budapest and leave three days later after having taken a day trip somewhere. Furthermore, I've been to Lake Balaton and was seriously underwhelmed. I don't doubt that points of interest can be found if you have time and a car, but otherwise, it was one of the least interesting side trips I've taken in Europe (and I've taken many of them). Hungary has, in my view, many far more interesting destinations than Lake Balaton.

Posted by Mr É 🇺🇸 🇺🇦 🇭🇺

Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest

03/06/26 07:08 AM

25620 posts

Acraven, it isn't 3 days, its 3 nights.

Arrive Bpest about 14:00, checkin about 16:00.
Dinner, force to stay awake, bed (Night 1)

Trip to Balaton after breakfast. Back to hotel 18:00. Dinner, bed. (Night 2)

Danube Bend Cruise. No idea the description on that. Let's say to Szentendre on train and boat back. 6 hours plus a half day sight seeing in Bpest (Night 3)

Depart.

For Balaton, Tihany is lovely and worth a visit after about a week in Bpest.

But each to their own. Maybe this works for reasons not apparent.