9 days: Budapest/Vienna/Prague. How should I allocate them?

I feel that each of these cities deserves at least 3 days. So I would go for 3/3/3.

We have done this three cities recently. We liked Budapest the most, then Prague and the least exciting was Vienna... We usually try to do a trip out of the capitals, so we can have a bit of feeling about the country itself.

I would suggest:

2 full days in Vienna - one for Hofburg and the sights out of the center and one for the city center.

3 full days for Prague - one for the castle, one for the old town and one for a tour to Kutna Hora -> ( http://www.viator.com/tours/Prague/Kutna-Hora-Day-Trip-from-Prague/d462-2190CEDT10 ).

4 full days in Budapest - one for the Castle, one in the City Park and Andrassy Avenue, one for the Jewish District and Southern Pest and one for a trip to the Danube Bend -> ( http://www.budapesting.com/tours )

Wherever you start I suggest you to use train between Prague and Vienna and between Budapest - Prague and Budapest - Vienna the best option is the www.orangeways.com bus company.

You can also save up time with spending a night on a train between Budapest and Vienna or between Vienna and Prague...

We stayed at the Castle Steps in Prague: http://www.castlesteps.com/
In Budapest with Budapesting.com at the King's Court:
http://www.budapesting.com/_kings_court
In Vienna we had friends, so we stayed with them.

We plan to return to the region in 2010, we plan to use Budapest as a base and visit the Hungarian countryside (Balaton, Eger, Pecs -cultural capital of Europe in 2010-) also Transylvania and Slovenia/Croatia and maybe Bosnia, I'm recently doing some research on all places.

3 nights in each place would be fine. I was in all 3 this past May and stayed 4 nights. I spent one day on a day excursion and for the remaining 3 days I saw everything I wanted to see and still had lots of down time.

For a first trip I think 3/3/3 would be a very good way to plan. You'll find plenty to do to keep you busy for three days in each of them. You should have an exciting time - I think that it is a good idea to take these three together.

I just did this loop in August. To do it over, I would have spent less time in Prague and way more in Budapest (so I am going back To Budapest later this year as 4 days there didn't cut it for me).

With 9 days, I'd split it as Peter suggests or I'd do 5 days Budapest, 1 day Vienna, and 3 in Prague.

Vienna is very city like and urban, it was our least favorite place. Budapest is huge and has a surprising amount to see and do. Prague is nice, but its a lot smaller and we felt that the 4 days we spent there was about 1.5 to 2 days too many. Of course we are the type of people who get out of our hotel by 7am and don't come back until way late, so I guess it depends on how full you like your days and also what you are interested in seeing.

Have a great time!

I think I'd be inclined to give shorter shrift to Vienna, too. I'm not all that crazy about bombastic baroque statues and architecture, so a day and a half of it would have been fine. Your tastes may differ, though. I would strongly recommend the boat-train trip on the Danube to Melk Abbey as a side trip though. It's one of the loveliest stretches of the Danube, and the Abbey has been lavishly restored. Prague is worth three days and a side trip to Kutna Hora is easy to arrange there. Budapest is harder to see in a short time--more spread out and the Buda side is hilly so walking is a bit slower.

I have spent a lot of time in each of these cities and would strongly recommend more time in Budapest - beauty, culture, spas, the Paris on the Danube. Frankly, I find Vienna boring and still 19th century. With the exception of the pastries, I would even skip it. Prague is hauntingly gorgeous.

I would definitely add a day to Budapest and take one from Vienna. As mentioned by a previous poster, Budapest is large and fairly spread out, so it takes a little longer to experience. Prague is amazing (though I'm biased as it's one of my favorite cities) and deserves at least three days.

I would also recommend spending less time in Prague and more time in Budapest. Or maybe do a day trip from Prague on 1/3 days as suggested by another poster.

I wish I'd had time to visit the Danube Bend!

I like the suggestion of adding a day trip from Prague. Their are a number of easy options would bring another flavor to your trip. Kutna Hora would be a fine choice.

I think 3/3/3 is fine. All 3 cities are great to visit. I don't get the knocks on Vienna by some of the other posters. Vienna is terrific with multiple interesting things to see. The Museum of Fine Arts, just for one example, is one of the greatest museums in the world. You could easily spend half a day just there. One tip: I think you'll get maximum enjoyment out of Vienna if you stay at a hotel in the pedestrian zone.

Take a day off from Vienna and add the Danube Bend, that would make the trip more complete, as you could see some smaller towns also and beautiful landscapes.

I'm with Claire: three in Budapest, two in the others, and two in the Bend. If you wanted to cut Vienna to a lunch stop, that would be fine as far as I'm concerned.

My wife and I are going to Budapest in May and enjoy reading the posts on it.We have been in both Vienna and Prague and would go 3-3-3.In Prague there is a day on the hill at the castle,another at old town and another to Kutna Hora.Vienna offers the hofburg,the opera house with performances,Schonbrun Palace,Prater park with the ferris wheel,St Stevens cathedral,the museum of art.You can also go to the wine bars in the Vienna woods called heurigen,food also served

mike shingle springs,ca

We plan to visit Budapest, Prague and Krakow or Vienna at the beginning of next year and currently reading through the threads! If anyone can give us info on which is a better choice - Krakow or Vienna, that would be very helpful. We like history, but I guess both places have a lot of historical sights ;)

Wow, I would say give Vienna three days! It is an amazing city, especially if you have any interest in music history. I have been there many times and would still find only 3 days too little. If i had to do it, it would be:

Day 1 - Schoenbrunn palace
Day 2 - Art History Museum (can take a whole day)
Day 3 - Belvedere Palace and major cathedrals

Can't forget the Hofburg estate, the parks, composers' houses, and just having time to hang out in cafes.

Love Melk as well.

Agree with more time in Budapest, less in Vienna and 3 in Prague. We took a riverboat cruise on the Danube to a smaller village which was also wonderful. I am a photographer so tend to see things a little differently sometimes, but Budapest is my new favorite European city and Prague is 2nd. You can see some of my trip photos at terrykathrynlawrence.com to see why I love Budapest.
You will get a good overview of all the cities. Be sure to go to a Marionette show in Prague and the market in Budapest. Have a great time.

I had 6 days in Vienna last summer and could have had more. If you like anything cultural you'll like Vienna. I'd stick with 3/3/3 so you can judge for yourself.

Adam - this is why it is always better to start a new thread. People are answering the year-old question instead of your current one.

Try again. I did Budapest/Vienna/Prague in 12 days, didn't consider Krakow for that trip simply because it was further away and I couldn't work out a reasonable open-jaw flight plan. I have heard only good things about Krakow and it is still on my list.

We are planning a similar route next June, but are considering a stop in Bratislava as well.

We just returned from that same trip. We did B-3, V-2, P-3 and really needed 1 more day in each city. Loved Budapest, then Prague, least Vienna.

Well, Bratislava does not really worth the stop, maybe an afternoon or a full day, but definitely not 2-3 days.