I will be on the 8-day Rick Steves trip, Prague & Budapest in Sept. I'm not able to find out if his bus between the cites makes any stops between the two cities. The reason I ask is because I'll be in Prague several days before the official trip starts, consequently I'd like to see some of the sites outside Prague before the trip starts (Kutna Hora or Karlstejn Castle) on my own, but not any that his bus may stop at on the way to Budapest. Have you done this strip? What's your experience with the bus route?
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
2341 posts
I haven't been on this trip, but having experienced 4 RS tours (including Best of E. Europe), I know you will make more than a stop or two on the way. The itinerary lists 7 hours on the bus - and my experience is they stop about every two hours on a long bus day. It is highly unlikely that stop will be at Kutna Hora or Karlstejn Castle - too close to Prague to be the first pit stop. I visited Kutna Hora before my tour started and enjoyed it. Have you called the RS offices? Though they might not know precisely where you will stop, I suspect they can give you a rough guess of your route.
Posted by
Seattle
4637 posts
Bus will certainly stop for few short breaks. My educated guess is that there will be no sightseeing because 7 hours between Prague and Budapest is just a drive. Bus will almost certainly go on freeway (to make it in 7 hours). Karlstejn is southwest of Prague, Kutna Hora to the east, freeway go southeast. Brno and Bratislava will be on your way but I doubt you will stop there. That would take more than 7 hours. You can do Karlstejn and Kutna Hora on your own.
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
17918 posts
Its actually a little less than a 5 hour drive so my guess is, yes, they will be stopping to see something but any guess would be a wild guess. Brno, Bratislava, Gyor are all on the main route.
Posted by
OP
Seattle
36 posts
Thanks, everyone!
Posted by
Texan in CA
4407 posts
According to the itinerary...no. You should call the Tours Dept. for more info, though.
Posted by
NYC
922 posts
The RS published tour itineraries don't state everything that happens on a given tour. There are often stops along the way to break up long bus rides. The suggestion to call the Tour Dept. to ask about your particular tour is good advice. We did things on the tours I've been on that were not the same as what happened on other instances of the same tour, such as stopping at different places for picnics, etc. I wouldn't count on having enough time to site see on your own, though.