Eastern Europe Tour: What to do, what not to do?

There are at least 3 scrapbooks on Eastern Europe on this page. I think you may find looking at them helpful.
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/scrapbooks

We took that tour about 6 years ago. My suggestions: in Prague, tour the Jewish cemetery and synagogues (we actually did this the day before the tour started I believe); we, and many others from our tour, went to the baths in Budapest -- great fun; at Lake Bled, we walked around the lake as it was a gorgeous day--others on our tour took the bobsled-thing and seemed to love it.

We did the Eastern Europe tour in 2013, so quite a while ago. It was a great tour! Our tour guide, Etelka was wonderful!

We also went in early. We planned the tour with a couple that we had met on a previous tour. The day before the tour started we went to the Jewish cemetery and synagogue. It was very interesting. In Budapest on a free afternoon Etelka announced that she was going to the baths and would accompany anyone who wished to go. My husband and I were the only ones who went with her! Lucky us. We had a great time.

In Bled we walked around the lake. At the end of the tour I had booked train tickets for us and the other couple I mentioned to Munich. We spent 4 days in Munich at a B & B that had been recommended highly on this forum. Unfortunately the lovely owner has retired and closed. One of the things we went to see in Munich that doesn't get much mentioned often on the Forum was the small museum at the college. They have a museum about the resistance group of students and a Professor against the Nazis. The two best known students were Sophie and Hans Scholl, sister and brother. You can imagine the outcome. The museum is a small one room At the time we were there there was no charge but a glass jar on the desk for donations. We all thought it was very interesting. Especially since we had been to Auschwitz and Birkenau on this tour. We flew home from Munich direct to Denver. It was a great tour! Have Fun and I'll look for your trip report.

Have fun, and your tour guide will also have suggestions on how to spend your free time.

Thanks everyone! Keep the great ideas coming! Especially anything shopping and food related. 😋

I don't do trip reports on the RS site as i have my own blog and will share that privately if anybody wants to see it after my tour. Some of the content may not be PC. 😉

Krakow::Our guide made arrangements for those of us interested, a Jewish dinner with Jewish musicians. Very nice evening.
Bus from Poland to Hungary: you’re in the mountains, so wifi was slim to sporty. Tips read, do photos, nap.

I've not taken the tour but I looked at the itinerary.

I full day in Prague is crazy shirt and I'm not a huge Prague fan and I sm still saying it's not enough. So arrive 2 days early.

2 full days in Budapest is also crazy short, but it's in the middle of tge trip so you have no choice. You really need one or two more days. Also there is a warning about all the hills and steps you have to climb in Pest. There are no hills in Pest. Same warning for Buda, and while Buda is on a hill, with just one day, you will spend the majority of the time on the top of the hill .... unless a guide elects to walk you up the hill or back to the river instead of the funicular.

I second the recommendation to arrive in Prague a few days early! We took this tour in 2018 and were lucky enough to spend 5 days in Vienna and 2 days In Cesky Krumlov, then a couple of days in Prague prior to the tour. In Prague we booked a small group day tour to Terezin with Pavel Batel. It was something I will remember the rest of my life. Pavel knows so much history and is the most amazing storyteller! We also contacted Jason, who does day tours in Prague. We told him ahead of time what was on our RS itinerary, and he took us to a number of places that we wouldn’t see on the tour. Another suggestion would be to stay in a different part of Prague prior to the tour. We stayed in the Lesser Quarter, an easy walk to the bridge or the castle, and not as congested and touristy as the Old Town area you’ll stay in on the tour. Make dinner reservations ahead in Prague.

In Krakow, we loved wandering in the main square. We also visited the Schindler Museum, which is excellent. We had dinner with klezmer music in the Jewish Quarter.

Ljubljana is a lovely city and you might want to consider returning there at the end of the tour. We did that, and then booked a car and driver (there were 5 of us traveling together, which made all of this quite affordable) for the 4 hour drive to Venice. We spent 4 days in Venice before returning home.

additional tip: if you want to visit the interior of the parliament building in Budapest, book in advance. We didn’t, but we able to join a French language tour that had space available.
I think my blog from the trip is still live albeit dated. Send me a pm if interested.

For those who suggested I arrive early or stay longer in some cities, I unfortunately don't have that option because I'm not yet retired and I am doing the Rick Steves tour, not going on my own. The best I can do is arrive a day early on the front end. 😊

Howdy Jill,
I just went on this tour. I posted my scrapbook. I am happy to answer any questions you may have. You can pm me. As to what to do... First, I want to say our guides were great about giving advice on what was going on around us each day.

I also agree that you should visit the Jewish Museum in Prague. You said you didn't have extra time. We did this in the morning before the tour started. It was a Sunday. So it worked out great. This was a must see in my opinion. We went to Strahov Monastery after the tour on the first full day. We had lunch and my husband wanted to try their beer. It was a lovely afternoon. In Eger, my husband did a long walk around the city. I chose to go to the baths in our hotel. It is a lovely small town and walkable. This is a place that would be easy to souvenir shop. We had an excellent lunch in the square. Budapest... This one is tough. I could have spent a month here. In our free time we went to the top of St. Stephen's for a beautiful view of the city. Near the Parliament Building, on the Danube is the shoe memorial. It is something that I will always remember. We also walked to the market and had a great time looking around (food/shopping). I think only one couple went to the baths in Budapest. We all got to see it on a walk. If I had more time there, I would have gone. In Croatia, several of us took the ferry over to the old town early in the morning and walked around. It is a lovely city. (This was my favorite food/shopping spot.) In Ljubljana, we didn't have a lot of time. But we spent ours walking through the farmers market. In Lake Bled, we walked the loop around the lake. It was so beautiful watching the sun set and the lights come on (and I took a million photos.) We stayed an extra day. There is a small downtown area with a great bakery. We also really enjoyed the pizza place. We hiked up to the castle for the views. We didn't tour it. Hope that answers your question.

I was on that tour in Sept 2023. In Prague-- be aware of Jewish Holidays. We were there during Yom Kippur and the synagoge and surrounding areas of interest were closed.

The main shopping street is Paris street. You can go down Paris street to get to the Jewish area.

Krakow-- Oskar Schindler enamel factory--tix must be purchased in advanced. It was an amazing place of history. It is not part of the RS tour. Walking back to the hotel from here was fun.

Budapest--there is a great shopping area near the Matthias church. For nice Slovenian souveniers, the gift shop at the church you visit in Lake Bled is the best place to get some nice things that are made in Slovenia. We got a beautiful crystal bud vase representing Bohemian crystal.

I too posted a scrapbook with more details.

Thanks for these great ideas! Looks like Yom Kippur is after our time in Prague and our visit to Auschwitz, so we should be good.

For anyone who mentioned they have a scrapbook, can you please share the links so I can find them more easily? Thanks!

@Jill M,

Here is a link to mine:
https://rnoren0.wixsite.com/ricksteveseasterneur

Does anyone else who was on this tour in the past few months have new info to share? My tour departs on September 17th.

Looking for more fun/quirky ideas...not museums and cathedrals/churches. In Prague, I found a naughty waffle shop, in Krakow I found a bunny cafe. 😁

(I was replying to your other post, now deleted? Hopefully this comes through)

Some of these require reservations, so it might be too late for your trip. And they might not meet your definition of off the beaten path or quirky, but they are things I enjoyed on my own time.

• Prague - get up at sunrise to walk the Charles Bridge before it is too crowded. Behind the scenes tour of the Municipal House (art deco) was fantastic. Climb the Petrin tower, take the funicular back down to town.
• Krakow - A commie tour with Crazy Guides.
• Slovakia - no free time here, you just drive through.
• Budapest - Szechenyi baths, even though that might be "traditional" it was a highlight of my entire trip. I also got cheap seats to the opera so I could see the building.
• Croatia - you don't have free time really at Plitvice, and the tour goes to a different island than I did in 2012, sorry no ideas for you here.
• Slovenia - I had fun riding the toboggan at Lake Bled (it might be closed by the time you get there though). Do not miss the cream cake.

Have a wonderful trip, this was one of my favorite tours.

@CL thank you so much! Yes I deleted the other one because I had forgotten I already had a topic on this. Doh!