River cruise or bus tour

[Linda74]

A few places still left on my bucket list.... Budapest, Kraków Vienna. Have a quote for an Avalon cruise but no Kraków. Trafalgar has a bus tour including all and a revisit to Prague but it is their "Cost Saver's" level. Afraid some hotels are not city center and three star. In the past, when my dear husband was alive, would have planned all and driven place to place. I have spent innumerable hours researching and still can't decide. Being on a bus or high/low water levels on Danube. Maybe one of my fellow Tugger's have done a similar tour. Have made many trips to Europe, these are just spots I have missed.

 

[tstired]

You might try Viking River Cruise that has extended trip to Krakow or Grand Circle Travel or Vantage Travel. The river cruises are great! However, it would be a motorcoach to Krakow any way you go. Try Globus for a land tour--same company as Avalon. Too high or too low water levels always a chance. Good luck.

 

[PStreet1]

Take a look at Gate One: https://www.gate1travel.com/

We were very, very impressed, and I was sure that a guided tour of any sort would definitely not be anything I would like: I loved it. On the tour, most of the people were repeaters with Gate 1, and I think that's high praise.

I would suggest making sure any tour that you do has several nights in the same place and a minimum of "check-in, sleep, get the bags out for tomorrow" stops; that kind of schedule would be wearing I think.

We did our first river cruise (and it will be our last) from Budapest to Prague and experienced the low water problem on the Danube, but that isn't why we won't do another one. It is true that you stop every day at someplace on the river, but you need to know that, for the most part, the major sights aren't "right on the river." You'll be getting off the ship and boarding a bus to go to Salsberg, boarding a bus to go to Vienna, etc. The little towns that are supposed to be so quaint and untouched are indeed small--but they have one or two or three river boats tying up each day and boatloads of tourists flooding their one or two quaint little streets. To believe they aren't touched by tourists is to be blind--and there really isn't that much to see in them: they are little towns, little towns in Europe, but still little towns. They may have a great view or a neat church, but 1, 2, or 3 boatloads of tourists are going to be tramping in to see whatever they have. We liked our ship; we liked the food; we liked the service; we liked the people we met----we didn't like "spending more time being there than getting there" because--for us--it just didn't really seem like the ads paint it. For us, it's better to go to the place we actually want to see and see it.

 

[elaine]

one thing to consider: on a bus tour, you HAVE to be on the bus and cannot sleep in late, rest for the day, etc. if the bus is going to the next destination. My relative had a sinus infection and just wanted to rest up, but had to drag on on the bus tour and had a miserable time. On a river cruise, you can skip an excursion if you are tired, don't feel well, etc. We are not early risers, and getting up at 7AM (which my friends had to do on their bus tour) to eat and go is not a vacation for me. I would be OK for a few special excursions, but other days, I like to linger over coffee and watch scenery as much as go on an organized tour.

 

[Passepartout]

Some years ago, we did just such a tour with Grand Circle Tours that hit all the cities you listed plus Prague & Warsaw. It was called 'leisure paced' and stayed about 3 days in each city. They gave us a 1/2 day city tour in each city, and showed how to use the metro system. Then we were on our own if we wished, or there were day trips with the tour leader. The hotels were at least 4 star Hilton/Marriott quality, and there were interesting stops between major cities- Auschwitz, Brno, Brataslava. We traveled with them again and with their 'small group' arm, Overseas Adventure Travel.

The link is www.gct.com and the tour is called 'Best of Eastern Europe'

Jim

 

[Ron98GT]

Afraid some hotels are not city center and three star.

A 3 star European hotel would be comparable to a 2 star hotel in the USA: No Way. Stick with at least 4 star hotels.

River cruises can be very costly, but you do get a lot for the money, at least we did with AmaWaterways.

 

["Roger"]

As long as people are mentioning possible tour companies, Tauck (very high end - they do creature comforts well) has a tour that includes the three cities mentioned plus Warsaw and Prague.

Road Scholar, which is much less expensive but often has some really good guides, has a trip that covers just Prague and Budapest. Ten days so it will not just be a quick look at either of these cities.

 

[Pompey Family]

A 3 star European hotel would be comparable to a 2 star hotel in the USA: No Way. Stick with at least 4 star hotels..

That's not my experience.

 

[Ron98GT]

That's not my experience.

Hmmm. I've found that in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the UK, European 3 star hotels are old, small (tiny), and very noisy.

But then some people don't mind staying in a Motel 6 or Super 8 equivalent hotel in Europe. I like Marriott, Hilton, & Weston US equivalent.

In April, we stayed in some Crowne Plaza Hotels in Portugal and Spain that were nice, but made the mistake of staying in a Marriott AC Carlton, which sucked.

 

[PStreet1]

Back to my praise for Gate 1. A person we know well--who used to organize private, independent tours for Bali and Indonesia--says "Gate 1 is top notch," and we found it to be so. We were always in 4 or 5* hotels (along with people on the other tours mentioned on this thread), yet we paid 1/2 the price they did.

This is the review I wrote on Trip Advisor of our hotel in Prague:

Luxurious Charm Combined with Old World Service”
5 of 5 starsReviewed November 11, 2015
If you are looking for luxury and style combined with 5 star service, the Art Deco Imperial Hotel is the right place to be. As you enter the lobby, off to the left, you see the Cafe Imperial, a world famous example of art deco. Everything is done in white, blue and yellow, and everything is exquisite. To the left, you see the front desk, and to the left of the front desk, and toward the elevators, is a quiet bar which serves as a good people watching spot. There's even a library to the left of the bar. In short, the entrance sets the mood.

Every member of the staff speaks beautiful English and does everything possible to ensure you have a happy stay.

We were smiling as we left the desk and headed for our room, but when we opened the door, our smiles turned to amazement: we had a small couch and coffee table; we had a computer desk that was actually the right height--and free internet. The bathroom was all gorgeous quartz, and the vanity area actually had room to put our items on it without filling it up. As we continued to explore our room, we discovered that we also had a half bath in the "living area;" and everything was beautifully decorated.

In short, I can't imagine finding anything to complain about at this hotel; for us, it was perfection.

Stayed October 2015, traveled as a couple

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUse...-Art_Deco_Hotel_Imperial-Prague_Bohemia.html#

In Budapest, we were in the Hilton. We booked a few extra nights independently with our Gate 1 travel agent for the tour, and were amazed: the Hilton, with a fabulous full breakfast, for about $100.00 a night--and since we've Hilton Gold, we also had access to the executive lounge with free dinner (the buffet had salads/maincourse items/and desserts)and drinks. When I priced the Hilton myself, that definitely wasn't the rate I could get.

 

[Pompey Family]

Hmmm. I've found that in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the UK, European 3 star hotels are old, small (tiny), and very noisy.

But then some people don't mind staying in a Motel 6 or Super 8 equivalent hotel in Europe. I like Marriott, Hilton, & Weston US equivalent.

In April, we stayed in some Crowne Plaza Hotels in Portugal and Spain that were nice, but made the mistake of staying in a Marriott AC Carlton, which sucked.

A prime example of contrasts was my experience of Hilton Homewood Suites. The one I stayed at in Dallas was superb, huge modern rooms and good amenities. The one in Austin a few days later was akin to a motel, small, tired and dated.

One thing that can be guaranteed is that the concierge lounges in European Marriott's (and elsewhere in the world) are head and shoulders above their American counterparts.

 

[PStreet1]

I've found all the lounges in European hotels to be vastly superior to American hotel lounges.

 

[Linda74]

Went with a river cruise on Avalon. Free airfare and $1000 off per person. Arriving in Budapest two days early and will book my own hotel. Just have to do Kraków another time. So far Puerto Vallarta, Palm Springs, Ca. and this cruise booked for first 6 mos. of 2017. Looks to be a good start:hysterical:

 

[PStreet1]

Went with a river cruise on Avalon. Free airfare and $1000 off per person. Arriving in Budapest two days early and will book my own hotel. Just have to do Kraków another time. So far Puerto Vallarta, Palm Springs, Ca. and this cruise booked for first 6 mos. of 2017. Looks to be a good start:hysterical:

Don't be afraid to try the baths in Budapest; they are definitely part of the experience, as is the House of Terror. Despite its name, it is an important museum--it is, indeed, a house of terror, and the inhumanity and senselessness of it all is hard to look at, but it's still important.

 

[x3 skier]

Went with a river cruise on Avalon. Free airfare and $1000 off per person. Arriving in Budapest two days early and will book my own hotel. Just have to do Kraków another time. So far Puerto Vallarta, Palm Springs, Ca. and this cruise booked for first 6 mos. of 2017. Looks to be a good start:hysterical:

I stayed in the Hilton in Buda. Great view looking down on Pest. The Funicular down to the Chain bridge is a hoot. There's a couple of walking tours that I enjoyed.

Cheers

 

[Pompey Family]

Don't be afraid to try the baths in Budapest; they are definitely part of the experience

Couldn't agree more. We spent an entire day at the Széchenyi Baths and loved trying out all the different temperature plunge pools, vortex pool and chess in the outdoor pools. Had a very good massage too which was very inexpensive.

Personally, I don't think a trip to Budapest is complete without a visit to the baths, a definite must do.

 

[PStreet1]

I stayed in the Hilton in Buda. Great view looking down on Pest. The Funicular down to the Chain bridge is a hoot. There's a couple of walking tours that I enjoyed.

Cheers

There are two Hilton's, one in Buda and one in Pest. We stayed in the Pest one, and particularly liked the fact that we could walk inside, through the mall, to the public transit and avoid the rain. That's the one that had the spectacular breakfast included, and for Gold and above members, the evening cocktails and meal.

 

[SciTchr]

We will be on Uniworld's Maria Theresa from Passau to Budapest in the spring of 2017. I just booked a sweet apartment in Pest in just the location I wanted. We like having an apartment (used to timeshare condos) with a kitchen. There are tons of nice apartments in Budapest on Air BnB and VRBO. Rick Steve's guidebook is very helpful too. There is so much to do in Budapest. Looking forward to it!