DANUBE RIVER CRUISES
Budapest to Prague
There are many itineraries on the Danube River. This article is about one of the three Danube cruises I’ve done personally: Budapest to Prague. I’ll tell you what I experienced but you should do what interests you the most. We don’t all need to do the same things as it is personal choice. And there is so much choice!
Budapest: You’ll arrive and spend the night on the ship. Not-included shore excursions are scheduled for the first day. If you don’t have jet-lag take some time to walk around the city. Buda is on one side and Pest in on the other. When you wake up in the morning everyone on the ship goes on a city tour. You can tell the front desk that you wish to be on the same motor coach. That afternoon you’ll set sail for the next port.
Vienna: Beautiful Vienna. The included excursion is called Panoramic Vienna. You’ll be back by lunch on the ship so you have all afternoon and evening to explore on your own. Schombrunn Palace is an amazing place to visit in the afternoon as well as Behind the Scenes at the Lipizzanner Stallons. (You won’t see them perform as they only do this on Saturdays.) My other recommendation is to take in the night Mozart and Strass Concert. It’s a small concert of around eight musicians with dancers. The concert hall is also small. We loved it.
Krems: The included excursion is a visit to the Gottweig Abby. The optional excursion is Wachau Valley by Bike. I LOVE to take advantage of the bike rides on these cruises! And they have the electronic bike option – MY ALL TIME FAVORITE. I would sign up for that if I were going. Do so early as the e’bikes are the first to go.
Passau: There is an included shore excursion that is a walking tour. Personally, I’d forget that and go to Salzburg! If you haven’t been there and are a Sound of Music fan like I am you’ll be so happy you spent the money on this. My first river cruise was in 2006 on Viking. It was around the Christmas holidays and we only had about 60 people on board the ship. I was told in order to run this excursion 30 of us needed to sign up. I was so determined that I spent the first few days on board the ship rounding up other passengers to go. We were so happy we did. It’s an all-day excursion.
Regensburg: The ship docks right in the city center so your guide will meet you there and take you on a walking tour. I don’t think you need to pay for an excursion that afternoon.: just explore the city on your own.
Nuremberg: In the afternoon Viking includes a historical look at Nuremberg. And there is a lot of history as you all know. If you’re a real war buff, take the tour that is optional.
Prague: The first day in Prague take the included tour. That evening go to this beautiful rooftop bar called The Hotel U Prince . It’s right across from the Astromincal Clock with the best rooftop view in Prague.
Prague on the 2nd day: For those who want see the saddest concentration camp and city of all, visit Terezin. It’s a very humbling experience. I don’t want to tell you too much about it but I will say it’s worth the experience to really understand the horror Jews and supporters of Jew’s went through.
What a wonderful trip this is for all!
Feature image courtesy of jeshoots on Unsplash.