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OT: Vacation In Central Europe

Knight Shift

Knight Shift

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May 19, 2011
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Planning a family vacation with our two sons (18 and 16) this summer. Would like to visit Poland (Krakow and Warsaw), Prague, Bratislava, Budapest, and Vienna.

Questions:
1. Is it best to use a tour company, or plan our own itinerary? Found this tour company. Some of the prices seem steep, as they do not include travel to Europe or meals:
http://www.travelslovakia.sk/slovakia-travel-offer.php

2. We are planning a 7-11 day trip, and based on the above, squeezing in Budapest and Vienna might make for a tight schedule. Budapest or Vienna, or both?

3. Based on our cities of interest, is there a preferred airport to fly into to save on airfare?

4. If we do not use a tour company, can anyone recommend a good travel agent for planning a trip?

Would appreciate any thoughts/suggestions.
 
Knight Shift said:
Planning a family vacation with our two sons (18 and 16) this summer. Would like to visit Poland (Krakow and Warsaw), Prague, Bratislava, Budapest, and Vienna.

Questions:
1. Is it best to use a tour company, or plan our own itinerary? Found this tour company. Some of the prices seem steep, as they do not include travel to Europe or meals:
http://www.travelslovakia.sk/slovakia-travel-offer.php

2. We are planning a 7-11 day trip, and based on the above, squeezing in Budapest and Vienna might make for a tight schedule. Budapest or Vienna, or both?

3. Based on our cities of interest, is there a preferred airport to fly into to save on airfare?

4. If we do not use a tour company, can anyone recommend a good travel agent for planning a trip?

Would appreciate any thoughts/suggestions.
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I personally have never used a tour company and always find enough to see and do without being stuck in a group of tourists all day every day. You save a ton and if you want just look at the itinerary on these tour sites and just copy it.

Not a huge Vienna fan in fact one of my least favorite European cities. On the other hand do not skip Budapest. That is one of my favorites after multiple visits.

Fly into Warsaw with LOT and travel south probably cheapest and most logical route.

If you want some additional info or suggestions you can message me. All great cities but Prague is ultra touristy now and getting expensive along with Vienna. I would maybe suggest starting in Warsaw and end south in Zagreb instead.
 
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RUPartisan said:
I personally have never used a tour company and always find enough to see and do without being stuck in a group of tourists all day every day. You save a ton and if you want just look at the itinerary on these tour sites and just copy it.

Not a huge Vienna fan in fact one of my least favorite European cities. On the other hand do not skip Budapest. That is one of my favorites after multiple visits.

Fly into Warsaw with LOT and travel south probably cheapest and most logical route.

If you want some additional info or suggestions you can message me. All great cities but Prague is ultra touristy now and getting expensive along with Vienna. I would maybe suggest starting in Warsaw and end south in Zagreb instead.
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Thanks.
Can you message me? As a free-boarder, I can't initiate a message.

I know that Prague is touristy, but we know someone in Prague, and we are going to see if she can show us around the city.
 
Last year, we did a self planned, 11 day train trip Copenhagen -> Berlin -> Prague -> Budapest.

We were two 40 year old parents, two kids (10 & 7), and an uncle (66).

It was pretty easy to find things to do without a tour guide.

We did airbnb apartments for our needs.

I would think that's too many cities for 7-11 days. I would plan a travel day between each stop (even if you have most of the afternoon/evening in next city) and then at least two full days in each city - depending on what you want to see there.

Book first class tickets & reserved seats on trains.

In Budapest, plan a subway, bus, tram route from the train station or hire a car ahead. Getting a taxi at the train station was nightmare (might have been a taxi strike and my phone stopped working there for some reason). Everything else about the city was amazing and easy to get around.

Speaking of taxis, Prague taxis will rip you off. Find out what it should cost and tell the driver what you will pay. One tried to charge us 5x the proper fare.

Message me if you have questions on Prague or Budapest. I would highly recommend the apartment we used in Prague (high end, great location, and VIEWS).
 
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Bring antacid.And don't come back..:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye::stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye::stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
 
I visited Prague, Warsaw, and Krakow on one trip and Vienna, Budapest, and Bratislava on another in the past two years. I never use the canned pre-arranged tour companies. If you’re a little bit adventurous they are not needed. There is plenty of info available for self guided walking (or biking) tours for the sites in the city centers and public transportation is good. Check the guidebooks, check online (read ratings and comments on sites like Trip Advisor), AND check with the locals (waiters and waitresses in local cafes are a good source as is a good concierge if they aren’t pushing tourist traps).

For day trips I always shop around and check locally. I always get a better price then the pre-arranged stuff, and you can see the vehicles around the hotels to help decide if it’s for you. Although it’s pricier, I try to hire a private driver when possible (often after a nice tip to the hotel concierge I get great advice on a good guide with a nice car and good English). The private guide route is the way to go in Asia, Central/South America, and Africa but can be pricey in Europe.

Just a few observations - I loved Krakow it still has a lot of old world feel to it and there weren’t hoardes of tour busses (the Salt Mine and Aushwitz were definitely worth a day trip ... I did both in one day in a small van group). Also rent a bike to get around Krakow. Warsaw is a much bigger grittier city you can see in a few hours. It is a short LOT flight from Prague. A friend of a friend owns the “ World of Beer” in Krakow, stop in and give them a NJ/RU hello.

Prague has a lot to see and there will be a ton of tourists. I hired a local walking guide and had a great tour, but start at Charles bridge as early as possible since the tour busses all congregate there.

Vienna’s inner ring is still awesome but the outer rings are suffering some decay (boarded up buildings, graffiti, etc.). You can day trip via train from Vienna to Bratislava (nice to see city center, no McDonalds/pizza Huts, but you can see it all in a day trip). I only day tripped to Budapest, but I wish I spent the night.

Cool trip, still some Europen authenticity (especially Krakow an Bratislava). Depending on time I would recommend minimums of 2 days for Prague, Budapest, and Krakow, 1 day for Vienna, and 1/2 day for Warsaw and Bratislava (allowing for travel you would need 10-12 days).

Safe Travels.
 
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I would recommend doing it on your own, rather than a tour, especially with kids but I think you are packing way too much in to get to see the real cities, most of your time you will be traveling. Try to cut it down a bit or make the trip longer.
Love Budapest and Prague. Prague is the farthest away from the rest, that may have to wait. I didn't love Vienna but if going, visit the famous Cathedral with the bones in the basement and tour on the roof.
 
I would recommend visiting some more exciting European countries. Check out the Scandinavian region or Russia the GOAT.
 
Just me, but don't think I'd ever use a tour company. I travel to European cities primarily for work and the best part about having limited time to see the sights is not feeling any impetus to see all the sights. Love just grabbing breakfast at a local cafe, walking center city, checking out the local market, stopping in at shops/museums, etc. etc. Experiencing the actual city/country, not just a checklist of sights.

Loved Vienna, though think Salzburg was my favorite in Austria - much smaller city packed with history and culture, plus at the foot of the Alps. Guess it's more in line with my style of vacation above - larger cities can give you ADD.
 
Did a 9 day trip of Warsaw ---> Prague ----> Barcalona in 2017. The great thing about Warsaw and Prague is that, while both very pretty, you can do everything you need to do in 2 or 3 days, provided you are with a group that loves walking.
 
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My sister and her husband did a 10 day Munich-Prague-Vienna trip. Loved Prague. Munich eh.

They hired a guide for 1 day in one of the cities. Turned out he had been a foreign exchange student who went to the same HS as my sister and I. Small world.
 
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My parents just got back from a Danube river cruise on Viking. The cruise hit most of the cities you mentioned. I'm not sure a river cruise is something you'd want to do, but you could consider it as an option. Even if you did a 5 night river cruise, you could spend the remaining nights doing your own thing.
 
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gmay8 said:
My parents just got back from a Danube river cruise on Viking. The cruise hit most of the cities you mentioned. I'm not sure a river cruise is something you'd want to do, but you could consider it as an option. Even if you did a 5 night river cruise, you could spend the remaining nights doing your own thing.
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I sat next to an older gentleman on a plane ride a few weeks ago and he suggested the same thing. The cost of the cruises, however, seems prohibitive.
 
Not sure I would trust a local tourist company nor overpay for it. A la carte is the way to go. All of the places you mentioned are far from being final frontier type locales for tourists at this point so there are plenty of resources out there to plan a self-guided trip wisely.
 
Knight Shift said:
Planning a family vacation with our two sons (18 and 16) this summer. Would like to visit Poland (Krakow and Warsaw), Prague, Bratislava, Budapest, and Vienna.

Questions:
1. Is it best to use a tour company, or plan our own itinerary? Found this tour company. Some of the prices seem steep, as they do not include travel to Europe or meals:
http://www.travelslovakia.sk/slovakia-travel-offer.php

2. We are planning a 7-11 day trip, and based on the above, squeezing in Budapest and Vienna might make for a tight schedule. Budapest or Vienna, or both?

3. Based on our cities of interest, is there a preferred airport to fly into to save on airfare?

4. If we do not use a tour company, can anyone recommend a good travel agent for planning a trip?

Would appreciate any thoughts/suggestions.
Click to expand...

Personal opinion here having done the Krakow, Gdansk and Warsaw visit. Krakow and Gdansk were by far my favorite. Warsaw is def nice but i'd still rank it 3rd on the list.

In Krakow, you must visit the Salt Mine. I'd allot at least 2 full days if you plan to visit the concentration camp. Flight from Krakow to Gdansk cost us like 25 dollars. We flew from LAX to Frankfurt to Krakow but LOT is your best bet for direct flights from NY area.

Feel free to PM me if you want more recommendations. We did 10 days between Krakow, Gdansk and Warsaw.
 
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theRU said:
Personal opinion here having done the Krakow, Gdansk and Warsaw visit. Krakow and Gdansk were by far my favorite. Warsaw is def nice but i'd still rank it 3rd on the list.

In Krakow, you must visit the Salt Mine. I'd allot at least 2 full days if you plan to visit the concentration camp. Flight from Krakow to Gdansk cost us like 25 dollars. We flew from LAX to Frankfurt to Krakow but LOT is your best bet for direct flights from NY area.

Feel free to PM me if you want more recommendations. We did 10 days between Krakow, Gdansk and Warsaw.
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Dumb question--What is LOT?

Can you PM me? I cannot start a message thread, since only premium members can do that.
 
LOT is the Polish airline. Like their version of United or American Airlines.

Also most of the sights to see in Warsaw and Prague are close to one another. I would just do an itinerary on your own time. And if you need to travel anywhere by vehicle, the Uber's are very cheap.
 
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Knight Shift said:
Planning a family vacation with our two sons (18 and 16) this summer. Would like to visit Poland (Krakow and Warsaw), Prague, Bratislava, Budapest, and Vienna.

Questions:
1. Is it best to use a tour company, or plan our own itinerary? Found this tour company. Some of the prices seem steep, as they do not include travel to Europe or meals:
http://www.travelslovakia.sk/slovakia-travel-offer.php

2. We are planning a 7-11 day trip, and based on the above, squeezing in Budapest and Vienna might make for a tight schedule. Budapest or Vienna, or both?

3. Based on our cities of interest, is there a preferred airport to fly into to save on airfare?

4. If we do not use a tour company, can anyone recommend a good travel agent for planning a trip?

Would appreciate any thoughts/suggestions.
Click to expand...
Prague is nice, but careful in the central area. The operators or apartments seem to have employees on the on the take there (including those operated by hotels). There are room break-ins at there apartments. I would suggest staying in a hotel over an apartment or condo rental so that you can have some security. The city overall is quite nice. Walkable and stuff to do, but they do have a robbery problem. The police noted to us that there are over 60 electronics chop shops just around the city center. Vienna overall is a great cultural city and easy to move around via mass transit.
 
After grad school I did Prague, Munich, Budapest, and Vienna. We were supposed to go to Amsterdam but went back to Prague instead. Prague is the prettiest city I’ve ever visited. Keep in mind, while we did the sites and tours we were young and the trip became about girls and drinking. So take my suggestions with a grain of salt. Lol
If you go to Munich and they still exist, do a Mikes Bikes tour. Was very informative and a lot of fun. If time was an issue I’d eliminate Budapest.
 
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Have done several River cruises thru Grand Circle Travel. Biggest down side is you are limited in the amount of time you have in each city so if you really find stuff you would like to do, you may have to get back on board without doing everything you wanted to do and see. Also primarily filled up with older people. On the plus side, you don’t have to pack and Novak at each stop.
 
Knight Shift said:
Planning a family vacation with our two sons (18 and 16) this summer. Would like to visit Poland (Krakow and Warsaw), Prague, Bratislava, Budapest, and Vienna.

Questions:
1. Is it best to use a tour company, or plan our own itinerary? Found this tour company. Some of the prices seem steep, as they do not include travel to Europe or meals:
http://www.travelslovakia.sk/slovakia-travel-offer.php

2. We are planning a 7-11 day trip, and based on the above, squeezing in Budapest and Vienna might make for a tight schedule. Budapest or Vienna, or both?

3. Based on our cities of interest, is there a preferred airport to fly into to save on airfare?

4. If we do not use a tour company, can anyone recommend a good travel agent for planning a trip?

Would appreciate any thoughts/suggestions.
Click to expand...

I would not try to do more than three cities in an 11-day period; two if the trip is for 7 days. I'm the kind of scaredy-cat who is tempted by tours, but I usually find them disappointing -- I want to go where I want to go.

I have never visited any of the cities you are considering. I believe that Rick Steve produces a travel book about Eastern Europe, and you may want to consult it.

Good luck and Bon Voyage!!
 
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I was just in Budapest for work in September for about a week with about 1-2 days to go out on my own. I enjoyed my time there even more than I thought I would. I'm also on the non-group trip, figure it out yourself plan. Budapest is probably on the cheaper end up the spectrum (although main pricing is in HUF---hungarian Forints which are 280/300:1USD so it might look high when you see a pricetag).
couple random things for budapest----

  • Uber was outlawed there so you need to take taxi's.
  • I walk alot at home and didnt really have trouble seeing most things i wanted while walking, but everybody is different.
  • Some streets seem like they could be a 'walking' path but in reality its a public road so just keep an eye out.
  • the airport is a bit of a drive away from downtown budapest
  • Buda and Pest are separated by the Danube river. There are things to do on both sides, but the Pest side is a bit more of the city feel and most hotels.
  • Check out the chain bridge from the Pest side at sunset looking out to the Buda castle.
  • Check out Fisherman's bastion (by matthias church) for amazing views of pest side of Budapest.
  • Hit up the Central Market ("great market")---downstairs is all fresh veggies/fruits/meats (tons of paprika) and the upstairs is all clothing/accessories/chachkies and things you could get for souveniers. There are also local food spots upstairs.
  • Go to a Thermal bath. There are a bunch of them so read up on each and see which fits your situation.
  • Definitely hit up a 'ruin pub'. They are pretty unique. The one i went to was the most 'known' one---Szimpla Kert
  • Overall bldg architecture in Budapest is a nice sight to see in general
  • Dohany st synagogue---largest synagogue in Europe
 
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Knight Shift said:
Planning a family vacation with our two sons (18 and 16) this summer. Would like to visit Poland (Krakow and Warsaw), Prague, Bratislava, Budapest, and Vienna.

Questions:
1. Is it best to use a tour company, or plan our own itinerary? Found this tour company. Some of the prices seem steep, as they do not include travel to Europe or meals:
http://www.travelslovakia.sk/slovakia-travel-offer.php

2. We are planning a 7-11 day trip, and based on the above, squeezing in Budapest and Vienna might make for a tight schedule. Budapest or Vienna, or both?

3. Based on our cities of interest, is there a preferred airport to fly into to save on airfare?

4. If we do not use a tour company, can anyone recommend a good travel agent for planning a trip?

Would appreciate any thoughts/suggestions.
Click to expand...
Did a trip to Krakow, Prague and Vienna a few years ago. Found Krakow to be the best value. Good example is with a mug of beer: approx. 3 bucks in Krakow, 4 bucks in Prague and 5 bucks in Vienna. We enjoyed Krakow the most, used it as a base to visit some of my wife's relatives. (Side note: driving in Poland was a real adventure. Roads are great but reading the road signs was difficult. They are very stingy with vowels over there!)
I recommend visiting Auschwitz. Every person on earth should know the degree of evil that can exist in the world.
 
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This looks like a decent itinerary to see Krakow, Prague Budapest and Bratislava?

https://www.europeandestinations.co..._Krakow_-_Bratislava_-_Prague_-_Budapest.aspx

We have specific reasons for wanting to cover Prague and Bratislava. My sons have done quite a bit of family tree research, and we want to check out Slovakia as well as the Czech Republic. We are willing to punt on Budapest, but it seems like a must see.
 
BaseballFan913 said:
Did a 9 day trip of Warsaw ---> Prague ----> Barcalona in 2017. The great thing about Warsaw and Prague is that, while both very pretty, you can do everything you need to do in 2 or 3 days, provided you are with a group that loves walking.
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Concur, you can see most of the main sites in Prague in a day or two max. I travel there for work 2-3 times a year. There are a few spots outside the city that are interesting as well - Cesky Krumlov (old town in southern CR) - the place where they make the original Budvar (Budweiser beer) is on the way, Karlstejn castle, Kutna Hora (Bone Church!!), and several others. Plsen (where Pilsner beer comes from) and Brno are other cities but I haven't been to them yet

Dresden, Germany is also an easy day trip from Prague but not that exciting to be honest.
 
These are areas I have not been to, so I can offer little advice about them. However, on the overall choice of do-it-yourself vs. tour company, I fall squarely in the do-it-yourself category. I/we have done a number of overseas trips where we planned it all out beforehand, leaving enough wiggle room for situations where we found we wanted to spend more time.
 
I would agree LOT has the cheapest fares of that group. LOT is also part of Star Alliance so great if you have a lot of miles with United. I flew them back from Croatia, stop in over in Warsaw, on a free miles ticket.

I was in Prague over a decade ago but it was really beautiful, really walkable, didn't take a train until going to Berlin, which I also would recommend.

I would recommend visiting a concentration camp if your family enjoys history. It is a trying day but an unforgettable experience.
 
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NotInRHouse said:
I like group tours when I travel by myself.

When going with friends it makes less sense.
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This is generally my rule of thumb when traveling in Europe. But since you're not, an independent tour can be organized easily. Others above have said that Warsaw is not that interesting and I agree. But if flying into there, perhaps spend your arrival day after the overnight flight in Warsaw visiting the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Museum and walking around the old town. But then move on the next day to Krakow, which is a more beautiful city. If traveling for just 11 days (not counting flying days) then visit Prague, Vienna, and Budapest after Krakow, skipping Bratislava. If you are only there for 7 days and flying into Poland, I suggest limiting yourself to the day in Warsaw, Krakow, Prague, and a day or two enjoying Slovakia's High Tatras, just across the border from Poland and easily reachable. Save Vienna and Budapest for another trip.
 
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Used to live in Budapest about 20 years ago for a few years. All the cities you mention are great with the exception of Bratislava IMO. However I would check out the high Tetra (or is it Tatry) mountains in Slovakia. There are some pretty unspoiled (with commercialism) little towns up there. You can go stop in on the way from Budapest to Krakow which is very much worth the trip. Many of the young folks for the most part speak English but the older generation tends to speak German as their 2nd language.
 
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Scarlet Craig said:
Concur, you can see most of the main sites in Prague in a day or two max. I travel there for work 2-3 times a year. There are a few spots outside the city that are interesting as well - Cesky Krumlov (old town in southern CR) - the place where they make the original Budvar (Budweiser beer) is on the way, Karlstejn castle, Kutna Hora (Bone Church!!), and several others. Plsen (where Pilsner beer comes from) and Brno are other cities but I haven't been to them yet

Dresden, Germany is also an easy day trip from Prague but not that exciting to be honest.
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When we were in Prague we were hosted by the CEO of Pilsner Urquell (family friend), so we did a very in depth brewery tour and tasting at their facility in Plsen. That was a cool experience.

We also did a day trip from Prague to Nuremburg, Germany. It was about a 3 hour drive, pretty boring drive to be honest, but the city of Nuremburg was pretty cool, and there is a ton of history and museums there dedicated to the Nuremburg Trials after WW2.
 
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