Danube Cruise Help Please

[Hawaiian Eye]

Aloha, we're a group of 6 adults. We've done the cruise from Amsterdam to Vienna with a side trip to Bratislava.

This time we want to concentrate on 3 cities. Prague, Vienna and Budapest. We want to spend 3 nights or so in each one, maybe 4.

Our goal is to start in Prague, then train/bus to Vienna and spend another 3 or 4 nights there. Then pick up the cruise ship and cruise to Budapest for another 3 or 4 nights. It seems like a very short cruise but if we take the ship to Bucharest we won't be in Budapest more than one night.

Is there any other way of doing this? We love not having to repack our bags so often but cruise ships only stay in ports long enough to see a few highlights in each port.

We're looking at Fall 2015. Thanks.

[G.M.T.]

I haven't heard of any cruise line just doing Vienna to Budapest.

 

There is a regular boat service between the 2 cities, the folwoing links are all about the same line but may give additional information:

 

http://www.ddsg-blue-danube.at/eng/cruises_international_hydrofoil_to_budapest.php

 

http://vienna-hydrofoil.hotels-in-budapest-hungary.com/

 

http://www.mahartpassnave.hu/webset32.cgi?MAHART@@EN@@32@@893719426

 

Or alternatives:

 

http://www.budapest.com/travel/getting_there/by_river.en.html

[caviargal]

There is no cruise that I am aware of that spends multiple nights in these cities. The itineraries are fairly standard.

 

If you want 3 nights in each of those cities, best to plan a DIY land trip and use public transport to get from city to city.

[Got2Cruise]

Not exactly what you are looking for but Avalon offers the Taste of the Danube. I am seriously considering for a future cruise. I don't know if it would interest you because it is 3 days in a hotel in Vienna, 3 days river cruising, and then ending in Bupapest in a hotel for 2 days. So it is not your typical river cruise per se, but it is not a bus tour either.:)

http://www.avalonwaterways.com/Product.aspx?trip=5WVB&content=overview&source=AW_Cruises_Danube

[Hydrokitty]

Aloha, we're a group of 6 adults. We've done the cruise from Amsterdam to Vienna with a side trip to Bratislava.

This time we want to concentrate on 3 cities. Prague, Vienna and Budapest. We want to spend 3 nights or so in each one, maybe 4.

Our goal is to start in Prague, then train/bus to Vienna and spend another 3 or 4 nights there. Then pick up the cruise ship and cruise to Budapest for another 3 or 4 nights. It seems like a very short cruise but if we take the ship to Bucharest we won't be in Budapest more than one night.

Is there any other way of doing this? We love not having to repack our bags so often but cruise ships only stay in ports long enough to see a few highlights in each port.

We're looking at Fall 2015. Thanks.

 

Don't know about river cruise to Budapest working out for you, but here's another option:

 

Fly into Prague. Train to Vienna. Take the high speed ferry from Vienna to Bratislava (very short trip) and then train or bus to Budapest (or train or bus from Vienna to Budapest) Then either fly home from Budapest OR board a river cruise in Budapest to the Black Sea ending in Bucharest from which you can fly home. This works only if you have plenty of time to spend but you'll have spent time in 4 of Europe's major cities! We just came back from Budapest to Black Sea and Bucharest is beautiful!!! Fortunately, the cities are all reasonably close together and you could drive between each of them but renting a car in one country and returning it in another could be prohibitive, if you could even do it. :D

[Host Jazzbeau]

You can easily do Prague and Budapest as you suggest, because many Danube cruises start or end in those cities. But they generally only include one day in Vienna.

 

AMA does have one cruise that comes closer to your ideal: Melodies of the Danube spends two nights in Vienna. It includes a "Viennese Wine and Music" evening in a rustic tavern outside the city on the first night, then a panoramic city tour, free afternoon or optional Schonbrunn Palace excursion, and optional evening Mozart and Strauss concert. This cruise normally ends in Munich, but there is a Prague option instead.

 

A final option would be to take any of the Prague to Budapest cruises, start with extra days in Prague, end with extra days in Budapest -- then take the train to Vienna for a few days and fly home from there. [Or vice versa]

[stipmom]

Avalon has a cruise from Vienna to Budapest

[Hawaiian Eye]

Thanks for the input. Taking a train between cities would probably be the easy route. We all love cruising (thus I'm posting on the River Cruise forum).

I think the Avalon short cruise might be best for our intentions. We'd love to cruise all the way down to Bucharest but don't want have only a day in Budapest.

Edited August 1, 2014 by Hawaiian Eye