Here is the final of our
3 Europe trips! This
will be our 3rd trip to these countries with an itinerary
that we know you'll love.
We'll
be kicking this trip off with Prague
for 4 nights, a city that has become one
of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations. You will
absolutely love our hotel here, the Hotel Rott, located
just steps from of the Old Towne and very elegant - completely
worthy of all of it's 4-stars.
Prague was once the seat
of the Holy Roman Empire. It was largely undamaged
by WWII, and the cityscape is
stunning. Its compact medieval centre remains an evocative
maze of cobbled lanes, ancient courtyards, dark passages
and churches beyond number, all watched over by an 1100-year-old
castle. Its traditional pubs and eateries have been augmented
by a wave of gourmet restaurants, cocktail bars
and trendy cafes.
We’ll wander around Old
Town Square with its many wonderful Gothic and baroque
buildings. We’ll see the famous 15th-century
astronomical clock at the Old Town Hall. Every hour, crowds assemble below to watch Christ and the twelve
Apostles appear at two little windows above the clock face,
followed by the skeleton of Death tolling the bell. In the
evenings we’ll find some of Europe’s
best jazz venues, excellent opera, and innovative theater.
On
our second day we'll enjoy a full day on tour to two amazing
places, one which is a World Heritage Site! We'll start
off at Kutna
Hora. The historic centre is one of the country's
prettiest and the gothic cathedral of St Barbara arguably
the country's most spectacular. We'll also take a tour of
the old silver mines, as far as six floors below ground.
The bone chapel, cathedral, and mine tour are the highlights
of Kutná
Hora, but there're other impressive churches, lovely
back streets and lanes to wander around and Europe's only
Museum of Alchemy. The meals at V Ruthardce and the beer
at the Dacicky beerhall are some of the best you'll find
in Bohemia. You will also want to take a walk up the hill
for a panoramic view!
Our
second stop is to Cesky
Sternberk, set on the steep stony bank of the Sázavar.
Called the "Pearl of Posázaví" by
a romantic poet [Posázaví is the region around
the river], the castle was built in 1241 by Zdeslav of Divišov,
and given the name "Šternberk" according
to the custom of the day. One quite remarkable and certainly
unique aspect of Ceský Šternberk is that the
castle belongs now to a descendant of the man who first
had it built, Zdeslav of Sternberg.
We
then will have a free day in Prague where you can have time
to enjoy your walk at your own pace. 
After
our 4-nights in Prague we'lll bus to Vienna. Along the way
we'll visit the amazing medieval town of Cesky
Krumlov. This Unesco world heritage site is one
of the most scenic towns you will ever visit (see photo
on right), complete with moat and drawbridge!
Vienna is known for their
medieval streets and magnificent
cathedrals and palaces, along with being home of some
of the most famous composers including Mozart, Strauss and
Tchaikovsky. Magnificent Hofburg Palace, Belvedere
Palace, extensive gardens, museums, music, architecture, trendy clubs and
restaurants are all waiting for us. We’ll stroll through
the old Jewish Quarter and see the only Viennese synagogue
to have survived the 1938 Kristallnacht.
On
our first full day we'll enjoy the Belvedere gardens - Schönbrunn
Palace. We'll visit the Vienna
Woods a very scenic area, to hear stories of "Singing
Monks" or about the tragedy of Mayerling. We'll then
visit the Abbey
of Heiligenkreuz. a beautiful and living Cistercian
monastery. Stift Heiligenkreuz is the second-oldest Cistercian
monastery in the world and the oldest continuously active
and inhabited one. Stift Heiligenkreuz, peacefully situated
in the middle of the "Wienerwald", the Vienna
woods, is one of the most beautiful medieval monasteries
in the world.
On
our second day we'll take a full day tour with our bus plus
a nice boat ride on the Danube to visit the beauty of the
Wachau. The Danube winds his way past charming old villages
and steep vineyards. We'll
visit the Abbey
of Melk and enjoy the former Imperial Rooms, the
Marble Hall, the balcony and the library. Then we visit
the church without a guide. The guided tour takes approximately
1 hour. We'll also have time to stroll the bastion park,
the quaint village of Melk (down hill) or have lunch and/or
some drinks at the monasteries' tavern. The boat tour will
take us through the most scenic section of the Danube Valley.We'll
stop in Duernstein, the landmark village/town of the Danube
Valley and have time to stroll, taste some wine or some
of the local produce like apricot jelly or apricot brandy.
Finally, we'll take the hydrofoil from
Vienna to Budapest. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee
has listed the view of the Danube embankments and the Buda
Castle District - which is one of the most beautiful and
romantic parts of the city of Budapest - as a World Heritage
site. The latter is an ancient town district, giving home
to some of the most important historical monuments in Hungary.
While nearly 800 years passed since it has been originally
founded, its beauty still 
stands
unparalleled, despite earthquakes, fires, sieges and world
wars.
Both the Pest and Buda embankments of
the Danube stretching from the Liberty Bridge all the way
up to the Margaret Bridge, the area encompassed by the Chain
Bridge and some of the buildings belonging to the Technical
University, the Gellért Bath, the Gellért
Hill with the Statue of Liberty and the Citadel, the
Castle of Buda,
the Baroque churches and Turkish baths of the so-called
Water Town - these are all parts of the World Heritage today.
There is a lot to see and do in Budapest
so I'm not offering too many tours that will take us out
of the old town. With all the incredibly beautiful cathedrals
and buildings you'll want to spend some time walking.
On
our first day we'll enjoy first a walking tour. This tour
will take us to the Caste District, Gellért hill
and Heroes' square. We will have the option to visit Matthias
church as well. Then we'll get on our bus and visit the
Central market and enjoy some free time for lunch there.
From there we will go to the cave
church which is very interesting and unique since the
church is inside a natural cave. We will then go to the
Parliament area and then St.
Stephen Basilica.
On
our second day we'll go on the "Bends of the
Danube" tour. The
tour goes along the river Danube to the north from the
capital to the Danube Bend. The first stop is Esztergom
which is the ecclesiastical centre of Hungary and has the
largest Roman Catholic church of the country. After visiting
this majestic building the tour goes on to Visegrad
which used to be Royal Residence and where the ruins of
a 13th century fortress can be found and you may enjoy a
splendid panoramic view of the river Danube as well and
get acquainted with the rich history. The last town is the
charming, baroque artists' village of Szentendre
which has a very special architecture and atmosphere due
the great number of Serbian refuges settling here in the
17th century. It also used to be the home for hundreds of
artists at the turn of the century. It is well known for
its charming colorful houses, narrow cobblestoned streets
and patios, antique shops, museums and cafes. It is great
place for shopping and lunch.
We'll return back to the
US from Budpest.
Cost, with 10-nights hotel
accommodation (double
occ.), daily breakfast, all tours described here, all ground
transportation between cities, hydrofoil just $2,695.
That’s a terrific group rate for this incredible vacation.
$200 deposit to lock in your spot.
Includes:
- 10 nights in 4-star hotels
- Daily breakfast
- All tours mentioned CLICK
HERE FOR MORE TOUR DETAILS
- All ground transporation
- Hydrofoil ferry from Budapest
to Vienna
- City taxes
Not Included:
- International Air
- tips for guides and bus driver
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: $925
OUR
GROUP AIR: Let
us know when signing up if you want one of our seats
22
Seats Confirmed LAX-PRG return BUD-LAX)
Flight:KLM 604 Departure: Los Angeles 15MAY/450P Arrival:Amsterdam
16MAY/1210P
Flight: KLM 1357 Departure:Amsterdam 16MAY/420P Arrival:Prague
16MAY/545P
Flight: Air France 1295 Departure:Budapest 26MAY/1250P Arrival:Paris
26MAY/315P
Flight: Air France 28 Departure:Paris 26MAY/725P Arrival:Los
Angeles 26MAY/945P
The base fare is $980.00, plus taxes, which are $689.80.
This totals to $1,669.80 Per Person Includes 1 Checked
Bag(*Total Fare Estimate per seat with taxes and fees at
time of booking*). Please note that taxes and fees are subject
to change until final payment is collected.
8 Seats Confirmed
(JFK-PRG return BUD-JFK)
Flight:KLM 644 Departure: New York Kennedy 15MAY/915P Arrival:Amsterdam
16MAY/1030A
Flight: KLM 1357 Departure:Amsterdam 16MAY/420P Arrival:Prague
16MAY/545P
Flight: Air France 1295 Departure:Budapest 26MAY/1250P Arrival:Paris
26MAY/315P
Flight: Air France 10 Departure:Paris 26MAY/630P Arrival:New
York Kennedy 26MAY/840P
The base fare is $906.00 plus taxes, which are $690.40.
This totals to $1,596.40 Per Person Includes 1 Checked
Bag(*Total Fare Estimate per seat with taxes and fees at
time of booking*). Please note that taxes and fees are subject
to change until final payment is collected.
Sign
up for this Trip!
OUR
HOTELS:
PRAGUE
Hotel Rott - website
- tripadvisor
Situated
in the very centre of the Old Town of Prague, literally
a few steps from the Old Town Square, Hotel Rott provides
comfortable accommodation in rooms styled in the late 19th
century elegance with all the modern amenities you can think
of. With a view to the Little Square, streets of the Old
Town or even over to the Prague Castle, you will feel and
enjoy the legendary Prague atmosphere.
The
buildings of the hotel (the front – main house facing
the Little Square with the paintings of Mikoláš
Aleš, and the corner house to Linhartská street)
have large parts of early medieval walls in the underground,
and they were rebuilt many times. They had 3 groundfloors
in the 16th century, and the main house boasted rennaissance
sgraffitoes. In Baroque, high gabled roofs were built, converted
into an Empire style attics in the 18th century. In 1855,
an ironmongery was opened in the main house, which gradually
expanded in the neghbouring houses, too. The present neo-renaissance
facade dates back to 1897, and it was the first house in
Prague converted into shopping mall with glass concrete
ceiling cupola in Prague, bulit in the years 1922-23. The
ironmongery „U Rotta“ was – within 1850 and
1950 – the largest business of its kind in Bohemia.
In 1996, the store was moved into today´s spaces in
in the side wing of the building, and both buildings were
converted into the hotel.
VIENNA
Wilhelmshof
Hotel: 4-star website
- Rated #16 out of 403 hotels in Vienna.
Review on Tripadvisor
Der Wilhelmshof is
an extraordinary place. Artfully
designed by the artist Ty Waltinger and us, and everyday
filled with heartiness and hospitality of our motivated
employees, with this we would like to offer our guests a
place to arrive and feel at home. Viennese
charm, personal assistance, high quality and an atmosphere
full of poetry come together in our design- and ARThotel
to a distinctive total work of art.
BUDAPEST
K&K Hotel Opera
- 4-1/2 star! Webpage
- Review on Tripadvisor
Welcome
to the splendour of the K+K Hotel Opera, situated directly
in the heart of Budapest. In this exceptionally popular
city hotel in the centre of Budapest, directly next to the
opera, business and leisure can be ideally combined. The
friendly and stylish atmosphere at our comfortable 4-star
superior hotel offers a pleasant backdrop for all of your
endeavours during your stay in Budapest.
Each
one of our 200 stylish guest rooms is larger than average
for Budapest and includes premium bedding, full climate
control, a mini bar, private bathroom, and super-fast Wi-Fi
to keep you connected. As a guest, you will have free access
to our wellness centre, where you can loosen up in the sauna,
unwind with a massage, or exercise in the gym.
Wake
up to a delicious buffet breakfast. Choose from full English
and continental options, local delicacies and a selection
of fresh fruit. Throughout the day, you can grab light bites,
regional dishes or international favourites for lunch and
dinner, or head to the bar for a relaxing drink or nightcap.
Sign
up for this Trip!
Th
e
only hotel in Vienna which was designed through an artist’s
hand.