Eastern Europe to the Black Sea (2012)

Hungary: Budapest, Kalocsa • Osijek, Croatia • Belgrade, Serbia • Bulgaria: Vidin, Ruse • Romania: Constanta, Bucharest
  • 12 days
  • from only:
  • $1895
  • $158 per day
    River Cruise Only
  • 13 days
  • from only:
  • $2845
  • $219 per dayIncludes international airfare and government taxes
IN THIS SECTION:
Detailed Itinerary
Video: Travelers' experiences of Eastern Europe to the Black Sea
It's Included
Hotel & Ship Accommodations
Pre- & Post-Trip Extensions
Optional Tours
Local Team & Insider Tips
Program Directors
Reka Piros
Stefan Mototolea
Hunor Nagy
Insider Tips
Grand Circle Foundation
Photos From Our Travelers
Your Travel Handbook
Air information
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Customize your trip

Learn how to customize your River Cruise, or view standard air routing and travel times. The choice is yours with our True Choice program.

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Customize your trip

With our True Choice Program, you can choose to stay longer before or after your trip on your own, or combine two vacations to maximize your value. Here are more ways to create the Grand Circle Cruise Line River Cruise that’s right for you:

  • Choose our standard air routing, or work with us to select the airline and routing you prefer
  • Make your own international flight arrangements directly with the airline, applying frequent flyer miles if available
  • International airport transfers to and from your ship or hotel are available for purchase
  • Stay overnight in a connecting city before or after your trip
  • Request to arrive a few days early to get a fresh start on your vacation
  • Choose to “break away” before or after your trip, spending additional days or weeks on your own
  • Extend your vacation with our optional pre- and post-trip extensions
  • Combine your choice of Grand Circle Cruise Line vacations to maximize your value
  • Upgrade to business or premium economy class

The air options listed above will involve an additional fee of $100 per person for confirmed requests (as well as incremental airfare costs based on your specific choice). This service fee will be waived for Inner Circle/Sir Edmund Hillary Club members.

Or, when you make your reservation, you can choose our standard air routing, for which approximate travel times are shown below.

(Budapest to Bucharest)

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta, Boston, New York (JFK), Washington, DC (Dulles)

12hrs

Baltimore, Phoenix

18hrs

Chicago, Philadelphia

13hrs

Dallas, Minneapolis, Seattle

14hrs

Denver

16hrs

Detroit, Newark

11hrs

Los Angeles, San Francisco

15hrs

Tampa

17hrs

* Estimated total time, including connection and layover. Actual travel time may vary.

The information above reflects approximate flight times from the gateway cities listed to Budapest, Hungary. Routing is based on availability and subject to change. You will receive your final air itinerary approximately 14 days prior to departure.

(Bucharest to Budapest)

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta, Chicago, Newark, New York (JFK), Philadelphia, Washington, DC (Dulles)

13hrs

Baltimore, Phoenix

18hrs

Boston, Detroit

12hrs

Dallas, Minneapolis

14hrs

Denver, San Francisco

17hrs

Los Angeles

20hrs

Seattle

15hrs

Tampa

16hrs

* Estimated total time, including connection and layover. Actual travel time may vary.

The information above reflects approximate flight times from the gateway cities listed to Bucharest, Romania. Routing is based on availability and subject to change. You will receive your final air itinerary approximately 14 days prior to departure.

REFER and EARN

Earn increasing rewards as a Vacation Ambassador

REFER and EARN as a Vacation Ambassador with
the BEST referral program in the industry

Inspiring new travelers to join the Grand Circle Cruise Line family is a rewarding experience—both for you and your new travelers.

Share your love of travel with others and, for each referral who embarks on a Grand Circle Cruise Line trip, you will earn $100 in CASH or credit. With your 4th referral departing on a 2012 departure, your reward increases to $200 in CASH or credit per person. And once you refer 8 travelers departing in either 2012 or 2013, you'll earn a FREE trip valued up to $4,500 per household—which will bring the total value of your earned rewards up to $5,600.

And you are also passing along savings to your new traveler: We'll instantly deduct $100 off the cost of their reservation when they mention your name and Customer Number while reserving.

To learn more about the benefits of our Vacation Ambassador Referral Program, please call us toll-free at 1-800-221-2610
or click here.

ALSO SEE:
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Solo Friendly Travel
Frequently Asked Questions
See all Program Directors, read Insider Tips, and more
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Meet our expert, resident Program Directors

Program Director

Reka Piros

With Grand Circle since 2008

94% of travelers rated their experience with Reka excellent

"Reka is a gem! She was very knowledgeable and had excellent people skills. She handled every situation with poise and polish. What’s more, she really seemed to love her job—and that’s a big plus in our book."

–Barbara & Robert Hazelwood, 7-time travelers, Georgetown, Texas

Born in: Budapest, Hungary
Resides in: Szigethalom, Hungary
Languages: English, Hungarian, German, Russian, French
Hobbies & Interests: Cooking, gardening, watching movies, walking my dog in the woods, reading—especially Agatha Christie novels—law, and political science

Get to know Reka:

While I lived under communism until age 14, my childhood was still full of happy adventures. I have a big family, and spent a great deal of time in the garden of my grandma’s country home with all my cousins, and I went to summer camp every year. One unique part of my childhood was when my family lived in Kiev (which is Ukraine today, but then was part of the Soviet Union) for three years. We were separated from the locals into a small colony of Hungarians and East Germans, but even with a child’s eyes I could still see the contrast between home and the USSR.

The first college degree I earned was a bachelor’s in tourism, and my first job—when real free-market possibilities became available in Hungary—was working for the biggest Hungarian tour operator in Greece. I joined Grand Circle in 2008, and when I’m not leading trips, I like to see my family and friends at home. My mother used to be Regional Chairman of the Hungarian Red Cross, and my father was a radar engineer and lieutenant colonel in the army. Since their official retirements they’ve started up a private interior decoration business, which I help them with in the winter. I also very much enjoy spending time in my garden—though I am always on the ship in the gardening season.

Reka’s Insider Tips:
madártej photo

Unique Food & Drink:
One of my favorite Hungarian foods is madártej, which translates to “bird’s milk.” Do not hesitate to try this because of its peculiar name—madártej is a wonderful and very refreshing summer dessert. It’s a big bowl of light vanilla cream that has been cooked and then cooled down into a thin custard, with fluffy clouds of sweet, whipped egg whites floating on top

Nicolas Schoffer Gallery photo

Hidden Gems & Highlights:
The Nicolas Schoffer Gallery in Kalocsa, Hungary is a tiny museum, dedicated to the kinetic arts. Schoffer was born in Kalocsa and later lived in Paris. His creations are amazing compositions of colorful lights, mirror-and-metal objects, and motion. Popping in for a few minutes is very amusing and entertaining—you may even feel like you’re on a film set for a sci-fi movie from the 1960s due to the futuristic appearance of the sculptures. The museum is on the main street of Kalocsa (Szent Istvan utca) and admission is 450 forints (around $3).

Photo of Hungarians drinking beer

Local Culture & Etiquette:
Never clink your glass when drinking beer in Hungary! Doing so reminds us of one of our most bitter defeats—the lost war of independence against the Austrian Habsburgs in 1849. The reason for this is that when they defeated us, the Austrians captured our 13 most important generals and decapitated them, raising celebratory cheers to each other by clinking their traditional beer mugs together as the execution was going on. We’ve since made peace with the Austrian people—and even with beer—but to keep the peace, please enjoy your beer quietly. Or even better—try some nice Hungarian wine.