Old World Prague & the Blue Danube (2012)

Budapest, Hungary • Bratislava, Slovakia • Vienna, Austria • Prague, Czech Republic
  • 11 days
  • from only:
  • $1895
  • $173 per day
    River Cruise Only
  • 12 days
  • from only:
  • $2845
  • $238 per dayIncludes international airfare and government taxes
IN THIS SECTION:
Detailed Itinerary
Video: Travelers' experiences of Old World Prague and the Blue Danube
Salzburg & Melk Abbey
It's Included
Hotel & Ship Accommodations
Pre- & Post-Trip Extensions
Optional Tours
Local Team & Insider Tips
Program Directors
Istvan Pinter
Christian Pirv
Szilvia Magyar
Insider Tips
Your Travel Handbook
Grand Circle Foundation
Know Before You Go
Air information
LearnMore
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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 Prague)

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Minneapolis, Orlando

13hrs

Boston, New York (JFK)

11hrs

Dallas, Houston, Portland, OR

14hrs

Los Angeles, San Francisco

15hrs

Newark, Philadelphia, Washington, DC (Dulles)

12hrs

San Diego

19hrs

* 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.

(Prague to Budapest)

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Newark, Philadelphia, Washington, DC(Dulles)

12hrs

Boston, New York (JFK)

11hrs

Dallas, Minneapolis

13hrs

Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Portland, OR, San Francisco

15hrs

Philadelphia

14hrs

San Diego

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 Prague, Czech Republic. 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.

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Meet our expert, resident Program Directors

Program Director

Istvan Pinter

With Grand Circle since 2002

97% of travelers rated their experience with Istvan excellent

"Istvan was very well-informed, friendly, pleasant, and had a great sense of humor."

–Marilyn & James Duncan, 4-time travelers, Red Bank, New Jersey

Born in: Budapest, Hungary
Resides in: Budapest, Hungary
Languages: English, Hungarian, conversational German
Hobbies & Interests: Politics, nature, reading, and history

Get to know Istvan:

During the first ten years of my life, Hungary was still under communism, and because of this, we learned obedience, patience, and how to survive—which helped me later in my educational career and time as a teacher. My parents had good jobs and provided a good life for me. Being an only child, I never had to share anything, and many of my friends came from small families, too. When I reached an age where I became interested in what was going on in my country, borders and possibilities were just opening up. It was a very interesting era—the so-called transition period—since it wasn’t simple changing from a totalitarian state to a democracy. It was very exciting to experience this and to learn that political systems come and go, and if you really want something, there’s always an opportunity to change.

The most interesting topic to discuss with my travelers is politics, and especially communism and how we are trying to get rid of its remains. Hungarians are proud people. We don’t like to leave our homeland behind unless it’s absolutely necessary. We’ve built and rebuilt our country several times throughout our history after invasions by Mongol, Tatar, and Turkish tribes, and Austrian and communist oppression.

In my spare time, I’m a volunteer fireman. Since the city is well-equipped with its fire brigades, I’m only called in for major disasters or large fires. I’m also an auxiliary policeman in the first district of Budapest. I was even able to use my skills during one of my tours in Prague when my group and I caught pickpockets and handed them over to police.

Istvan’s Insider Tips:
Szilvapalinka Photo

Unique Food & Drink:
Szilvapalinka (plum brandy) is a favorite high-alcohol content beverage among Hungarians. We call all fruit brandy palinka, and this strong liquor—typically 80 proof—is brewed exclusively from traditional and locally grown Hungarian fruits such as pears and cherries (but plum is one of the best!). The tradition of making it goes back for centuries, and today it’s kept alive by a civil organization called the Hungarian Pálinka Order of Knighthood, who set the quality standards that distilleries must follow. Thanks to them, any bottle labeled with the word palinka should not contain any additives, preservatives, or sugar—just pure fruit brandy. It’s most often consumed during celebrations and social gatherings, and we even use it in a traditional Hungarian greeting: “Palinkas jo reggelt!” (“Good morning with palinka!”). In rural areas, locals used to begin their day with a shot of palinka, which is probably where the saying originated.

Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra Photo

Hidden Gems & Highlights:
If you’re interested in Hungarian folk music, I suggest listening to the Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra, also called the 100 Violins. The group was founded in 1985 after the death of Sandor Jaroka, one of the country’s most celebrated gypsy soloists at the time. When the ceremony started, all of the musicians that attended began playing their instruments—and with that, the gypsy symphony was born. The orchestra plays with great energy, and performs each piece by memory without using any sheet music. Libri bookstores (with several locations in Budapest) have a wide selection of classical and popular music recordings, so it’s a great place to buy a CD by the orchestra.

Blue Dying Photo

Special Places & Pastimes:
Blue-dying (kekfestes) is a complicated garment dyeing process in Hungary dating back to the second half of the 18th century. The method involves stamping an article of clothing with a specially-made wooden piece, which has small metal nails sticking out of it. The blue-dye fabric is commonly used for patchwork and quilting, as well as folk costumes. Although there are only a handful of blue-dye workshops in Hungary today, you’re able to find the fabric in many local home accessories shops and boutiques. A great place to find these blue-dyed materials is on the top floor of the Grand Market Hall in Budapest (1093 Budapest, Vamhaz krt. 1-3).