The Best of Eastern Europe (2012)

Germany • Poland • Czech Republic • Hungary
  • 16 days
  • from only:
  • $1895
  • $119 per day
    Land Tour Only
  • 17 days
  • from only:
  • $2695
  • $159 per dayIncludes international airfare and government taxes
IN THIS SECTION:
Detailed Itinerary
It's Included
Featured Accommodations
Grand Circle Foundation
Know Before You Go
Optional Tours
Local Team & Insider Tips
What Makes This Trip Unique
Your Travel Handbook
Pre- & Post-Trip Extensions
Berlin, Germany
Vienna, Austria
Air information
LearnMore
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Customize your trip

Learn how to customize your vacation, 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 vacation 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
  • 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 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.

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta, Chicago, Orlando, Philadelphia, Washington, DC (Dulles)

12hrs

Boston, Detroit, Newark, New York (JFK)

11hrs

Baltimore, Dallas, Miami, Seattle

13hrs

Denver, San Francisco

15hrs

Los Angeles

16hrs

Phoenix

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 Berlin, Germany. 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 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 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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Post-Trip: Vienna, Austria

3 nights from only $645
G627

Vienna may not enjoy the international prominence of its Imperial era, but it nonetheless exudes a sense of enduring elegance and dignity, an aura that greets you at virtually every turn. Conclude your Eastern European discoveries in this extraordinary city of Strauss and Freud.

Single Supplement: FREE.

Please note: This extension may not be available on all departures. Ask your Travel Counselor for details.

It's Included

  • Accommodations for 3 nights at the Arcotel Kaiserwasser or similar
  • 3 meals: 3 breakfasts
  • Included tour: Vienna city tour on Day 3
  • Public Transport Pass to explore Vienna on your own
  • Exclusive services of a resident Grand Circle Program Director
  • All transfers
Day 1
Budapest, Hungary/Transfer to Vienna, Austria

After breakfast, you’ll ride from Budapest to Vienna.

After check-in at your Vienna hotel, enjoy an orientation walk led by your Program Director. The balance of the day is at leisure.

Dinner is on your own this evening.
Day 2
Vienna/City tour

After breakfast, you’ll enjoy a tour of Vienna, including the Ringstrasse, probably the greatest achievement of the Emperor Franz Joseph. This boulevard encircling the Innen Stadt was mapped out in the 1860s along the ramparts Joseph II had begun clearing 80 years prior.

The Neoclassical buildings along the Ringstrasse bring together all the greatest architectural styles in an exuberant celebration of all that seemed possible during the Industrial Revolution.

The balance of the day is free to relax or explore on your own. You may want to stroll through the old Jewish Quarter and see the only Viennese synagogue to have survived 1938’s Kristallnacht. You may also want to visit the magnificent Hofburg Palace. This imposing palace was home to Austria’s Habsburg rulers since the 13th century. It’s an awe-inspiring, sprawling complex of buildings, that originally served as a fortress (complete with drawbridge). Over the years, various Habsburgs added many touches, often Baroque in style.

Or you could explore St. Stephen’s Cathedral, whose stately spire has overlooked the city since the days of the Turkish attacks in 1683. With its Romanesque facade, Gothic tower, and Baroque altars, the cathedral embodies the Viennese art of balancing several great architectural styles in a single structure.

Dinner is on your own in Vienna this evening.
Day 3
Vienna

Make your own discoveries at your pace in Vienna with the help of your included public transportation day pass today. Vienna has served as home and inspiration to some of the world’s greatest artists, thinkers, and musicians. You’ll see statues of Strauss, Mozart, Beethoven, and Mahler throughout the city, monuments to the integral nature of music in Viennese life. The numerous performances of the Vienna State Opera House are the constant talk of the town, and its performers are treated like celebrities. The strains of waltz music emanate from the many cafes, and when the weather agrees, the entertainment moves outdoors to the sidewalks.

Tonight, gather with your fellow travelers for a Farewell Drink. Dinner is on your own in Vienna this evening.
Day 4
Vienna/Return to U.S.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight home.