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
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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Optional Tours

Day 3:
 Potsdam $105 per person

Join us on an optional tour of Potsdam, residence of the Prussian kings until 1918—and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Your tour begins at the Cecilienhof Palace—constructed between 1914 and 1917 by Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany—here you’ll discover the important role Potsdam played during the post-World War II era. Stalin, Truman, and Churchill convened here to determine how to deal with a defeated Germany, and the city’s Glienicke Bridge became known as the “Bridge of Spies” during the Cold War, as the superpowers used its midpoint as a place to exchange captured agents. You will also enjoy a walk through the gardens at Sanssouci Park, which offers a large selection of fruit trees, vegetables, and flowers across the sprawling landscape. This cost of this optional tour includes dinner.
Day 6:
 Chopin Piano Recital $90 per person
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In the early evening, you can attend an optional Chopin piano recital, enjoying the music of Poland's best-known and most beloved musician. The cost of this optional tour includes dinner.
Day 8:
 Wieliczka Salt Mines $85 per person
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Join an afternoon optional tour to the Wieliczka Salt Mines—working mines that have been in operation for more than seven centuries, producing about 700 tons of pure salt per day. These fascinating mines are considered one of Europe’s great wonders and are protected by UNESCO as a historic monument. Here are more than 2,000 caverns of underground beauty on nine main levels—breathtaking chambers, galleries, and salt lakes. After exploring the mines, end the day with a typical Polish dinner in a local restaurant, accompanied by a sample of Zubrowka, the famous Polish vodka.

Please note: The salt mine tour involves extensive walking inside caves that are not brightly lit. You'll descend into the caves by stairs that may be slippery and return to ground level via elevator.
Day 10:
 Zakopane $85 per person
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Join us for an optional full-day tour to Zakopane, a lovely town in the foothills of the Tatra Mountains. Zakopane offers a look into the richness of Polish folk culture, as well as some of the regions most striking wooden architecture. Once there, you’ll enjoy an included tour of the town known as the “winter capital of Poland.” You might also be tempted to try some local delicacies, like oscypek—a rustic, smoked cheese usually made of sheep’s milk—over an included dinner, which is accompanied by colorful folk entertainment.