9-night Highlights Of Eastern Europe Cruise/Land Package

Caught between eastern and western Europe, Budapest has a character uniquely its own. It's also the last cheap, civilised city in Europe. Budapest can seem like one big sight, with each phase in its history, from the Ottoman period until the Communist days and from renaissance to revolution, leaving its mark on the city. For the tourist, a trip to Hungary's capital is dominated by the majestic sights of Buda. In the summer, there are open-air festivals at Szeged, Diosgyor Castle in Miskolc, Gyor and Pecs. Visit the former Royal Palace complex, the Matyas templom and the Belvaros. Margaret Island is a giant recreational park and feels pleasantly separated from the city bustle. Hungarian National Gallery houses Hungarian art since the birth of the nation. Although Esztergom is Hungary's most sacred city, home of the Archbishop and the nation's biggest church, it has a real-life edge. The first-time visitor to Szeged is invariably struck by its space and grandeur. One's immediate impressions of Hungary's third largest provincial city are of greenery and plazas, of broad.

Destination Guide

Excursions

Budapest Shore Excursion: Private Half Day City Tour of Budapest, 4 hours — Optional Private Excursions
This privately guided tour shows you the major sights within on the Pest Side (e.g.the Opera House, St. Stephen's Basilica), as well the Buda Side (Castle Hill). One highlight of this tour is an inside visit of the Fishermen's Bastion and the impressive Matthias Church.

Highlights:

• Heroe's Square, Vajdahunyad Castle (outside)
• State Opera (outside)
• St. Stephen's Basilica (outside)
• Parliament Buidling (outside)
• Fishermen's Bastion (entry to upper terrace)
• Matthias Church (indoor visit)

Your private guide is always flexible and adapts the tour according to your special interests.

Tour Duration: 4 hours

Tour can operate: Morning or Afternoon

Physical Activity Level: Light

Inclusions:

• Pick up and drop off at the landing stage of the cruising ship in Budapest
• Transfer in a private car
• Private licensed English speaking guide (other languages available, but on request)
• Entrance fees for Fishermen's Bastion and Matthias Church

Not included:

• Meals
• Gratuities and personal expenses
• Entrances other than stated above

Budapest Shore Excursion: Private Full Day City Tour of Budapest, 8 hours — Optional Private Excursions
This extended privately guided full day basically covers all major sights and interesting locations within Budapest, also including inside visits of the Fishermen's Bastion, Matthias Church and the Parliament Building.

Highlights:

• Main sights, e.g. National Museum, State Opera, Heroe's Square, Great Synagogue, Central Market Hall, Gellért Hill, Citatel, Vajdahunyad Castle etc. (outside visits)
• Various Bridges above the Danube, e.g. Chain Bridge, Liberty Bridge, Elisabeth Bridge etc.
• Matthias Church (inside visit)
• Fishermen's Bastion (inside visit)
• Parliament Building (inside visit)

Your guide is always flexible and adapts the tour according to your special interests.

Tour Duration: 8 hours

Tour can operate: Full Day

Physical Activity Level: Moderate

Inclusions:

• Pick up and drop off at the landing stage of the cruising ship in Budapest
• Transfer in a private car
• Private licensed English speaking guide (other languages available, but on request)
• Entrance fees for Fishermen's Bastion, Matthias Church, Parliament

Not included:

• Meals
• Gratuities and personal expenses
• Entrances other than stated above

Budapest Shore Excursion: Private Half Day Tour Budapest Castle District, 4 hours — Optional Private Excursions
During this privately guided tour, you visit the Castle Hill of Budapest, with the Royal and Presidential Palaces, fascinating squares and medieval cobblestone streets. Highlights are inside visits of the Fishermen's Bastion and the impressive Matthias Church.

Highlights:

• Budapest's Castle Hill
• Royal and Presidential Palaces (outside)
• Holy Trinity Square
• Hess András Square
• Fishermen's Bastion (entry to upper terrace)
• Matthias Church of Our Lady (indoor visit)

Your private guide is always flexible and adapts the tour according to your special interests.

Tour Duration: 4 hours

Tour can operate: Morning or Afternoon

Physical Activity Level: Light

Inclusions:

• Pick up and drop off at the landing stage of the cruising ship in Budapest
• Transfer in a private car
• Private licensed English speaking guide (other languages available, but on request)
• Entrance fees for Fishermen's Bastion and Matthias Church

Not included:

• Meals
• Gratuities and personal expenses
• Entrances other than stated above

Caught between eastern and western Europe, Budapest has a character uniquely its own. It's also the last cheap, civilised city in Europe. Budapest can seem like one big sight, with each phase in its history, from the Ottoman period until the Communist days and from renaissance to revolution, leaving its mark on the city. For the tourist, a trip to Hungary's capital is dominated by the majestic sights of Buda. In the summer, there are open-air festivals at Szeged, Diosgyor Castle in Miskolc, Gyor and Pecs. Visit the former Royal Palace complex, the Matyas templom and the Belvaros. Margaret Island is a giant recreational park and feels pleasantly separated from the city bustle. Hungarian National Gallery houses Hungarian art since the birth of the nation. Although Esztergom is Hungary's most sacred city, home of the Archbishop and the nation's biggest church, it has a real-life edge. The first-time visitor to Szeged is invariably struck by its space and grandeur. One's immediate impressions of Hungary's third largest provincial city are of greenery and plazas, of broad.

Destination Guide

Excursions

Budapest Shore Excursion: Private Half Day City Tour of Budapest, 4 hours — Optional Private Excursions
This privately guided tour shows you the major sights within on the Pest Side (e.g.the Opera House, St. Stephen's Basilica), as well the Buda Side (Castle Hill). One highlight of this tour is an inside visit of the Fishermen's Bastion and the impressive Matthias Church.

Highlights:

• Heroe's Square, Vajdahunyad Castle (outside)
• State Opera (outside)
• St. Stephen's Basilica (outside)
• Parliament Buidling (outside)
• Fishermen's Bastion (entry to upper terrace)
• Matthias Church (indoor visit)

Your private guide is always flexible and adapts the tour according to your special interests.

Tour Duration: 4 hours

Tour can operate: Morning or Afternoon

Physical Activity Level: Light

Inclusions:

• Pick up and drop off at the landing stage of the cruising ship in Budapest
• Transfer in a private car
• Private licensed English speaking guide (other languages available, but on request)
• Entrance fees for Fishermen's Bastion and Matthias Church

Not included:

• Meals
• Gratuities and personal expenses
• Entrances other than stated above

Budapest Shore Excursion: Private Full Day City Tour of Budapest, 8 hours — Optional Private Excursions
This extended privately guided full day basically covers all major sights and interesting locations within Budapest, also including inside visits of the Fishermen's Bastion, Matthias Church and the Parliament Building.

Highlights:

• Main sights, e.g. National Museum, State Opera, Heroe's Square, Great Synagogue, Central Market Hall, Gellért Hill, Citatel, Vajdahunyad Castle etc. (outside visits)
• Various Bridges above the Danube, e.g. Chain Bridge, Liberty Bridge, Elisabeth Bridge etc.
• Matthias Church (inside visit)
• Fishermen's Bastion (inside visit)
• Parliament Building (inside visit)

Your guide is always flexible and adapts the tour according to your special interests.

Tour Duration: 8 hours

Tour can operate: Full Day

Physical Activity Level: Moderate

Inclusions:

• Pick up and drop off at the landing stage of the cruising ship in Budapest
• Transfer in a private car
• Private licensed English speaking guide (other languages available, but on request)
• Entrance fees for Fishermen's Bastion, Matthias Church, Parliament

Not included:

• Meals
• Gratuities and personal expenses
• Entrances other than stated above

Budapest Shore Excursion: Private Half Day Tour Budapest Castle District, 4 hours — Optional Private Excursions
During this privately guided tour, you visit the Castle Hill of Budapest, with the Royal and Presidential Palaces, fascinating squares and medieval cobblestone streets. Highlights are inside visits of the Fishermen's Bastion and the impressive Matthias Church.

Highlights:

• Budapest's Castle Hill
• Royal and Presidential Palaces (outside)
• Holy Trinity Square
• Hess András Square
• Fishermen's Bastion (entry to upper terrace)
• Matthias Church of Our Lady (indoor visit)

Your private guide is always flexible and adapts the tour according to your special interests.

Tour Duration: 4 hours

Tour can operate: Morning or Afternoon

Physical Activity Level: Light

Inclusions:

• Pick up and drop off at the landing stage of the cruising ship in Budapest
• Transfer in a private car
• Private licensed English speaking guide (other languages available, but on request)
• Entrance fees for Fishermen's Bastion and Matthias Church

Not included:

• Meals
• Gratuities and personal expenses
• Entrances other than stated above

Batina is a little village on the border of the Baranja region in Croatia. Batina features a recreational and bathing resort "Zeleni Otok" (Green Island) and a number of opportunities in the warm part of the year for water sports. It is also the center of the Baranja Art Colony.

Osijek is located on the beautiful River Drava, and is the largest city in Eastern Croatia. It boasts more greenery and parks than any other city in the country. Architecture enthusiasts will no doubt be mesmerized by Osijek's beautiful buildings including the Citadel an extensive complex of lovely building built in Baroque style by the Hapsburgs. The city art gallery holds a collection of Slovanian art that contains something for everyone including historic portraits of local aristocrats. Another attraction not to be missed by architecture lovers in the Cathedral of St Peter and Paul. This grand neo-Gothic building is the city's defining visual trade-mark.

Destination Guide

Located in eastern Croatia, the city of Vukovaris located at the confluence of the Vuka River into the Danube. It is the largest Croatian town and river port on the Danube, with an economy based on farming, livestock breeding, textiles and food-processing. The most interesting of its attractive buildings are the 18th century Eltz family castle, the town center's Baroque buildings, the Franciscan monastery, the parish church of St. James, and the Orthodox church of St. Nicholas.

Destination Guide

Belgrade is the capital of Serbia with about 1.6 million inhabitants. It is located in southeast Europe, in the Balkan Peninsula, at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers. It is one of the oldest cities in Europe and since ancient times it has been an important traffic focal point, an intersection of the roads of Eastern and Western Europe. Belgrade is the capital of Serbian culture, education, science and economy. As a result of its tumultuous history, many nations live in Belgrade for centuries, and the majority of the population make Serbs (86%) of Orthodox persuasion.

Destination Guide

The town is situated at 199 km north-west of Sofia, on the right bank of Dunabe it is linked with Kalafat town (in Romania) by a ferry. A major factor making the city a resort is the availability of mineral water. Vidin is one of the oldest towns along the Bulgarian Danube bank. It appears as the Roman fortress of Bononia on the foundations of a Thracian settlement. During the First Bulgarian Kingdom it is known as Budin (Bdin). Bishop's centre. During the Second Bulgarian Kingdom it is a strong fortress and after 1371 a capital of the Vidin Kingdom under Tsar Ivan Sratsimir. To this day the following sites have been preserved: Baba Vida fortress, built in the 9th-10th centuries on the ruins of a Roman fortress (rebuilt many times, its present appearance dating back to the 18th C.), the Turkish konak (the second half of the 18th C.), the mosque and library of Osman Nuri Pasha, the cruciform barracks of 1798, old Renaissance buildings, a synagogue.

Destination Guide

Rousse is an ancient Bulgarian port on the Danube River. People originally settled there because the river produced a living. Today the municipality enjoys a rich cultural lifestyle, hosting an Arts and Culture club, the Rousse Art Gallery, a community art center for children, and the Sava Ognyanov Drama Theatre, one of the most successful professional theatre companies in Bulgaria.

Destination Guide

The Giurgiu County is situated in the Southern part of Romania, on the middle course of the Danube River, as a part of the Romanian Plain. The Southern border of the county washed by the Danube on a length of 72 km gives it the possibility to have river connections (including the way to the Black Sea) with the Danubian countries from the Central and Eastern Europe. Since 1993 when the Rhin-Main-Danube was finished, an opening to the West-European countries was created being possible to reach the North Sea via Rotterdam. The Giurgiu-Ruse road and railway bridge, the only permanent cross over the Danube to Bulgaria, offers also connections to the countries of Central Europe, from and to the Balkan Peninsula and Middle Asia. The Giurgiu county has a diversified industrial production, but being situated in a predominant agricol region its main wealth consists in agricultural activities (cereals, vegetables and vine). The opening of the Free Zone of Giurgiu, the short distance to Bucharest and Bulgaria will offer new opportunities in the development of this county. The natural landscape, interesting historic places offer to tourists some points of attraction. For example, in the village of Comana, on the bank of the Neajlov River, there is a monastery built by ruler Vlad Tepes which is documentary dated back from 1461. The Monuments from Calugareni, placed on the road between Bucharest and Giurgiu, are dedicated to the Romanian army led by Mihai the Brave who fought here in 1594-1595 and was admired by the whole Europe after drove away over the Danube the numberless Ottoman army of Sinan Pasha. The capital city of this county is Giurgiu which is documentary dated back from 1395. Among the monuments of Giurgiu the Clock Tower has to be mentioned. Also the "Teohari Antonescu" History Museum is an important and interesting cultural place in Giurgiu.

Destination Guide

Bucharest is the capital and largest city in Romania and is located in the southern part of the country. Referred to as the ‘Paris of the Balkans’, Bucharest has ornate buildings, wide boulevards and gardens fashioned after French architecture and city planning. In the name of progress and modernization, North Korean style buildings began being erected – many of which still stand unfinished today. Sights to see in Bucharest range from the stately to the heavenly. The Palace of Parliament should not be missed while in Bucharest – and it’s hard not to. It’s the second largest building in the world behind the Pentagon. Containing over 1,000 rooms, restaurants, conference areas and an art gallery, it houses the Romanian Parliament. There are several museums in the city, such as the National Art Museum and the Village Museum - an open–air museum containing over 300 houses, churches and mills from all over Romania and displays of some of the best folk architecture in the region. The Antim Monastery and Patriarchate Church are among Bucharest's outstanding religious structures.

Destination Guide

Bucharest is the capital and largest city in Romania and is located in the southern part of the country. Referred to as the ‘Paris of the Balkans’, Bucharest has ornate buildings, wide boulevards and gardens fashioned after French architecture and city planning. In the name of progress and modernization, North Korean style buildings began being erected – many of which still stand unfinished today. Sights to see in Bucharest range from the stately to the heavenly. The Palace of Parliament should not be missed while in Bucharest – and it’s hard not to. It’s the second largest building in the world behind the Pentagon. Containing over 1,000 rooms, restaurants, conference areas and an art gallery, it houses the Romanian Parliament. There are several museums in the city, such as the National Art Museum and the Village Museum - an open–air museum containing over 300 houses, churches and mills from all over Romania and displays of some of the best folk architecture in the region. The Antim Monastery and Patriarchate Church are among Bucharest's outstanding religious structures.

Destination Guide

Bucharest is the capital and largest city in Romania and is located in the southern part of the country. Referred to as the ‘Paris of the Balkans’, Bucharest has ornate buildings, wide boulevards and gardens fashioned after French architecture and city planning. In the name of progress and modernization, North Korean style buildings began being erected – many of which still stand unfinished today. Sights to see in Bucharest range from the stately to the heavenly. The Palace of Parliament should not be missed while in Bucharest – and it’s hard not to. It’s the second largest building in the world behind the Pentagon. Containing over 1,000 rooms, restaurants, conference areas and an art gallery, it houses the Romanian Parliament. There are several museums in the city, such as the National Art Museum and the Village Museum - an open–air museum containing over 300 houses, churches and mills from all over Romania and displays of some of the best folk architecture in the region. The Antim Monastery and Patriarchate Church are among Bucharest's outstanding religious structures.

Destination Guide