A six day tour to Budapest, Lake Balaton, Vienna, the Semmering Pass and Graz.
Day One
Arrival in Budapest for a two-night stay in this cosmopolitan city straddling the Danube. You will stay in the recently refurbished Hotel Astoria (4 star), or similar, situated in the very centre, only a few minutes walk from the Danube and with easy access to all parts of the city. Dinner will be in the hotel and you will have time for a stroll along the river to see the illuminated city.
Day Two
Your morning sightseeing tour includes the Cathedral, Heroes Square and City Park on the Pest side. On the Buda side you will visit Gellert Hill for possibly the best views of Budapest and finally Castle Hill with the St Matthias Church and Fisherman’s Bastion. In the afternoon you have the option of a visit to the Children’s Railway in the Buda Hills. In the evening you will have dinner in a restaurant close to the hotel.
Day Three
After breakfast in the hotel, coach transfer to Nyugati Station for a champagne reception in the former Royal Waiting Room. The Danube Express will be waiting in the adjoining platform. Your sleeping car attendant will show you to your accommodation. In every compartment will be details of the on-train programme.
On departure from Budapest the Danube Express heads westwards. Lunch is served as the train skirts the southern shore of Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Central Europe. In Keszthely you have the option of visiting the baroque castle or taking a short coach journey to Heviz to enjoy a swim in the lake fed by warm springs. Dinner is served as the train heads alongside the northern shore of the lake.
Day Four
After breakfast on the train you arrive in Vienna, a city with one of the finest cultural, architectural and artistic heritages in Europe. Your sightseeing tour includes St Stephan’s Cathedral, Schnbrunn Palace, the Ring with it’s imposing buildings and the Prater wheel made famous in the film “The Third Man”. You re-join the train for lunch as it heads south over the Semmering Pass, the first railway to be constructed over the Alps and itself a UNESCO World Heritage site. 150 years after its building, it still impresses the traveller as a special experience by its varied landscape and characteristic sequence of viaducts and tunnels, curvature and grades. Conceived from the outset as an effort of ‘landscape gardening’, it attempts a harmonious combination of technology and nature. In Graz there will be free time to wander round this University City, where the ‘old town’ is one of the best preserved city centres in Central Europe. Enjoy a drink in the lounge car before dinner as the train heads eastwards and back into Hungary.
Day Five
After breakfast the train arrives back in Budapest and there will be an excursion to the Buda Hills for a ride on the Children’s Railway. Under adult supervision, this short narrow-gauge line is operated by school children who have done well at school, fulfilling the roles of cashiers, ticket inspectors, signalmen and traffic manager. Akin to a railway academy, many of the children will progress to a career on the big railway. The journey of around ten kilometres takes you through the woods with views over Budapest.
Your last night will be back in the Hotel Astoria.
Day Six
After breakfast, departure for onward connections home.
Please note this tour also operates in the reverse direction.
What's Included
- Three nights half-board in Budapest in twin/double room.
- Two nights on the Danube Express in two-berth compartments with washbasin or deluxe two-bedded compartments with en-suite shower and WC.
- All meals on board the train with complimentary wine, beer and soft drinks.
- Comprehensive sightseeing tours as outlined in the itinerary.
- Flights with Lufthansa UK to Budapest and return.
- Services of a Tour Manager.
Departures
8 June 2008 : Budapest - Balaton - Vienna - Alps - Budapest
Prices
| Classic sleeper two-berth (upper and lower berths) with washbasin.......... |
£1,600 |
| Twin-bedded Deluxe sleeping compartment with private shower / WC............. |
£2,000 |
| Single supplement (single rooms in hotels, single occupancy of Classic sleeper)................... |
£390 |
| Two single adjoining Classic compartments on train, double/twin rooms in hotels................. |
£200 |
Additional Nights in Budapest
Why not extend your stay and either travel out earlier or return later. The additional costs, per person per night (bed & breakfast), are as follows:
| Double Room | Single Room | |
|---|---|---|
| Budapest Hotel Astoria | £60 | £110 |
All prices are in £'s per person.
Included in the above prices are flights from and to London Heathrow, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh or Manchester with Lufthansa with a change in Frankfurt. If you wish to book your own flights, we will be pleased to quote a price excluding flights.
