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12 Days Budapest to the Black Sea - Eastbound River Cruise Tour Package
Duration: 12 Days / 11 Nights
Priced From: $4,290 pp Dbl. Occ.
Dates: May, Jun, Sep, Oct
Chart a leisurely course along the romantic lower Danube River aboard our luxury riverboats ms Swiss Sapphire or ms Swiss Jewel, exploring rich cultural legacies. Cruise by medieval monasteries, citadels and villages, and through the Iron Gate of the Danube. Enjoy a horse-drawn wagon ride, and see performances of folkloric dancing and horsemanship skills. Examine fascinating museums of fine art, traditional homesteads and folk art. Share local specialties with your Bulgarian contemporaries at a special home-hosted lunch; choose to visit a former royal Romanian residence or the isolated island monastery where the original Dracula is said to be entombed; and put your feet in the Black Sea. One of several Danube cruises from us, this memorable journey travels through Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania, with two nights on land at 5-star hotels in Budapest and Bucharest.
Tour Itinerary
• Indicates cruise day
Day 1 - Your adventure begins in Budapest
This most exciting of Danube cruises and tours begins at 6:00 PM at Le Méridien Budapest. A transfer is included from Budapest's Ferihegy Airport to Le Méridien Budapest in the heart of the city's Pest section. Meet your fellow travelers and our Directors at the welcome cocktail reception followed by dinner in the hotel this evening.
Meals:Dinner
LodgingLe Méridien Budapest, Hungary
Day 2 - Discover bustling Budapest, past and present
Your exploration of Budapest begins with a special visit to the opulent State Opera House in Pest, opened in 1884. Later, view the Parliament building, a Neo-Gothic masterpiece; Heroes' Square, bounded by some of the finest architectural works in Hungary; and such Budapest treasures as City Park, Central Market Hall, and tree-lined Andrassy Avenue.
Meals:Breakfast
LodgingLe Méridien Budapest, Hungary
• Day 3 - Visit Budapest landmarks and set off on your cruise
After a morning at leisure, tour Buda's Castle Hill, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, on a guided walking tour; see architectural landmarks such as iconic Fishermen's Bastion and 700-year-old Matthias Church. Board your luxury riverboat to launch this most extraordinary of Danube cruises, bound for Solt. Note: Matthias Church may be closed on some departures due to services.
Meals:Breakfast, dinner
LodgingCruising aboard the Riverboat
• Day 4 - Horses and folkways in Hungary
A horse-drawn wagon ride takes you to the Equestrian Center, where you'll see Puszta horsemen demonstrating traditional skills. Then cruise to Kalocsa, celebrated for its paprika and folk art, where you'll visit the beautiful Baroque library in the Bishop's Palace, housing one of the finest early collections in Europe.
Meals:Breakfast, lunch, dinner
LodgingCruising aboard the Riverboat
• Day 5 - Cruise to Croatia's historic cities
As your discovery of the lower Danube cruises into Croatia, attend an on-board lecture on the country's culture and history. Travel overland to the Baroque city of Vukovar, once showcasing opulent 18th-century mansions, but now poignantly symbolizing the effects of the 1990s war as it rebuilds. Continue cruising to Serbia this afternoon.
Meals:Breakfast, lunch, dinner
LodgingCruising aboard the Riverboat
• Day 6 - Serbia's cosmopolitan capital, Belgrade
Dock early morning in Belgrade, Serbia's modern capital at the juncture of the Danube and Sava rivers, with roots dating back to 3 BC. A shipboard lecture sets the stage for sightseeing including visits to Tito's Memorial, St. Sava Church, and Kalemegdan Fortress, one of the city's key historic sites. You'll also see busy Slavija Square in the heart of Belgrade, Serbia's Parliament complex, Republic Square, the National Theatre and City Hall. Back aboard your riverboat, enjoy some leisure time before dinner, which is followed by a music and dance presentation.
Meals:Breakfast, lunch, dinner
LodgingCruising aboard the Riverboat
• Day 7 - The Iron Gate, King Decebalus and more
Continuing one of our popular Danube cruises, relax on a day's cruise past the fields and vineyards of Eastern Europe; shipboard activities which may be offered during your cruise range from cooking demonstrations to folkloric, music and dance performances. Pass into Romania and through the Kazan Narrows and the Iron Gate of the Danube, a two-mile-long series of narrow gorges between the Carpathian and Balkan Mountains. As you glide along the Bulgarian / Romanian border, look for the massive monument to the 2nd-century Dacian King Decebalus - Europe's tallest rock sculpture, completed in 2004 - carved into the riverbank on the Romanian side, as well as spectacular views of the Transylvanian Alps.
Meals:Breakfast, lunch, dinner
LodgingCruising aboard the Riverboat
• Day 8 - Big day in Bulgaria
Learn all about Iconography with a lecture and demonstration as your journey along the lower Danube cruises to Svishtov, Bulgaria, for excursions to nearby towns. Travel to the medieval capital of Bulgaria, Veliko Turnovo, whose ancient walled fortress and castle are set atop three hills overlooking the Yantra River. In the nearby town of Arbanassi, you'll enjoy a unique opportunity to meet and share local specialties with your Bulgarian contemporaries at a private, home-hosted lunch. A busy day concludes with an on-board presentation on Bulgarian customs, as well as special music and dance perfomances.
Meals:Breakfast, lunch, dinner
LodgingCruising aboard the Riverboat
• Day 9 - Exploring Romania’s Black Sea coast
Arrive in Cernavoda and head off on a day trip to Romania's Black Sea coast, stopping at the seaside resort towns of Constanta - where you'll take a guided tour - and Mamaia, set at the edge of the Black Sea. You may want to take a walk along one of Mamaia's fine beaches - they're the only ones in Europe sporting pure-white sand, and have helped make Mamaia a popular vacation destination for more than a century. Please join us aboard the riverboat for the Captain's farewell cocktail reception and dinner tonight.
Meals:Breakfast, lunch, dinner
LodgingCruising aboard the Riverboat
Day 10 - Bucharest beckons
After disembarking your riverboat and bidding the crew goodbye in Cernavoda, travel through the Romanian countryside to Bucharest, capital of Romania and once regarded as the "Paris of the Balkans." A sightseeing tour includes Revolution Square and the Triumphal Arch; erected to commemorate Romania's reunification and those who fell in World War I, it is a smaller but exact copy of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. You'll also pay a visit to the massive People's Palace, home to Romania's Parliament; the world's second-largest building after the Pentagon, some parts of it are reportedly still unfinished! Tonight you'll spend the first of two nights at the landmark Athénée Palace Hilton Bucharest, one of Romania's finest hotels since 1914.
Meals:Breakfast, lunch, dinner
LodgingAthénée Palace Hilton Bucharest, Romania
Day 11 - Castles, monasteries and mysteries in Romania
A choice of sightseeing in Romania today invites you to opt for a full day's excursion to tour fairy-tale Peles Castle in Sinaia - built for Romania's royal family in the 1880s - or a boat ride to Snagov Island to visit isolated Snagov Monastery, said to be the final resting place of Vlad Tepes, the historical model for Bram Stoker's character of Dracula. Return to Bucharest for dinner at your historic hotel as your most memorable of Danube cruises draws to a close.
Meals:Breakfast, lunch
LodgingAthénée Palace Hilton Bucharest, Romania
Day 12 - Homeward bound
Tour ends in Bucharest, Romania. A transfer is included from Athénée Palace Hilton Bucharest to Bucharest Airport.
Meals:Breakfast
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Contact: Travelwizard.com
Phone: 1-415-446-5252 or 1-800-330-8820
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