Where to go when - Summer
21/05/2020 · By Sukie Chapman
Plan your summer getaway with Great Rail Journeys. Explore picturesque destinations and create unforgettable memories with like-minded travellers.
Read moreSave £200pp on River Cruise 2024 holidays, when you book by 21st May 2024.
2024 Tour code: DLR24
About the tour
Experience the magic of the Danube as we cruise comfortably to Imperial Vienna and Budapest. Step back in time to explore the Ottoman and Habsburg empires. Walk among eclectic architecture in Budapest, enjoy a private music recital in Vienna and ignite the senses with plenty of local flavour.
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You might also like our similar tour The
Classic Blue Danube!
Unforgettable experiences
What’s included
Itinerary
Our holiday begins as we meet at London St Pancras to begin our journey. We ride the Eurostar to Brussels, then continue by rail to Frankfurt, the financial capital of Germany, where we spend our first night. This lively city is renowned for its attractive Romerplatz, an old trading square where merchants used to sell their goods and where you can find the historic Rathaus building.
*If you would like to travel by air, view our Fly & Cruise option here.
Additional information
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Reviews
4.2 / 5 · 65 reviews
Derek White
Submitted 21 Sep 2023
As we like rail travel we chose this holiday linking with a river cruise which we enjoy. This was one of your longer journeys, heading towards the cruise from Budapest. There were several holdups on the outward 2 day train journey and there was anxiety that connections would not not be made. Simon, our train courier, was excellent, keeping us up-to-date. Unfortunately we arrived too late for dinner at the NH hotel in Nuremburg and were given sandwiches instead, not a good start as we had set off early that morning. After another held-up journey to Budapest the next day we arrived at the ship late, rather exhausted. The cruise was delightful, accommodation brilliant, staff helpful, food good. We enjoyed visiting such interesting countries though we opted out of the Austrian trips to Salzburg or Austrian lakes and enjoyed a very relaxing cruise from Linz to Passau instead. The recital by the string quartet from the Vienna Philharmonic was a highlight and the musical duo were excellent too. It was unfortunate that on occasions we were moored next to another cruise ship, thereby blocking the view from our cabin. Consequently we did not stay in our cabin on Mozart deck as the moored ship next to ours made it dark. The train journey home was delayed to Brussels so we had to rush to check-in and then we were told Eurostar to St Pancras was delayed by 50 minutes. We therefore missed our rail connections and finally managed to get home by 12.30am on Saturday 9th September. We will recall the cruise and the beautiful ship with pleasure and were fortunate with the weather, but we would not consider long train journeys with various connections again, which were arduous. (We used the Baggage Man which was an excellent service.)
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Graham
Submitted 20 Sep 2023
Ship was well-appointed but itinerary a little disappointing
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G Harvey
Submitted 20 Sep 2023
Excellent!
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Steve Hipperson
Submitted 20 Sep 2023
After an eventful journey to the boat we had a wonderful relaxing holiday.
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Helen Fergie
Submitted 20 Sep 2023
Very nice trip. However a lot of walking and wasn't advised till the end of the trip that I could have paid extra to upgrade cabin. Pity.
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P Harvey
Submitted 17 Sep 2023
Very good. Boat amazing, amazing food with lovely staff.Tour guide absolutely brilliant. A lot of the cruising was in the night though maybe there wasn’t much to look at? The day to the lakes was far too long a day. A lot of walking involved on day excursions. Train journey going took ages not helped by delays.Only a day to get back
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