Great Cities of Eastern Europe

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WARSAW, KRAKÓW, BUDAPEST, VIENNA, & PRAGUE

Join us for this escorted Great Cities of Eastern Europe tour package from the U.S. with airfare included. It showcases some of the best Eastern European countries to visit and the most beautiful cities and towns within them. Captivating capitals. Charming towns. Ample opportunities to experience places that are UNESCO World Heritage designated. Questions about where you’re headed and additional sightseeing and dining tips while traveling? Ask away! Your knowledgeable smarTours® guide has the answers and ensures your trip runs smoothly, so that you can just focus on being immersed in these atmospheric destinations. 5/5 stars on Tripadvisor

Shorten Your Trip! Enjoy our 11-day Budapest, Vienna & Prague tour visiting highlights from Budapest to Prague.

For COVID-19 updates, please scroll down to our Before You Depart section.

Did you know that you can make this tour private? Find out about pricing and options for groups of 10 or more travelers.

Itinerary at
a Glance

  • Overnight international flight to Warsaw
  • 2 nights in Warsaw
  • 2 nights in Kraków
  • 3 nights in Budapest
  • 3 nights in Vienna
  • 3 nights in Prague
  • Return flight to the U.S.

Tour
Highlights

  • Warsaw city tour – Vistula River, Old Town, Royal Route
  • Częstochowa – Jasna Góra Monastery
  • Auschwitz concentration camp
  • Kraków city tour – Wawel Royal Castle, St. Mary’s Church, Market Square
  • Budapest city tour – Fisherman’s Bastion, Castle Hill, Matthias Church, Citadel
  • Danube Bend river region, Szentendre (Hungary)
  • Vienna city tour – Ring Boulevard, Hofburg, Vienna State Opera, Saint Stephen’s Cathedral
  • Moravia (Czech Republic)
  • Dürnstein (Austria)
  • Telč (Czech Republic)
  • Prague city tour – Hradčany castle, Old Royal Palace, Charles Bridge, Old Town historic core

Activity Level: Explorer 

Your Tour
Includes

  • Round-trip flight from New York (JFK) (passengers may also book this tour without flights)
  • Airfare taxes, fees & fuel surcharges
  • Accommodations at superior, first-class hotels
  • 18 meals: 13 full buffet breakfasts (B), 5 dinners (D)
  • Comprehensive sightseeing tours including admission fees
  • Experienced English-speaking Tour Director and local guides
  • Intra-Europe ground transportation

Tour Itinerary

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Map

Click the Day by Day itinerary above (or swipe on mobile devices) to see the experiences that await on each day of your tour.

Day 1: Depart from the U.S.

Day 2: Arrive in Warsaw, Poland

Day 3: Warsaw City Tour and Warsaw at Leisure

Day 4: Warsaw/Częstochowa/Auschwitz/Kraków

Day 5: Kraków City Tour and Kraków at Leisure

Day 6: Kraków/Slovakia/Budapest, Hungary

Day 7: Budapest City Tour and Budapest at Leisure

Day 8: Danube Bend Excursion and Budapest at Leisure

Day 9: Budapest/Vienna, Austria

Day 10: Vienna

Day 11: Vienna

Day 12: Vienna/Prague, Czech Republic

Day 13: Prague

Day 14: Prague

Day 15: Depart Prague/Arrive in the U.S.

Guided Tour Pricing

Book by Sep. 2, 2022 to get the best price. The starting prices below reflect a $100 discount applied when you pay by echeck.

Prices and dates below include round-trip airfare from the New York area. Travelers may choose to purchase the tour only, and arrange their own arrival in destination.

2022 Tours Tour Only With Flights  
Saturday
October 8
—
Saturday
October 22
Guaranteed Departure
From
$3,399 $2,999 		Flights not available Select

* Departures designated as "Guaranteed" may be canceled or rescheduled only under Extraordinary Circumstances, for example in situations deemed to be unsafe or nonviable due to local conditions. See Terms & Conditions for full details.

Make This Tour Private Request a Future Date

Rates are per person based on double occupancy.
Single supplement applies when not sharing a room. Select a date above to see the rates for that specific departure.

For more information on this tour, please contact us here or call us during business hours (Mon-Fri, 9:00am – 5:30pm EST) at 1.800.337.7773.

Reservations and Payments
Reservations can be made online or by phone (1.800.337.7773) and will be confirmed upon receipt of your non-refundable, non-transferable deposit, which must be received at the time of reservation. Deposits are $300 per person. Full payment is due 90 days prior to departure. Space and prices subject to availability. Please see the smarTours Terms and Conditions for complete booking information.

Optional Tours Customize your trip with these optional tours.

Enhance your trip with our recommended optional tours. Indicated optional tours are available to pre-book when you reserve your trip and can be added to your reservation up to final payment. This is the best option to guarantee your spot on your preferred optional tour! Optional tours require a minimum number of participants. Optional tours are non-refundable unless they do not operate.

Some optional tours can be purchased in-destination and may cost extra. The payment methods and currency information to purchase tours in-destination will be provided on final documentation.

Frederic Chopin Recital

Krakow Salt Mines Tour

Kraków Jewish Quarter by Night

Folklore Dinner & Show

Morning Vienna Woods Excursion

Terezín Memorial Tour

Lunch Cruise

Reviews

Laurel Palmer

What a wonderful experience this was. Renata, our tour director, was exceptional, she is a knowledgeable, PATIENT, kind, funny and passionate lady who made this trip great! I can only hope that future smarTours trips I plan to take will be this good. We had a large group, 44 people, but everything ran smoothly. The local guides and our bus driver, Irek, were fantastic as well. I heard about smarTours from a friend and I'm glad we chose this company. The hotels were top-notch, food was great and they accommodated vegetarian guests as well. Only recommendation I would make is that they provide name badges for guests, it would be so helpful. Other than that it was a great tour visiting great places!

Jacqueline O'Donnell

We throughly enjoyed our Sept. 15 tour with Renata. It was like walking through the pages of a history book. One of the best tours we have taken and Renata and the local were wonderful. Anyone who loves history will enjoy this tour especially.

john sullivan

Renata, our guide, was outstanding. She went beyond what guides normaly do to make this tour unforgettable.

Rose Neal

I just returned from this trip a few days ago. The food, guides, history and scenery was wonderful throughout the tour. What a lovely surprise Poland was with its beautiful buildings and interesting history. I took all the optional tours which added greatly to the overall tour and they were a good value for the money. Overall it was a great trip.

janet rashes

What a fabulous tour...great tour guide(s), great accommodations, wonderful food and lovely people on the tour!

Kay Khayat

Thank you for organizing such a variety of experiences for the great cities tour. Renata, our guide, was brilliant, organized, interesting, and made our journey memorable. She gave us many tips to elevate our enjoyment and keep us safe. This is my second trip with Smartours and I'll continue to use your company....a great value, thoroughly educational, and a quality adventure!

Allan Zaug

The tour was great as usual, guide was excellent, group was all wonderful and we made some new friends. What more would you want?

Howard Chud

This trip was excellent. The cities visited, while different, had much history in common. Our tour guide was outstanding. She had a great amount of knowledge and, on a daily basis, really showed she cared about each tour member. Money exchange was a snap and I came home with no foreign currency, a task rarely achieved.

HelliTaskila

Renata our tour guide was exceptional and very attentive. I thoroughly enjoyed my trip which was quite fast paced encompassing so many sites and considerable history

Dale Moglin

This was our fifth trip (and definitely not our last) with Smartours. The hotels and local tour operators were great. Only wish we had more time in Vienna.

Jacqueline grant

Excellent tour guide was extremely knowledgable and kind

Steve and Sherry Wind

We had a wonderful time on this tour! It's a must for anyone who chooses to visit these beautiful places of history.

Diane yon

Great trip. Tour guide,Renata,was so well informed no matter what questions were asked. Step on guides in each of the cities also were extremely interesting and well prepared for almost any question. Each city visited presented a new experience. The trip was one of the best we have been on.

Gisela Driscoll

The trip was fabulous, but if possible don't travel during July, it was blistering hot. Besides the cities the additional stops chosen by the tour company were wonderful, interesting and a worthy addition. The hotels were comfortable and clean, breakfast was great in some and not so great in others but adequate. Last but not least our guide Renata was fantastic, one of the best ever. The only thing I will complain about is the seating on the bus. The seats were so close together that even I at 4'10 felt like a sardine jammed in a can. It must have been horrible for an average sized person and I highly recommend to make some changes.

Victor Chikasawa

The smarTours trip to Warsaw, Krakow, Budapest, Vienna, Prague was fantastic. Our tour director Pavel C. was incredible and even surpassed excellent when in Prague. He offered us an extra free guided tour which gave us even more of the history of this great city. The bus driver Henrique (Warsaw to Vienna) was a superior driver who drove extremely smoothly and safely.

Ed & Gale T

Enjoyed a wonderful trip to Eastern Europe; nice hotels w/breakfast, nice bus & great itinerary. Sights were wonderful and everything went off without a hitch. Pavo our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and always there to answer your questions & help out. He was very organized and kept things moving at a steady pace. (And you are on the move...) Always felt safe in each city; just need to use caution like you would when visiting any big city in the world. Agree with review below of the different Optional Tours to take...<br /> <br /> Things to know:<br /> Bring along a 220V to 110V convertor to be able to charge your electronic devices.<br /> Still a charge to use a restroom in Europe. Our tour guide had us near a restroom at least every 2 hours.<br /> Don't forget to let your credit card & debit/atm card company know you are going overseas. As AAA members we preordered the different currencies ($75-$100 U.S.) needed using a link to off AAA's webpage to Travelex. Our tour guide pointed out best ATM or Money Exchange kiosk to use if you want to get funds when you arrive.<br /> A lot of walking is involved on cobblestone roads/pathways; bring comfortable walking shoes.<br /> You can check in with Finnair 24 hours in advance; we did this and were able to get 2 seats together by aisle/window for overseas flight. Seat configuration on plane was 2-4-2.

Dave Guzman

Interested to hear more from Janice and Art Baer (Jul 5) about the Krakow segment of the tour and the comment "only complaint...more leg room.".

Patty & Jimmy

Just returned home yesterday from the 15 day Eastern European trip and it was amazing. We had Renata as our guide and we all thought she went above and beyond to make sure we had what we needed and knew where to go and how to get there. She could not have done more to make us welcome and comfortable. Each day we were given a history of where we were going and she was very knowledgeable and kept us interested. We were always handed a city map at each new location and she marked the hotel locaton . Be sure not to miss the folk dance excursion in Budapest. It was amazing. Our driver Henrique, the females fell in love with. He always gave us his hand when stepping off the bus. We used the front entrance more than the back to see him... Recommend this tour highly. A++++++... Would use smart tours again....

Debi Burnett

Just returned from the 15 day Great Cities of Eastern Europe. Have taken many tour groups in the past and have to say this one was right up there as one of the best!!! So enjoyed the itinerary, great hotels, sightseeing, beautiful brand new bus. Very well planned!. The trip was really made by the exceptional tour guide Ranalta. She was amazing!! Because of her expertise and experience the trip went very smooth. She was very knowledgable and shared so much history of all our destinations. Everyone loved her!! Great job! Look forward to using Smartours again!!

Denise Wernlein

Just returned from the 15 day tour. Travelled with my husband and two children, (ages 16 and 20). We all enjoyed this trip. So much history and beautiful architecture to explore. The accommodations were clean and comfortable. The breakfast buffets were very good. There was a variety of foods to pick from so that all palates were satisfied. Our tour director, Renata was exceptional!!!! She is well organized, helpful, knowledgeable, energetic, friendly and fun to travel with. Renata shared with us what it was like to grow up and live under communist rule. Very interesting! If you are going to take this tour, be ready for a lot of walking. Take some comfortable walking shoes. Many of the surfaces are uneven as they are cobble stone. We would definitely travel with smart tours again.

Janice and Art Baer

Hotels were all great. Our tour guide was knowledgeable, organized,patient and had an excellent command of the English language. He gave us an extra tour in Prague! Overall he was excellent; only critique was that he was not more involved in welcoming and closing dinners...did not facilitate group members introduction/getting to know one another nor stayed at the farewell dinner.<br /> <br /> Tour guides were good to excellent...the best being the guide who took us to the Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna. Some guides talked non stop and was too much to digest. <br /> <br /> Warsaw-Disappointed that the Warsaw Ghetto wall was just a drive by and a 1 1/2 hr tour of the Jews of Poland Museum was not enough.<br /> Krakow-Salt Mines...good not great. Need to make people aware BEFORE the tour that there are many steps to traverse and a great deal of walking.<br /> Jewish Quarter by Night-Tour was skimpy at best and restaurant food was terrible. If you continue this tour, consider another restaurant and allow more time to walk around the area..get there when you can see the synagogue and walk to the Holocaust memorial. We saw the memorial as my husband and I took a walk after we ordered our food. This tour was a waste of money and could have easily done it on our own.<br /> Budapest-Danube River cruise-fantastic and beautiful<br /> Schoenbrunn Palance was excellent and the best guide<br /> Prague- tours were excellent with our tour director and gave us an extra tour of places we would not have seen.<br /> Lunch cruise-excellent..beyond our expectations..Very nice.<br /> Helsinki-enjoyed it...beautiful great restaurant. Would have preferred going to hotel after arriving instead of driving around even though the guide was great...very sweet. Hotel was in great area to explore by ourselves.<br /> <br /> Comments about Finnair- Great service, ran smoothly and on time and friendly...only complaint...more leg room.<br /> <br /> We would definitely travel with smarTours again. It is a well run program, excellent hotels and financially competitive. The trip met our expectations and had a great time.

Boris Spektor and 7 more

We just returned from this tour (Helsinki, Warsaw, Auschwitz, Birkenau, Krakow, Budapest, Vienna, Prague, Helsinki). Our main tour guide (with us for almost all of the trip), Renata, was terrific. She was knowledgeable, friendly, very helpful and accommodating, energetic....just great!). In each city we had expert guides and each was absolutely wonderful!<br /> Overall it was an excellent tour, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a thorough overview of the history and culture of the cities visited. The food, entertainment, optional tours, tour guides in each city, bus drivers were all wonderful. Cant say enough about the breakfasts!!!! And, some of the scheduled dinner meals included wine or beer - I definitely did NOT feel "nickeled and dimed" on this tour.

mike riley

Very interesting tour of Poland-Hungary-Austria-Czech Republic-Finland.. Tour guide Ms Renata Mikulowska was extremely informative & available for questions.. Hotels in Warsaw-Vienna & Helsinki outstanding ---Krakow Hotel-fair--Budapest & Prague good..

Marie Antoinette McShane

Outstanding historical visit to six amazing cities. We traveled with delightful people who were interested in being inclusive and gaining from rich cultural experiences. The tour went exceedingly smooth with transitions between all cities and sites to be seen. The value of the trip was a splendid deal.

judy luellwitz

Just returned from the first tour of the season. Very busy, packed schedule to 5 amazing cities. Hotels were consistently good to great, breakfasts also excellent. Renata was a wonderful guide. Very experienced and full of knowledge and humor. Local tours were better than expected. The cities are all unique and worth a visit. Very new bus for comfortable travel. Only complaint was too much of a hard sell for optional tours. We were a small group and it was difficult to get the minimum number for many of them. Would recommend this tour, but best if you are able to walk a few miles over various surfaces without difficulty. Hope you get Renata as she adds so much to this trip!

Judy Angerer

Our cruise on the Danube was the best! Rather a no frills boat but wonderful food and everyone treated us like royalty. So interesting to go through the less than popular countries. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Steve Siegel and Fran Scheffler

We just returned from this tour (Helsinki, Warsaw, Auschwitz, Birkenau, Krakow, Budapest, Vienna, Prague, Helsinki). Our main tour guide (with us for almost all of the trip), Renata, was terrific. She was knowledgeable, friendly, very helpful and accommodating, energetic....just great!). In each city we had expert guides and each was absolutely wonderful!<br /> Overall it was an excellent tour, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a thorough overview of the history and culture of the cities visited. The food, entertainment, optional tours, tour guides in each city, bus drivers were all wonderful. Cant say enough about the breakfasts!!!! And, some of the scheduled dinner meals included wine or beer - I definitely did NOT feel "nickeled and dimed" on this tour. <br /> However, there are two itinerary issues that should be addressed as they detract from the overall comfort for individual travelers:<br /> 1. The website has an error: you do NOT arrive in Warsaw late morning; travelers arrive in Helsinki at 9 am (Helsinki time) after the overnight flight from NYC (7.5 hour flight), and must wait with an 8 hr layover until the connecting plane to Warsaw leaves (5pm Helsinki time) That means, that travelers from NYC arrive in Warsaw 16+ hours later and then are taken to the hotel. (the website itinerary states 'warsaw late morning' - not true). Smarttours solution was to offer a bus from Helsinki airport to downtown Helsinki and drop us all in front of a University building so we could aimlessly wander about for 6 of the 8 hours. - this was a waste of a day! A better use of our time would have been to schedule a bus tour with a guide on that day (of course the BEST solution would be to find a direct flight to Warsaw from some other airline). We could have seen the Hard Rock church, Sibelius statue, and a general tour that day. Lunch in the city should have been arranged and introductions to our travel mates might have been a nice touch.<br /> I must mention here, that I called Smart Tours office twice about this issue a week before the trip when I noticed the inconsistencies between my flight time info and the website - I was not impressed with the cold, unfriendly, and unsympathetic response I received from the corporate office person I spoke with - the answer was "well, others have done it and no complaints were expressed" - WELL -HERE IS YOUR WELL EARNED COMPLAINT! I am not mentioning a name here, but am not at all satisfied with that person's phone manner (I spoke with that person more than once). As this was our first Smart Tour trip it left me feeling uncertain (what other "surprises" should I expect?) - fortunately, no other difficulties were experienced.<br /> 2. Although it was clean and relatively convenient, the hotel in Budapest (NH Budapest Hotel) was not on the level of the other hotels we stayed in. It was a definite "eh" compared to the others.<br /> By the way, all our travel companions were very nice, friendly, and fun to be with. We really enjoyed this trip and despite this critique, we would go with Smart Tours again (many of the people on our tour had been on several Smart Tours, and felt they were well taken care of).<br /> Hoping Smart Tours takes this critique in the spirit in which it is offered.
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