01
Prague before nine
Charles Bridge is a completely different experience at seven in the morning. We build the day around that hour, not against it.
Central & Eastern Europe
Central & Eastern Europe
Same continent. A third of the crowd.
- Best time
- May – June, September – October, December
- Ideal length
- 9 – 14 nights
- Pace
- Three or four cities, all rail-connected
- Visa
- Schengen-Croatia and Slovenia included
Why Central & Eastern Europe
Prague, Budapest, Vienna, Kraków, Ljubljana. These cities have the architecture people fly to Western Europe for, thermal baths and wine regions the guidebooks under-sell, and a cost of living that lets you eat and stay considerably better for the same money. It's the trip I recommend most often to people who've already done Europe once.
“Budapest at night from the Buda side is the best free view in Europe. It costs a walk uphill and nothing else.
What you'll actually do
The Central & Eastern Europe we'd plan for you
Not a list of sights, the specific things that make the difference between having been somewhere and having experienced it.
02
Budapest's thermal baths
Széchenyi is the famous one. Gellért and Rudas are the ones you'll actually want to spend the afternoon in.
03
Vienna's coffee houses
Not a tourist ritual, a genuine institution. We'll tell you which ones locals still sit in for two hours.
04
Christmas markets, if the timing works
Late November to December turns this entire region into the best version of itself. Book early, the good hotels go first.
A route that works
What a trip here can look like
A starting point, not a package. Every route we build gets reshaped around your dates, your pace and who's travelling.
- Days 1 – 3
Prague
Old Town, the Castle district, and an evening in Vinohrady where the bars aren't priced for visitors.
- Days 4 – 5
Český Krumlov or Kutná Hora
A small-town break between two capitals, which is exactly what stops a city trip feeling like a march.
- Days 6 – 8
Vienna
Schönbrunn, the Ringstrasse, the Naschmarkt, and one concert that isn't aimed at tour groups.
- Days 9 – 12
Budapest
Baths, the Danube at night, ruin bars, and a day trip to the Danube Bend if the weather's with us.
From our trips
Central & Eastern Europe, photographed
Every image here is from a trip we've planned or led ourselves.
Central & Eastern Europe
Central & Eastern Europe
Central & Eastern Europe
Central & Eastern EuropeWays to travel
How people travel Central & Eastern Europe
The same destination works very differently depending on who's coming. These are the formats that suit it best.
Keep looking
Other places worth your dates
If the timing isn't right for this one, one of these usually is.
Ready when you are
Let's plan Central & Eastern Europe
Tell us your rough dates and who's travelling. You'll get a route before you get a price.
Start your journey
Tell us a little about your trip.