The Black Sea to Budapest - Westbound 2025

13 days
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USTOA

River Cruise
On this lower Danube cruise Budapest is your destination as explore westward from Bucharest through Central Europe's ancient heart. Discover dramatic castles, royal residences, centuries-old monasteries, and myriad cultural treasures as you sail aboard one of Tauck's premium riverboats, and enjoy two-night stays at city-center hotels in Budapest and Bucharest.
From$7,190
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Overview

Trip type
River Cruise
Lodging level
Premium - 4 star
Physical level
Easy

Highlights

    • Explore the romantic lower Danube through the heart of Central Europe
    • where East and West meet and intertwine in fascinating cultures and turbulent history... Glide past medieval monasteries
    • citadels and villages...Discover resort towns along Romania's Black Sea Coast
    • explore an ancient Christian necropolis in Pecs
    • and visit 'Dracula's' castle in Transylvania... dine in a palace in Bucharest... Share homemade refreshments in the home of a Croatian family rebuilding their lives in postwar Vukovar
    • and listen to Béla Bartók's piano music at a recital in his Budapest home. Experience authentic local cuisine
    • music and dance
    • and a wealth of architectural wonders as your river cruise winds its way through Hungary
    • Croatia
    • Serbia

What's this trip about?

    On this lower Danube cruise Budapest is your destination as explore westward from Bucharest through Central Europe's ancient heart. Discover dramatic castles, royal residences, centuries-old monasteries, and myriad cultural treasures as you sail aboard one of Tauck's premium riverboats, and enjoy two-night stays at city-center hotels in Budapest and Bucharest.

Details

Itinerary focusOperator does not provide
Group sizeStandard Group - 25 + people
Age rangeNo age restrictions
Flights and transportN/A
Start City Bucharest, Romania
End CityBudapest

Travel Themes

  • Small Ship Cruise

Destinations

Activities

  • Culture

Trip includes

    • TAUCK EXCLUSIVE – Reception and dinner at Bragadiru Palace in Bucharest All gratuities to ship staff, drivers, local guides, Tauck Directors and Tauck Cruise Director Tauck's private shore excursions and distinctive inclusions valued at $4,148 Choices of bicycle excursions in Budapest & Belgrade Dinner at the massive Parliament building (the "People's Palace") in Bucharest

Itinerary

Travel Map

Day 1 Arrive Bucharest

Tour begins: 6:00 PM, InterContinental Athénée Palace Bucharest.
A transfer is included from Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport to InterContinental Athéné Palace Bucharest in the heart of the city, located adjacent to Bucharest's monumental Palace of Parliament. Join us this evening for a Tauck Exclusive at the Bragadiru Pal...
Day 2 Transylvania and Bran Castle – or Sinaia – or Targoviste

A choice of sightseeing today echoes the legacy of 15th-century Romanian prince Vlad Tepes (a.k.a. "Vlad the Impaler"), thought to be the historical model for Bram Stoker's Dracula. You may choose to take a full-day excursion to Tra...

Day 3 Discovering more of Bucharest

Discover more of Romania's capital on a morning sightseeing tour with our local guides, seeing such sights as Revolution Square and the Triumphal Arch, and ending in Bucharest's Old Town, plus a choice of visiting the National Museu...

Day 4 The Black Sea coast before boarding

Before embarking your riverboat today, drive to Romania's popular Black Sea coast – first to the popular resort town of Mamaia for lunch and some "beach time," then on to the port city of Constanta. Here, in what was originally the ...

Day 5 Bulgarian art & architecture in Ruse or Ivanovo

Your cruise continues in Bulgaria; largely off limits during four centuries of Ottoman rule and decades behind the Iron Curtain, the country's rich natural beauty and history is yours to discover today. Disembark in Ruse – often ref...

Day 6 Danube cruising and a visit to Vidin, Bulgaria

There's something special about just "kicking back" during a leisurely morning cruising the Danube, enjoying picture-perfect views of the passing landscapes. Onboard activities throughout your cruise, such as special lectures and pr...

Day 7 King Decebalus and the Iron Gate of the Danube

Spend today aboard your riverboat as you sail along the Serbian / Romanian border, enjoying great views of the Transylvanian Alps. As you cruise, keep an eye out for a kingly face carved into the Danube's rocky bank on the Romanian ...

Day 8 A choice in Belgrade

Wake up today in Belgrade, Serbia's eclectic, cosmopolitan capital at the juncture of the Danube and Sava rivers. You can choose to spend the morning touring the "New Belgrade" section of the city by bicycle with a local guide (you'...

Day 9 Understanding Croatia's history in Vukovar

Your riverboat crosses the border from Serbia to Croatia and arrives in historic Vukovar today. Preceded by an onboard lecture on Croatia's turbulent history by a local expert, your tour of this venerable 10th-century city – once sh...

Day 10 Antiquities and more in Hungary

Arrive in Mohacs, Hungary, this morning for an excursion to Pécs and a tour of its 11th-century cathedral. Here you'll also explore the fascinating Christian Necropolis, a complex dating back to the 4th century that includes undergr...

Day 11 Disembark the Riverboat & spend the next two nights in Budapest

Bid your Danube cruise – along with your captain and crew – farewell as you disembark the riverboat in Budapest. Your exploration of the Hungarian capital, once the independent cities of Buda and Pest, begins in Pest with a visit to...

Day 12 Budapest sights & a special farewell

Today, you can choose to spend the morning touring Budapest by bicycle with a local guide (you'll need to be comfortable riding a bicycle in a city environment). Or you can do some Buda sightseeing in Castle Hill, a UNESCO World Her...

Day 13 Journey home

Tour ends: Budapest, Hungary.
Fly home anytime; a transfer is included from The Ritz-Carlton Budapest to Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport and Budapest-Keleti Station. Allow 3 hours for departure flight check-in.

MEALS : B

PORTOFCALL : Budapest, Hungary

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Dates & Availability

Price From $7,190
Price per day$553
Last Updated: 11/13/2024
Departure Date
Finish Date
Double Standard
Single Standard
Double Luxury
Availability
07 Aug 2025
20 Aug 2025
$7,190
$7,590
$8,040

Check Current Availability, prices, specials with Tauck.

The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.

Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.

Tauck Reviews & Ratings

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Other Tauck Reviews

K

Kurlyk40

May 2024

Written on

Great Scenery but Accommodations Lacking for cost

My husband and I booked the Yellowstone tour with Tauck expecting so much more with the accommodations, food, and tour director based on the price point. We were sa...

S

Susan

Jun 2023

Written on

Nine Tours and Done

Sad to see a once good tour company stumble and fall into mediocrity. That’s Tauck post-Covid. My May 2023 tour of Normandy, Brittany and the Loire Valley was done o...

C

Cougess

Jan 2023

Written on

Skip this cruise - not worth it

My husband and I went on the Treasures of the Mediterranean Isles Trip jn October 2022. This was our third Tauck cruise with Ponnant but our first post covid and the...

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Tour Operator

Tauck

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It's easy to see the world's sights. To stand in long lines, push through the crowds, and generally have the same standard-issue vacation as everyone else. But that's not good enough for us, and it's not good enough for you. We believe that travel should be easy. It should be fun. It should be worth your time and the price you paid. It should re-energize and transform. And above all else, it should be beyond the ordinary. Because how you see the world matters.

In 1882, Herman Tauck arrived in New York City from Germany in search of the American dream. His determination and values were passed on to his son, Arthur Tauck, who would realize that dream. With ingenuity and an innovative spirit, Arthur started Tauck Motor Tours, a travel company that would give birth to a new industry. The first tour, through the back roads of New England, was created by this 27-year-old in 1925. It embodied the same successful formula used by Tauck today: do the right thing. Craft a life-enriching travel experience; provide it at a single all-inclusive price; ensure there is great value for money; and rely on recommendations of satisfied customers to build a following and grow the business.

Two elements that did change over the next 90+ years – and three generations of Taucks – were the scope of destinations served and the variety of modes of travel used. Today Tauck delivers life-enriching travel experiences to every corner of the globe, incorporating small cruise ships, premium riverboats, trains, helicopters and more. What started as a New England motor coach tour company has truly evolved into an extraordinary global travel company. The fourth generation of Taucks is now involved in the company. While remarkable in any business, this seamless continuity across generations speaks to shared vision and values.

Throughout its history, the concept of “family” at Tauck has gone far beyond those sharing the surname to include hundreds of valued employees, and hundreds of thousands of loyal guests. The story of Tauck is the story of a unique American family company celebrating a passion for travel – a story that will continue to inspire generations to come.

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Fun group tours and cruises that are culturally-focused and great for families and seniors on vacation.

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Logistics

Accommodation

Ship & cabin information
MS JOY
MS JOY Maintaining Tauck’s high standards for quality and comfort, ms Joy cruises exclusively for Tauck on the Danube River as part of our Destination Fleet. With a maximum of 130 guests, the 443-foot riverboat and her sister ships continue our tradition of providing more space per guest on Europe’s inland waterways, transporting fewer passengers than most longships (135 meters). Her deck plan is innovative; with a total of 67 cabins, our most popular cabins tend to be our largest... so we have used the added ship length to offer twenty-two 300-square-foot Tauck Suites – the most of any river cruise ship on any European river. To increase the amount of natural sunlight on the lower deck, we’ve created 8 loft cabins that extend from the first to the second decks, providing guests with an additional view; all windows in these loft cabins open
MS JOY
Travel Insurance
We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance alongside your travel package to safeguard against unforeseen circumstances such as medical expenses, trip cancellations, and other contingencies. It offers you peace of mind and ensures you are prepared for unexpected events that may occur before or during your journey
Visa requirements
Visa requirements vary depending on your country of origin and your country of destination. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the relevant requirements. For a handy tool that can help you quickly find the requirements, please visit this link .
Age Requirements
No age restrictions
ALL_AGES
Additional Information
Trip ID
tauck-RLY2025

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