Central Europe cultural holiday

country:	Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia
trip type:	A small group adventure
departures:	2008: 17 Aug, 21 Sep
price:	From £1056 (14 days) excluding flights. Single supplement £142. We can arrange flights from the UK. Price includes all transport as per itinerary. This trip can be tailormade for groups or individuals, with dates of your choice.

European tours

Cultural tours

the amazing things you'll be doing

See the best of Central Europe on this two week voyage.

Our journey takes us through the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland, taking in Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Eger, Banska Stiavnica, Krakow and Kutna Hora.

Highlights include Prague's Royal Route walk, Karlstejn Castle, the UNESCO heritage sites of Holasovice, Ceský Krumlov & Lednicko Valticky, Vienna's palace and gardens of Schönbrunn, the Buda Castle Quarter, Jewish history, brewery & wine tasting tours, a visit to a glass factory, and many other historial sites.

day-by-day itinerary

Day 1:	Prague. We tour the Old Town Square to Prague Castle, then to Charles' Bridge. After lunch we go to the Old Town and then the former Jewish ghetto, Staronova Synagogue and the Jewish Cemetery. We tour Prague's biggest brewery, Staropramen, with a tasting. Dinner at the brewery restaurant with an extensive menu of traditional Czech cuisine.
Day 2:	Prague. We travel to Srbsko village, located on the banks of the Berounka River, and to a picturesque settlement named Svaty Jan pod Skalou, with its baroque church of St. John the Baptist. We follow the Vojta Naprstek trail, past the flooded limestone quarries of Velka and Mala Amerika to the gothic castle of Karlštejn. On the way back to Prague we will stop in Nizbor village to visit the glass factory. Free time to visit a gallery or the famous Black Light Theatre.
Day 3:	Holasovice village. Holasovice, a Unesco heritage site, is one of the best preserved examples of ‘rural baroque'. After lunch we visit Cesky Krumlov, a unique historic complex, containing more than 300 Gothic and Renaissance buildings. We will walk above the Vltava river through the castle and chateau area. Optional boat ride on rafts. Overnight in Ceský Krumlov.
Day 4:	Lednicko Valticky. We visit the mediaeval town of Mikulov and the Renaissance Castle & walk along the nature trail to the mediaeval Jewish ghetto. After lunch we travel to the Lednicko-Valticky area, the largest landscaped park in Europe, a UNESCO site. We walk in the gardens and take a boat ride. Near Valtice Castle is the National Wine Salon where we take an evening wine-cellar visit with an expert including wine-tasting. Accommodation in the chateau of Cejkovice.
Day 5:	Vienna. Sightseeing around the Historic Centre of Vienna, part of UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage and lunch in a traditional Viennese restaurant. See the Gothic St. Stephen's Cathedral and the Baroque Imperial Palace, and walk down the Ring Boulevard where such splendid buildings as the Vienna State Opera and the Museum of Fine Arts were built to replace the former city walls. Optional opera visit.
Day 6:	Vienna - Budapest. We visit Schönbrunn then transfer to Budapest, Hungary. Free time then enjoy a boat tour of Danube River or visit the famous thermal bath on the Gilbert Hill, or the most elegant of the Hungarian bath Rudac and Rac health spa dating back to the times of Turkish occupation.
Day 7:	Budapest. We visit the Castle district, dominated by the stately gothic castle Buda protected by a stone wall, seeing the Matthias Church and the panoramic view from the Fishermen's Bastion. We continue to the River Danube embankments past the neo-gothic Parliament to the Andrássy avenue, UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The afternoon will be free. You can also visit Margaret Island (Margitsziget) in the middle of the river Danube.
Day 8:	Eger. We drive to Eger, the most beautiful baroque town in Hungary. You will see the medieval Castle of Eger, the Cathedral and Minaret, the remnant of Turkish siege. In the evening gourmets may taste the local delicacies in variety of small restaurants and pubs.
Day 9:	Tokaj wine region. Today we will go to ‘The Valley of Beautiful Women' and proceed to Szarvasko and then the horse-breeding farm of Hungarian Lipican in Szilásvárad. In the afternoon we will drive around the Tokaj Wine Region. On our way back to Eger we can stop in thermal baths in Miscolc-Tapolca in natural caves.
Day 10:	Banska Stiavnica. We visit Banska Stiavnica, an ancient mining town. After lunch we will walk around the sights - The Holy Trinity Square, The Town Hall and Kammerhof, former Mining Chamber and the Office of the Chamber Count or The Knocking Tower. We visit The Old Castle and The New Castle. Out of the town lies The Calvary, complex of sacral buildings set in beautiful scenery and the Open-Air Mining Museum. Evening barbecue.
Day 11:	Vlkolinec - Krakow. On the way to Poland we stop in Vlkolinec, a UNECO site & typical mountain village consisting of rustic houses with walls daubed by clay. We arrive in Krakow early in the evening. We can have a diner in a restaurants in Kazimierz with live Jewish music.
Day 12:	Krakow. We visit the medieval Old Town, Market Square and Wawel Royal Castle, home to three dynasties of Poland's monarchs. At the end Kazimierz, former Jewish ghetto and the historical centre of Kraków's Jewish religious and social life. Free time in the afternoon when you can visit for example Czartoryski gallery where Leonardo da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine is on display.
Day 13:	Kutna Hora. We travel to Kutna Hora, Czech Republic to see the UNESCO listed St. Barbara cathedral & the Assumption of the Virgin Mary Church, the Sedlec Ossuary, a graveyard chapel decorated with human bones. Visit Detenice for an authentic medieval feast for dinner.
Day 14:	Prague. After breakfast transfer to Prague airport, departure.

small group cultural tours

Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends it's good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as experiencing new cultures.

how this holiday makes a difference

On this tour you will travel in varied small group of like-minded people. The smaller the group, the less it interferes in the everyday life of the visited place. Small group also allow our guide to dedicate more time to making your journey more unique and special.

You will spend your holidays not only by sightseeing, but you can also pursue walking amongst the local people in many visited towns and villages. Instead of moving through great distances and visiting many places in one day, you will get better idea of how the country feels by exploring its local attractions. Central Europe is rich in UNESCO protected sites. By visiting an area’s unique historical and cultural sights you will help on the effort to save these for future generations.

You will not eat only in international restaurants or fast food chains but rather in local restaurants where traditional food is served and where you can enjoy regional dishes (eg. roasted knuckle of pork served with mustard and horseradish in Prague, fish dishes in Cesky Krumlov, excellent cakes in Vienna or piquant goulash in Budapest) together with excellent beers and wines the region can offer. We can expect a tour around a Staropramen brewery in Prague with an evening get-together in the brewery pub or visit to a South Moravian and Hungarian wine cellars with a professional commentary given by an expert including wine-tasting.

In order to maintain maximum authenticity and comfort, we provide accommodation in smaller family run hotels and guesthouses preferably, with local atmosphere and the possibility of an outdoor seating area. You will learn a lot more about the culture of the country by personal experience rather than looking at it through a coach window. This way of travelling has the lowest environmental and cultural impact to the visited country and creates a positive experience for all.

Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people.

We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel.

'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left).

We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've lead the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays.

We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism.

This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards.