“Worth it if you want a well-paced Central Europe intro with strong local knowledge and decent free time. Think twice if you need deep historical context—guide quality varies significantly.”
- About £142/day across 15 days
- ~£2,214 all-in with a typical £86 flight from London (£148/day)
- At its lowest in the 90 days we've tracked it (£2,128)
- We only rate a price against this trip's own history once we've tracked it for 21 days — no guessing before that.
- Cheaper per day than 3 of 4 similar trips we compared
- 4.5★ from 18 traveller reviews
Price movement, fill and the all-in cost come from our own daily tracking— not the operator’s feed. You book on TourRadar; the live price always applies there.
About this trip
A 15-day route through Central Europe from Vienna to Budapest, taking in Czech, Slovak, Polish and Hungarian ground along the way. It moves at a steady pace rather than rushing, with a mix of city time and a couple of days out in the mountains.
You'll wander Cesky Krumlov's old lanes, get out into Slovakia's Tatra Mountains for a hike, and spend proper time in Poland's Wroclaw and Krakow, including a guided visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Vienna, Prague and Budapest bookend and thread through the trip with local-led walks and a stay at Vienna's Magdas Hotel.
There's a good balance of guided moments and free time, including space to explore Budapest's neighbourhoods on your own terms at the end.
What you'll do
- Wander the old streets of Cesky Krumlov
- Hike in Slovakia's Tatra Mountains
- Join a guided tour of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum
- Explore the Polish cities of Wroclaw and Krakow
- Coffee and cake at Vollpension, a Vienna cafe run by older locals
- Free time to explore Budapest's neighbourhoods
- Pack light — you'll use public transport with limited storage and need to carry your own luggage, including up stairs and over cobblestones
- Summer temperatures in the region can climb over 40°C, so sun protection and water matter
- Steady pace overall, mixing guided activities with stretches of free time
Day by day
Exactly what you do each day, where you sleep, and how it flows — written by us, from the real itinerary.
What's included
- Guide: All Intrepid group trips in Europe are accompanied by one of our local European group leaders. ’Local’ in this context means a leader who is European or lives in Europe. The aim of the group leader is to take the hassle out of your travels and to help you have the best trip possible. Intrepid endeavours to provide the services of an experienced leader however, due to the seasonality of travel, rare situations may arise where your leader is new to a particular region or training other group leaders. Your leader takes care of logistics, will provide information on the places you are travelling through, offer suggestions for things to do and see, recommend great local eating venues and introduce you to our local friends. While not being guides in the traditional sense you can expect them to have a broad general knowledge of the places visited on the trip, including historical, cultural, religious and social aspects. At Intrepid we also aim to support local guides in the individual cities or locations we travel to. If you are interested in delving deeper into the local culture at a specific site or location then your leader can recommend an optional local guide service in most of the main destinations of your trip.
- Meals: 12 breakfasts
- Activities: Vienna - Kaffee und Kuchen Experience Cesky Krumlov - guided tour Wroclaw - Orientation walk Swidnica - Church of Peace visit Oswiecim - Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum join in guided tour Tatranska Lomnica - Tatra Mountains Hike (not between Nov and Mar) Tatra Mountains - Hrebienok Funicular Tatra Mountains - Tatranska Lomnica Gondola ride
- Transport: TRANSPORT IN EUROPE: Half the fun of travel is the travelling itself, that's why we like to travel the local way – whether that means mingling with commuters on a local train, watching the scenery roll by from the window of a long distance bus, arriving on a high speed train in the city centre of your next destination, or navigating each city's public transport system. In Europe, you are guaranteed to travel by genuine local public transport wherever possible, which puts you right in the centre of the action., PUBLIC BUSES: This trip covers some distances by public buses. Buses in Central Europe can range from high standard coaches with reclining seats and air-conditioning to Soviet era vehicles for shorter distances. TRAINS: European trains are comfortable and often decked out with air-conditioning. Toilets are always available. Some of the trains have snack bars (or vending machines) and power points next to the seats but that cannot be guaranteed on every journey. Train travel is a fast way to traverse long distances, allowing you to avoid traffic jams and arrive right into the city centre., LONG TRAVEL DAYS: As we cover lots of ground on this trip, expect some long travel days on local trains and buses. This is an opportunity to mix with the locals and enjoy the scenery out the window. Travel schedules are known to change with little notice. Not all transport may have air conditioning. Train, Public bus, Private vehicle, Metro, Taxi, Tram
- Accommodation: OCCASIONAL ALTERNATIVE ACCOMMODATION: The style of accommodation indicated in the day-to-day itinerary is a guideline. On rare occasions, alternative arrangements may need to be made due to the lack of availability of rooms in our usual accommodation. A similar standard of accommodation will be used in these instances. TWIN SHARE BASIS: Accommodation on this trip is on a twin basis. We pair up solo travellers with another traveller of the same gender as per the gender marker on each of their passports. Please note there may be times where facilities will be shared rather than ensuite and rare occasions when you share a room with passengers travelling on different Intrepid trips than your own. CHECK-IN TIME: Throughout the trip we request that our hotels prepare rooms in time for our arrival, especially if we're arriving prior to normal check-in time. However this isn't always possible which means we won't be able to check-in immediately on arrival at some hotels. Instead, we can store our luggage and explore our new destination. PRE/POST TRIP ACCOMMODATION: If you've purchased pre-trip or post-trip accommodation (if available), you may be required to change rooms from your trip accommodation for these extra nights. FACILITIES: Your accommodation may not always have private en suite facilities or air-conditioning. European hotels generally don't provide kettles or fridges., On this trip, we use a range of small, locally run hotels that reflect the character of the destinations we visit. In Northern Europe, air conditioning isn’t always common as buildings are designed to retain heat during long, colder seasons and summer temperatures are typically mild. As a result, some properties may not have Air conditioning, and rooms can feel warm during hotter periods. While windows can sometimes be opened, this may bring in street or city noise. Room sizes may also be more compact than you might be used to. If you’re travelling in summer, we recommend keeping this in mind to help you prepare for a comfortable stay. Hotel (12 nights), Pension (2 nights)
- Activities: Other activities and services not included
- Flights: International flights not included.
- Optional: Other activities and services not included
- Insurance: Insurance is not included. Travel insurance is required for this tour. Please make sure you are adequately covered. If you require travel insurance, TourRadar has partnered up with Cover Genius to provide a hassle-free experience. More information can be found here (https://www.tourradar.com/travel-insurance).
How travellers rate it
Cheapest live departure per day, in £, recorded by our tracker since 18 Jul. Never a brochure “was” price.
Your free day in Vienna
Landing early, staying on, or filling free time? The best-rated day experiences in Vienna — you book on Viator (we may earn a commission).
Worth it if you want a well-paced Central Europe intro with strong local knowledge and decent free time. Think twice if you need deep historical context—guide quality varies significantly.
- Guide quality makes or breaks this: Phillip McAllister got five-star mentions for local knowledge, going out of his way, and rapport with locals.
- One traveller found no proper licensed guide, resulting in minimal information at destinations despite friendly staff.
- Small groups of 9-12 people and excellent private transfers kept logistics smooth and social without feeling crowded.
- Breakfasts and hotel quality rated merely okay by some; accommodation locations were good, but food offerings uneven.
Distilled from real traveller reviews on TourRadar — we don't edit out the bad bits.
The same-vibe trips, side by side — price, value per day, and how each is moving. Only we can lay two operators' trips out honestly.
Sorted by fit — never by who paid. Price moves and availability come from our own daily tracking.
Departing in Aug is cheapest — from £2,130, about 31% below the priciest month (Apr).
Getting there
One-way so you can book your return whenever. Prices & booking shown on Trip.com.
Hotels in Vienna
View more accommodationLive prices via Booking.com & partners, booked on their site — separate from your tour. We may earn a commission; it never changes your price.
On a budget?
Hostels in Vienna for the night before your tour · 7 Aug – 8 Aug
Booked on Hostelworld, separate from your tour. We may earn a commission — it never changes your price.
Common questions
How long is Best of Central Europe?
It's a 15-day trip. It starts in Vienna and finishes in Budapest.
How much does Best of Central Europe cost?
The land price starts from £2,128 per person for the 15-day trip. You book on TourRadar, where the live price always applies.
What will Best of Central Europe really cost me all-in?
On top of the £2,128 land price, budget roughly £86 for a return flight from the UK — about £2,214 all-in before spending money. Most day-to-day meals out and optional activities are extra.
What's included in the price?
The price covers all your accommodation, 12 meals (12 breakfasts), transport during the trip, a group leader/guide. Anything the operator lists as optional or not included — see the full breakdown on this page.
What's not included?
international flights and travel insurance (required) are not included, so factor them into your budget. We show typical flight costs and can point you to insurance on this page.
How big is the group?
Groups are capped at around 15 travellers — a small-group trip, mostly solo 18–35s travelling to meet people, not a coach tour.
When does Best of Central Europe run?
It runs across roughly 16 months of the year, so there's usually a departure to fit your dates. Check live availability and prices in the dates section above.
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