How much should it cost? -- Prague, Vienna, Budapest

IG.muse · December 2009

We're thinking of going for a 10 day honeymoon in Prague, Vienna, and Budapest. We're planning on flying to Prague, taking a train to Vienna, then a train to Budapest and a flight back home from there. We're going in late April.

I have no idea if the prices I'm finding are good or bad. I know a lot depends on the type of hotel and where I'm flying from, but I wish I had some sort of basis for comparison.

I'd appreciate any advice anyone has on this. If you can suggest a budget, please let me know what that includes, if it includes food and travel between cities and any additional trips/tours/admission charges.

I've only looked online and haven't gone to a travel agent. I don't know which way I'd get a better price. Any advice on that? Thanks in advance!

AmoroAgain · December 2009

Try checking with a travel agent. I normally don't suggest that, but in this instance, I do.

Also, try posting on the International Newlyweds section of the nest, or even the travel board on the nest.

VESmith25 · December 2009

If you have the time to properly research each city you can easily plan on your own. We just spent 18 days in Europe this past spring and did everything ourselves. We started in Budapest and traveled throught Hungary and Croatia and did short side trips to Venice and Otocec, Slovenia. We also did an overnight layover in Paris on our way home. Granted our itinerary was much different than yours, with the exception of Budapest, but we spent $5500 + airfare (we used miles) for the entire trip. We alternated between boutique hotels, private apartments and moderate hotels.

Budapest is very economical since they are not on the Euro yet. Most of our dinners were in the $40 range and that included 3 courses and wine in most cases. We also went to the Opera and that was only $2 a ticket! I'm not sure if you are looking for more luxurious accomodations but we stayed at a very nice and simple hotel, Leo Panzio. It was roughly $450 for 3 nights. It is in a wonderful location for walking everywhere and a European breakfast was included. The room was tiny of course but very clean with simple decor. Good luck with your planning!

maespencer40 · December 2009

My fiance and I went on this exact vacation a couple of years ago! It was definitely romantic, so nice choice! We got a great deal on plane tickets, about $650 for roundtrip tickets from Boston to Budapest. If you're looking to save money on a plane tickets, I'd recommend considering flying into any of the three cities, since they're not far apart, and booking whichever ticket is the cheapest. We found it was cheaper to fly in and out of the same city, even with the extra train tickets, so you might look into that as well. And since the cities are so close, the multi-city plane ticket doesn't save that much time.

We were on a slightly limited, grad student budget when we went and spend about $1000 each (including lodging, but excluding plane tickets) over 10 days. We stayed at bed and breakfasts, had mostly moderately priced meals (but a few nice ones), and went to lots of museums and the Vienna Opera. Budapest was much cheaper than Vienna and Prague.

Not sure if this helps any. We had a nice, romantic vacation with that budget, but I would not call it luxurious. I would think $4-5K would get you a pretty nice honeymoon.

KappaUCF20 · December 2009

Sometimes multi-city tickets are actually cheaper than roundtrip so I definitely wouldn't rule that out.

IG.muse · December 2009

Thank you so much for sharing, ladies. That info really helps. And I'll ask for suggestions on the travel board on the Nest. I hadn't thought of doing that, thanks for the suggestion, Amoro.

Unfortunately, there aren't any good flight deals right now but it seems like Expedia offers decent discounts on package deals with airfare plus hotel. Has anyone used Expedia for this, is it reliable?

maespencer, how many days did you spend in each city? I was thinking 4 days in Prague, travel to Vienna, 2 full days in Vienna, travel to Budapest, 2 full days in Budapest. My fiance is worried about feeling rushed so I don't know if we should drop Budapest and spend more time in Prague and Vienna. What would you recommend? Did you have a favorite among these cities? Do any of these cities ideally require more time than others? The reason I have more time allocated to Prague is that it's our first destination and I'm sure we'll be tired and jet-lagged. I think It'll give us time to acclimate.

lindz221 · December 2009

This is the exact trip my FI and I wanted to go on! Unfortunatley we can't really take enough time off work to make it worthwhile - not to mention it is expensive. However we are going to try and go for our 1 year anniversary so these are great tips, thanks ladies!

KappaUCF20 · December 2009

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_much-should-cost-prague-vienna-budapest?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:6d94cba1-46f4-486c-bdf8-43095b2cdabfPost:68a42367-c3b5-4700-ab79-65728be5214a">Re: How much should it cost? -- Prague, Vienna, Budapest</a>:
[QUOTE]Thank you so much for sharing, ladies. That info really helps. And I'll ask for suggestions on the travel board on the Nest. I hadn't thought of doing that, thanks for the suggestion, Amoro. Unfortunately, there aren't any good flight deals right now but it seems like Expedia offers decent discounts on package deals with airfare plus hotel. Has anyone used Expedia for this, is it reliable? maespencer, how many days did you spend in each city?<strong> I was thinking 4 days in Prague, travel to Vienna, 2 full days in Vienna, travel to Budapest, 2 full days in Budapest.</strong> My fiance is worried about feeling rushed so I don't know if we should drop Budapest and spend more time in Prague and Vienna. What would you recommend? Did you have a favorite among these cities? Do any of these cities ideally require more time than others? The reason I have more time allocated to Prague is that it's our first destination and I'm sure we'll be tired and jet-lagged. I think It'll give us time to acclimate.
Posted by IG.muse[/QUOTE]

It's completely subjective. I would spend more time in Vienna than Prague because Prague isn't one of my favorite cities, and I actually prefer Salzburg over Vienna but that's just my personal preference. If you read some guidebooks, they'll give you a good overview of each city and you can figure out which ones sound the most interesting to you.

themidge · December 2009

Definately try a travel agent! I was in all of those cities last summer, all very beautiful and romantic. I'm not sure exactly about numbers, because April is a different travel season then August, when I was there. I will tell you though that Vienna is very expensive while Prague and Budapest are not.

Tip: if you go to Vienna, there are 2 places that you MUST go to eat! Both are very famous historic landmarks, so they will be easy to find and are in all the guidebooks. First, go to Figlmuller for the best Weinerschnitzel you will ever eat in your life, seriously. Then, head over to Demel for dessert for not only the tastiest, but the prettiest pastries in Europe.

natatomic · January 2010

If are the type that will have maps/travel guidebooks and that will study each place alittle then I suggest to not go the travel agent route for Europe. I have been to Vienna and Prague and I must say that they are the most beautifully romantic cities I have ever been to (im a pretty experienced traveler..ive been to places in Asia & central America) But on to flights, I booked mine at Lessno.com and flew out of Cleveland, Ohio and then met up with my FI in the OuterBanks, North Carolina last July and my flights in total cost me about $700 coach class with 1 layover on the way to Europe. I booked my flight in March last year...if that helps?

Good Luck and if you would like any advice on places to eat, see or do just send me a message!

Natalie

How much should it cost? -- Prague, Vienna, Budapest

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