We are considering a tour to Austria/Poland/Hungary/Czech Republic/Germany in Sept. or Oct. with Travalgar. Could someone who has taken this tour before comment on the location and quality of the hotels, need for excursions versus using public transportation to do some tours on our own, and weather in Sept. and Oct. Also, were the tour guides knowledgeable?

have you learned anything more about the eastern european tour?we are booked oct7 and are just going for it.

I am thinking of going this June and would like to know how you both enjoyed it.

[quote="marilynbrandi"]have you learned anything more about the eastern european tour?we are booked oct7 and are just going for it.[/quote]

Was this tour called 'European Icons' We are going next year and wonder how you felt about the trip and the hotels.

Has anyone been on this tour. We wish to go 7th Oct & wonder about the distance of the hotels from the main part of the cities.

I just booked the Bohemian Higlights tour with Trafalgar (travels to Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic). . If you want to know how central hotels are, go to www.tripadvisor.com and enter the hotel name. They have ratings and reviews for all the hotels. In general none of the hotels in this tour are very central. Most are what Trafalgar classifies as "downtown" or "midtown." Reviews on tripadvisor.com will normally comment on how central the hotel is. You can also go to expedia.ca (and look up the hotel) or the hotel website and it will tell you how many km/miles it is located from main attractions. Being central/downtown is not always a good thing - hotels can be more run-down and in sketchy areas (e.g., many parts of downtown Frankfurt). . I went on the European Marvel with Trafalgar last year and none of the hotels were that central - but they all had public transportation nearby so I had no problem getting around with bus and/or subway.

Did Eastern Europe a year ago with Trafalgar. It was very nice. Hotels were all four star. The ride from Warsaw to Berlin was a little long. Our guide liked to stop at McDonalds for rest stops and lunch. They were OK and had products not seen in the US. Watch out for an itinerary with an optional lunch between Budapest and Krakow. At this lunch stop there are NO restaurants other than the one those who have signed for the optional lunch are enjoying. We did not sign up for the optional lunch, so enjoyed an ice cream bar we found in a ski lodge being remodeled. We don't sign up for many optional events but BE SURE to do the Wieliczka Salt Mine tour in Krakow (it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience.) If you are art interested, an overlooked attraction in Krakow is da Vinci's "Lady with an Ermine" at the Museum Czartoryskich. I recommend the "sour wheat" soup in Poland. Have fun!