Asked for the most beautiful river sections of Europa, there are mostly two answers: The Wachau and the romantic Middle Rhine. Many forget about the 100 kilometres long Danube gorge, where the river separates the Carpathian from the Balkan Mountains and creates stunning views around the „Iron Gate“. Long berthing times of the ship – in Budapest and Belgrade till the late evening – make this cruise to a very unstressful experience.
Itinerary
Day 1
Embarkation in Vienna-Nussdorf on the MS Princess CC and departure to the first port of call Bratislava. *Short city walk through the beautiful old town and continuation of the river cruise.
Day 2
Arrival in the Hungarian capital Budapest, where you enjoy a *city tour with the most important sights as Burgberg with the castle, the Matthias Church and the Fisherman‘s Bastion, the parliament, heroes‘ square, Stephens‘ basilica such as the Gellért Hill. Around midday the MS Princess CC leaves Budapest.
Day 3
Enjoy the leisurely cruise on board the ship. Around midday it arrives at Belgrade, *visit the Serbian capital. During the tour you will see many sights in the Old Town, among others the orthodox cathedral, the historical “Question Mark Café”, the palace of the princess Ljubica, the animating “Square of the republic” and the fortress Kalamegdan from where you can enjoy the view of the confluence of the Sava and the Danube. The ship leaves Belgrade in the late evening.
Day 4
Today, you enjoy the ship’s passage through the gorge on the Danube in the more than 100 kilometre-long Djerdap section, where the Danube acts as part of the boundary between Serbia and Romania. The formed gorge in the south-western Carpathians has created the largest river cliff landscape in Europe. Here, the river is narrowed down to 100 metres, is up to 70 metres deep and lined with cliffs that are over 300 metres high. In addition, historical monuments enrich the impressive landscape. The most spectacular section is formed by the three kilometre-long “Iron
Gate“ at the end of the gorge.
Day 5
Arrival in the Serbian city of Novi Sad in the morning, *city tour before noon. After enjoying lunch on board an excursion to the Danube city *Sremski Karlovci is offered. It invites you to enjoy its beautiful historic city centre. From here it is not far to the * Fruška Gora National Park. 35 Serbian orthodox monasteries were built here in the old area. They rank among the most beautiful ones in Europe due to the frescoes and interesting architecture. Nowadays there are still 17 of them left; of these you will visit the Krusedol monastery. Back to Novi Sad and continuation of the cruise.
Day 6
You spend the morning relaxed on board. Mohacs offers the ship a mooring in the afternoon. From here the guests take a bus trip to *Pecs, which was allowed to call itself European Capital of Culture in 2010. Thanks to its climatically favourable location and the numerous historical monuments, this pretty town radiates an extremely Mediterranean atmosphere. In the evening, the trip continues from Kalocsa.
Day 7
In the early morning MS Princess CC passes through the wonderful landscape of the Danube Bend. You will arrive in Esztergom before noon. It has been the royal capital of the Hungarian kings until the 13th century. During the *city tour you will also visit Esztergom Basilica, the biggest church in the country. You will travel in comfort by choo-choo train back to the ship and enjoy a relaxing afternoon on board MS Princess CC.
Day 8
Arrival in Vienna-Nussdorf in the morning and disembarkation after breakfast.
Inclusions:
- Cruise on board the MS Princess CC in the booked category
- Full board on board the ship (buffet-breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea/coffee, 4-coursedinner, midnight snack), starting with dinner on the 1st day, ending with breakfast on the last day
- Welcome cocktail & gala dinner with 5-course-menu
- Music programme in the bar with the ship‘s orchestra
- Luggage service on board
- Embarking, disembarking and lock fees and harbour dues
- Experienced English-speaking tour guides on board
Excursions Included:
- Walking tour of the Old Town of Bratislava
- City tour of Budapest
- City tour of Belgrade
- City tour of Novi Sad
- Coach excursion to Sremski Karlovci & Fruska Gora National Park with monastery Krusedol
- Coach excursion to Pecs
- Visit of Esztergom Basilica incl. choo-choo train
Exclusions:
Flights – Flights you will have to source yourself or discuss with Costless Travel at the time of booking. Unfortunately airlines change their pricing on a daily basis so we are unable to include the flights. We also note that some prefer to leave from different airports, some like economy and some like business class, some like to meet with family before or after the trip.
Available Dates – subject to availability at time of booking
- 1st of July 2020 – 8th of July 2020
- 20th of July 2020 – 27th of July 2020
- 13th of September 2020 – 20th of September 2020
- 2nd of October 2020 – 9th of October 2020
