Danube Express 2008 -- Vienna Waltz

6 Days, 5 Nights
Budapest, Lake Balaton, Vienna, the Semmering Pass, Graz,

Itinerary
Day One: Budapest
Arrival in Budapest for a two-night stay in this cosmopolitan city straddling the Danube. You will stay in the recently refurbished Hotel Astoria (4 star), or similar, situated in the very centre, only a few minutes walk from the Danube, right over a subway stop, with easy access to all parts of the city. Dinner will be in the hotel in its lovely, classic restaurant, and you will have time for a stroll along the river to see the illuminated city.

Day Two: Budapest
Your morning sightseeing tour includes the Cathedral, Heroes Square and City Park on the Pest side. On the Buda side you will visit Gellert Hill for possibly the best views of Budapest and finally Castle Hill with the St. Matthias Church and Fisherman’s Bastion. In the afternoon, you have a cornucopia of rail options to explore including the tram system, the funicular, the incredible railway museum, one of the largest in Europe. In the evening you will have dinner in a restaurant close to the hotel and time to head out for a performance if you choose on your own.

Day Three: Keszthely
Enjoy a hearty breakfast at the hotel before heading out to Nyugati Station to board the private Danube Express. Relax as you begin to explore the train with its comfortable and lovely ambience and your private compartment. Lunch is served as the train skirts the southern shore of Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Central Europe. In Keszthely you have the option of visiting the baroque castle or taking a short coach journey to Heviz to enjoy a swim in the lake fed by warm springs. A delicious dinner of local specialities is served as the train heads alongside the northern shore of the lake. Settle down in your cozy cabin to a restful overnight after a nightcap in the lively lounge care.

Day Four: Vienna
After breakfast on the train, arrive in Vienna, a city with one of the finest cultural, architectural and artistic heritages inEurope. Your sightseeing tour includes St Stephen’s Cathedral, Schönbrunn Palace, the Ring with its imposing buildings and the Präter wheel made famous in the film “The Third Man”. Rejoin the train for lunch as it heads south over what may be the highlight of the trip, the Semmering Pass. It's the first railway line to be constructed over the Alps and itself is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Even 150 years after its construction, the varied landscapes and characteristic sequence of viaducts and tunnels, curvature and grades, still impresses. Conceived from the outset as an effort of ‘landscape gardening’, it attempts a harmonious combination of technology and nature. In Graz there will be free time to stroll this University City, where the ‘old town’ is one of the best preserved city centers in Central Europe. Enjoy a drink in the lounge car on the Danube Express before dinner as the train heads eastwards and back into Hungary. Perhaps tonight you will try the typical drink, apricot brandy, after dinner in the lounge car.

Day Five: Budapest
After breakfast the train arrives back in Budapest and there will be an excursion to the Buda Hills for a ride on the Children’s Railway.Under adult

supervision, this short narrow-gauge line is operated by school children who have done well at school, fulfilling the roles of cashiers, ticket inspectors, signalmen and traffic manager. Akin to a railway academy, many of the children will progress to a career on the big railway. The journey of around ten kilometres takes you through lovely woods with views over Budapest.

Please note the itinerary above is the June 8 departure. The June 11 departure includes the same elements in a slightly different order. Both start and end in Budapest.

Three nights half-board in Budapest with full sightseeing programme
Two nights on the Danube Express in two-berth compartments with washbasin or deluxe two-bedded compartments with en-suite shower and WC
All meals on board the train with complimentary wine, beer and soft drinks
Comprehensive sightseeing tours as outlined above
All gratuities for all included services

	Classic Double	Classic Single	Deluxe Double	Deluxe Single
The Vienna Waltz	$2,795	$3,450	$3,995	$7,250

Both trips start and end in Budapest.

June 8 - 13

June 11 - 6

Deposit
A deposit of $1,000 per person is required within seven days of booking in order to confirm reservations. Credit cards are accepted for deposits. Final payment is due 90 days prior to departure. Click here to download our tour booking form. Please read over our terms and conditions before booking. Deposits made for this tour are nonrefundable.

The Danube Express Train
The new Danube Express private train, headquartered in Budapest, is our newest entry in The Society of International Railway Traveler's World's Top 25 Trains. We were the first agency in North America to test it out, and we think Society of IRT travelers will love it its lovely but casual ambience.

Its four itineraries focus on Central Europe, although the train ventures as far as Berlin, Istanbul and Vienna.

A typical air-conditioned eight-car Danube Express train will be an intimate experience with just 54 maximum passengers. The consist includes staff car, two older “classic” sleepers (rooms are 33.2 square feet, with upper and lower berths; toilet and shower are down the hall), diner, lounge car with piano and three “deluxe” sleepers (two lower berths, en-suite shower and toilet). Deluxe sleeper rooms are 83.4 square feet, including the ensuite facilities. They are due for completion in January 2008. A staff member gives your “wake-up” call with a soft knock and morning coffee or tea; beer, wine and soft drinks are available throughout the journey and are included in the cost. Meals are delicious but not fancy and served at a single seating; service is experienced and friendly but not formal. The staff has been working on the train with European clients for many years, operating as the Royal Hungarian Express. The bar car seems always open, and the piano player, Apollo Berényi, sings hundreds of American and English-language songs and welcomes sing-alongs. Other itineraries are: