We are planning a trip to eastern
europe,,Budapest,Pargue,Vienna,Krakow maybe Warsaw,,question,,are we
better off on a tour or planning it ourselves,and if so what are the
risks,,any tips would be helpful

RT

On Sun, 23 Jul 2006 13:10:18 GMT, RT <[email protected]> wrote:

    >We are planning a trip to eastern
    >europe,,Budapest,Pargue,Vienna,Krakow maybe Warsaw,,question,,are we
    >better off on a tour or planning it ourselves,and if so what are the
    >risks,,any tips would be helpful

It's a very well established route, and you shouldn't have any more
problems than in Western Europe. It's a bit poorer, but the difference
is not great.
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--

Plan it yourselves, of course!
Read the usual sites, they give more valuable info than on this group
(Thorntree, virtual tourist etc)
Buy a guidebook, what risks do you fear ?
There are none if you conduct yourselves accordingly.
There are much less risks than in the USA.


"RT" <[email protected]> a écrit dans le message de news:
[email protected]...
    > We are planning a trip to eastern
    > europe,,Budapest,Pargue,Vienna,Krakow maybe Warsaw,,question,,are we
    > better off on a tour or planning it ourselves,and if so what are the
    > risks,,any tips would be helpful
    > RT

RT wrote:
    > We are planning a trip to eastern
    > europe,,Budapest,Pargue,Vienna,Krakow maybe Warsaw,,question,,are we
    > better off on a tour or planning it ourselves,and if so what are the
    > risks,,any tips would be helpful

Do it yourself. Tours are much more expensive, and you are stuck with
the tour's itinerary. And you will meet a lot more local people
travelling on your own rather than in a large group of Americans. You
can always hire a guide to take you around a specific sight or city
rather than be on a tour the whole time.

As far as risks, violent crime is almost non-existent, but there is a
moderate amount of petty theft, especially in tourist areas of Budapest
and Prague. I would get a "money belt" - a pouch that you wear under
your clothes that keeps your money and valuables - so that you can't be
pickpocketed. You should never leave your bags alone (e.g. in a train
station while you go to the counter or in a cafe while you go to the
restroom). If you have two people, one person should always stay with
the bags.

RT <[email protected]> wrote:

    > We are planning a trip to eastern
    > europe,,Budapest,Pargue,Vienna,Krakow maybe Warsaw,,question,,are we
    > better off on a tour or planning it ourselves? [all sic]

If you need to ask such a question, and ask it in such a way, then you
are most definitely better off booking on a tour.

cheers,

Henry

Lol I guess Henry is right !

"Henry" <[email protected]> a écrit dans le message de news:
1hixwaa.qayqc019vm6o2N%[email protected]...
    > RT <[email protected]> wrote:
    >> We are planning a trip to eastern
    >> europe,,Budapest,Pargue,Vienna,Krakow maybe Warsaw,,question,,are we
    >> better off on a tour or planning it ourselves? [all sic]
    > If you need to ask such a question, and ask it in such a way, then you
    > are most definitely better off booking on a tour.
    > cheers,
    > Henry

RT wrote:
any tips would be helpful

I wrote you a long reply which I feel is too long to post and not of
general interest. But it was undeliverable as your e-mail address is
invalid. If you would like the reply, please write to me at


Larry at Morro Bay, California

RT wrote:
    > We are planning a trip to eastern
    > europe,,Budapest,Pargue,Vienna,Krakow maybe Warsaw,,question,,are we
    > better off on a tour or planning it ourselves,and if so what are the
    > risks,,any tips would be helpful

Please allow me to suggest Lviv in Ukraine instead of Warsaw. It is not
long from Krakow, an old and very interesting town, inexpensive, great
for wining and dining, immune to any kind of snobbyness and a great mix
of Polish, Austrian, Jewish, Gothic and more history and arcitecture.
You will not regret it!

from the 1st of January 2006 people with European Union, US, Japaneese
and more passports will not need a visa for Ukraine.

Jan

RT wrote:
    > We are planning a trip to eastern
    > europe,,Budapest,Pargue,Vienna,Krakow maybe Warsaw,,question,,are we
    > better off on a tour or planning it ourselves,>
    > RT

We did a similar trip in 2003 (we went Budapest, Vienna, Prague,
Dresden, Berlin, Hamburg but you could easily do Poland where we did
Germany) and it was easy to do it yourself by train. Do your best
speaking the local lingo but there's always someone around who speaks
English so you'll be fine. We just bought our train tickets at the
station on the day of departure.

and if so what are the
    > risks,,any tips would be helpful

One thing we did (and still do when doing such trips) is when you
arrive at one place check the train times for the next place. It just
makes things easier planning the day you leave.

As other poster's have said get a guide book (we used the Lonely Planet
Central Europe). Prague is very touristy ( I thought to it's detriment)
and a lot of people go to Czesky Krumluv which is a bit of an effort on
the bus from Prague but reportedly better as less crowded (can other
poster's advise). I thought Vienna was better and I'd recommend Schoss
Schonbrunn http://www.schoenbrunn.at/en/publicdir/ as I reckon it's the
best palace I've been to in Central/Eastern Europe.

Risks - keep your wits about you and you'll be fine.

Have fun,

Tassie

Cesky Krumlov is one of the greatest old towns ever. The secret has been out
for a while though so it does get busy. Not as much as Prague though.
Its convienantly located if you are going to Prague and Vienna. You can stop
off on the way for a couple of nights by train.

It was also used in the movie "Hostel" if you have seen that. I'm sure some
google images will tempt you.

Cheers
Mike


"Tassie" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected] oups.com...
    > RT wrote:
    >> We are planning a trip to eastern
    >> europe,,Budapest,Pargue,Vienna,Krakow maybe Warsaw,,question,,are we
    >> better off on a tour or planning it ourselves,>
    >> RT
    > We did a similar trip in 2003 (we went Budapest, Vienna, Prague,
    > Dresden, Berlin, Hamburg but you could easily do Poland where we did
    > Germany) and it was easy to do it yourself by train. Do your best
    > speaking the local lingo but there's always someone around who speaks
    > English so you'll be fine. We just bought our train tickets at the
    > station on the day of departure.
    > and if so what are the
    >> risks,,any tips would be helpful
    > One thing we did (and still do when doing such trips) is when you
    > arrive at one place check the train times for the next place. It just
    > makes things easier planning the day you leave.
    > As other poster's have said get a guide book (we used the Lonely Planet
    > Central Europe). Prague is very touristy ( I thought to it's detriment)
    > and a lot of people go to Czesky Krumluv which is a bit of an effort on
    > the bus from Prague but reportedly better as less crowded (can other
    > poster's advise). I thought Vienna was better and I'd recommend Schoss
    > Schonbrunn http://www.schoenbrunn.at/en/publicdir/ as I reckon it's the
    > best palace I've been to in Central/Eastern Europe.
    > Risks - keep your wits about you and you'll be fine.
    > Have fun,
    > Tassie
    >

Great idea

<[email protected]> a écrit dans le message de news:
[email protected]. com...
    > RT wrote:
    >> We are planning a trip to eastern
    >> europe,,Budapest,Pargue,Vienna,Krakow maybe Warsaw,,question,,are we
    >> better off on a tour or planning it ourselves,and if so what are the
    >> risks,,any tips would be helpful
    > Please allow me to suggest Lviv in Ukraine instead of Warsaw. It is not
    > long from Krakow, an old and very interesting town, inexpensive, great
    > for wining and dining, immune to any kind of snobbyness and a great mix
    > of Polish, Austrian, Jewish, Gothic and more history and arcitecture.
    > You will not regret it!
    > from the 1st of January 2006 people with European Union, US, Japaneese
    > and more passports will not need a visa for Ukraine.
    > Jan
    >

As well as being gorgeous cities they also have some side trips that are
well worth doing:

Krakow - You probably have Auschwitz on your list, but the Wieliczka Salt
mines are very impressive. You can get there by bus and then pay for a tour
once you get in.
Vienna - A trip on the Danabe between Krems and Melk is possibility the best
stretch of river in Europe.
Budapest - Not a side trip as such but you did ask about tours - The
communist tour is very entertaining including a tour of Statue park, a visit
to an old communist flat and directions(!) to the Museum of Terror on the
way to Heroes Square. By the way the mines in Budapest were both poor in my
opinion.
Prague - Spoiled for choice when it comes to tours. I did one to Karlovy
Vary (the spa town) but wasn't enough time in a tour so I ended up seeing
Kutna Hora's Bone church and Cesky Krumlov on my own. Karlstein castle was
also nice.

If you are feeling comfortable getting around on trains, buses and trams
then go on your own with a good book. Otherwise tours can come in handy if
you are feeling lost and wont make it on your own...or lazy :-). They are
never long enough though - especially "city" tours.

Hope this helps
Mike



"RT" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > We are planning a trip to eastern
    > europe,,Budapest,Pargue,Vienna,Krakow maybe Warsaw,,question,,are we
    > better off on a tour or planning it ourselves,and if so what are the
    > risks,,any tips would be helpful
    > RT

"Tassie"

    > schreef in bericht
    > a lot of people go to Czesky Krumluv which is a bit of an effort on
    > the bus from Prague but reportedly better as less crowded (can other
    > poster's advise).

I'm very often in Czech Republic and every trip I make a visit to Cesky
Krumlow. The castle is a must and so is the castlegarden.
In that garden is the openair theater, if you are lucky you can get a ticket
for a ballet or play.
Also the graphit-mine of the well known factory Koh-I-Noor is in Cesky
Krumlow and can be visited (great with children).
The town itself is very beautifull with many nice little bar's and
restaurants, museums and so on.
Cesky Krumlow is on the World Heritage List of Unesco.

http://www.ckrumlov.info

Greetz, Ricardo.

On Sun, 23 Jul 2006 21:49:06 GMT, "Mike Azzopardi"
<[email protected]> wrote:

    >As well as being gorgeous cities they also have some side trips that are
    >well worth doing:
    >Krakow - You probably have Auschwitz on your list, but the Wieliczka Salt
    >mines are very impressive. You can get there by bus and then pay for a tour
    >once you get in.
    >Vienna - A trip on the Danabe between Krems and Melk is possibility the best
    >stretch of river in Europe.
    >Budapest - Not a side trip as such but you did ask about tours - The
    >communist tour is very entertaining including a tour of Statue park, a visit
    >to an old communist flat and directions(!) to the Museum of Terror on the
    >way to Heroes Square. By the way the mines in Budapest were both poor in my
    >opinion.
    >Prague - Spoiled for choice when it comes to tours. I did one to Karlovy
    >Vary (the spa town) but wasn't enough time in a tour so I ended up seeing
    >Kutna Hora's Bone church and Cesky Krumlov on my own. Karlstein castle was
    >also nice.
    >If you are feeling comfortable getting around on trains, buses and trams
    >then go on your own with a good book. Otherwise tours can come in handy if
    >you are feeling lost and wont make it on your own...or lazy :-). They are
    >never long enough though - especially "city" tours.
    >Hope this helps
    >Mike
    >"RT" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    >news:[email protected].. .
    >> We are planning a trip to eastern
    >> europe,,Budapest,Pargue,Vienna,Krakow maybe Warsaw,,question,,are we
    >> better off on a tour or planning it ourselves,and if so what are the
    >> risks,,any tips would be helpful
    >> RT



THANK YOU ALL !!

    > >> We are planning a trip to eastern
    > >> europe,,Budapest,Pargue,Vienna,Krakow maybe Warsaw,,question,,are we
    > >> better off on a tour or planning it ourselves,and if so what are the
    > >> risks,,any tips would be helpful
    > >>
    > >> RT
    >
    > THANK YOU ALL !!
    > >
    >

Just returned yesterday from 45 days: St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Riga,
Vilnius, Budapest, Belgrade, Sofia, Athens.

We, 65-yr old couple, did what most here recommend. . . read good
guidebooks, use internet resources and ATM machines, get bus/train
tickets several days early (maybe as soon as you arrive in a new
place).
Learn "Please" and "Thank you" (at least) in the local language, smile
but be respectful, flexible but patiently persistent when necessary.

I plan so that we will be OK if everything is stolen, take all
reasonable precautions (even though we hate to wear our moneybelts
every day), rejoice that we were not abused. We were given more and
shown more than we earned or deserved from the 99% in every country
that appreciates others as much as we do.

I know this thread is probably dead but I hate to begin a new one
just for my input. And I just have to tell the newsgroup how wonderful
we found traveling eastern Europe on our own.

If any "regulars" read this, you were right. When I asked for advice
here two months ago, especially about travelers' checks, I got "beat
up" a little, but also some good advice. One said essentially,
"Travelers' checks are obsolete, fool". Ouch! But that turns out to be
true. Trying to find a non-ripoff place to cash checks was WAAAAAY more
trouble than using ATMs, found easily almost everywhere.

Like the OP of this thread, I thank you all! ---Ken