Trip Itinerary – Viking River Cruise
The countdown is on with around five months to go until our trip on the Danube River with Viking River Cruises! Oh, also there’s a wedding two weeks before that as well : ) I shared our general plans a few months ago, but we’ve finally worked out the details for all of our flights, hotels, etc. It’s a rather lengthy vacation since we’re adding two extra days in Munich, so this itinerary was a blast to plan out.
Here we go!
Day 1: Departure
- Fly overnight on Austrian Airways business class from Newark to Vienna
- Hoping to find another Groupon for airport parking at Newark
Day 2: Vienna, Austria
- Arrive in Vienna early in the morning – Take an Uber/ U-Bahn (subway) to our hotel
- We ran into a snag trying to book a flight using points from Newark to Budapest. The majority of the flights had a layover in Vienna, but the flight from Vienna to Budapest wasn’t available with points. So, we chose to take just the flight from Newark to Vienna, spend a day in the city, and take a train to Budapest the following day.
- Spend the rest of the day trying to stay awake and exploring Vienna
- Stay: Le Meridien Vienna
Robert-Stolz-Platz 1 Vienna, 1010 Austria
Day 2: Budapest, Hungary
- Take a train from Vienna to Budapest (I’m thrilled about this part – I love taking trains in Europe)
- Cruise Embarkation day!! Check in and get acquainted with our room on board and the ship.
- Remainder of the day spent exploring Budapest
- Buda Castle
- Great Market Hall
Day 3: Budapest, Hungary
- Our first full day of the cruise will also be in Budapest
- Viking Shore Excursion – Budapest City Tour
- Fisherman’s Bastion
- Hungarian State Opera House
Day 4: Bratislava, Slovakia
- Cruise overnight to Slovakia
- Viking Shore Excursion – Bratislava Walking Tour
- Bratislava Castle
- Michael’s Gate
Day 5: Vienna, Austria
- Cruise overnight to Vienna
- Viking Shore Excursion – Vienna City Tour
- Hofburg Palace
- St Stephen’s Cathedral
Day 6: Melk, Austria
- Cruise overnight to Melk
- Viking Shore Excursion – Melk Abbey Visit
Day 7: Linz, Austria
- Cruise overnight to Linz
- Viking Shore Excursion – Cesky Krumlov Excursion
Day 8: Passau, Germany
- Cruise overnight to Passau
- Viking Shore Excursion – Passau Walking Tour & Organ Concert
- St Stephen’s Cathedral (apparently there are a lot of these in Europe…)
- Bishops’ Residenz
Day 9: Passau, Germany
- Disembarkation day : (
- Take a train from Passau to Munich after leaving the ship
- See the sights in Munich
- Stay: Aloft Munich
Bayerstrasse 37 Munich, 80335 Germany
Day 10: Munich, Germany
- Rent a car and drive to Neuschwanstein Castle!! This is a major bucket list item for me, so I’m beyond thrilled we’ll be able to see it.
- Return to Munich for an evening in the city
Day 11: Return Home
- Fly from Munich to Frankfurt on Lufthansa Business Class, then Frankfurt to Newark on United Polaris Business Class
- Drive back home and start looking through pictures to ward off depression!
Estimated Trip Costs
Viking Danube Waltz Cruise $2,099 per person
Le Meridien Vienna 10,000 points (10,000 per night)
Aloft Munich 20,000 points (10,000 per night)
Austrian Flight (EWR to VIE) 70,000 points + $6 per person
Lufthansa / United (VIE to EWR) 52,500 points + $95 per person
Train from Vienna to Budapest $57 per person
Rental car in Munich (estimate) $50
Parking at EWR (estimate) $150
Total $2,457
Do you have any sight – seeing suggestions for the cities we’re visiting?
GREAT DEALS! Love it!!! Enjoy 🙂