European Whirlwind Tour

Welcome to the beautiful city of Amsterdam! With so much to do and see, the tour will start with a quick orientation at our hotel at 2pm. Soon after, embark on a relaxing boat ride along one of the city’s 100-plus canals. This offers the perfect opportunity to view traditional Dutch architecture, over a thousand bridges, as well as some 2,000 houseboats that make their home along the canals. This will conclude today’s planned activities, leaving you to choose where you’d like to enjoy dinner and sleep off a bit of jetlag before tomorrow’s exciting adventures.

Includes: Canal Boat Tour

We’ll start day two with breakfast at the hotel and make our way to Dam Square where you’ll embark on a walking tour through the city’s historical and cultural landmarks. You’ll stroll through Amsterdam’s famous canals, ‘coffee’ houses, houseboats, and those famous gabled houses. This tour will lead you past landmarks such as the Anne Frank House, Royal Palace, and Red Light District, where our professional guide will point out important features and provide detailed information.

Afterwards, you’ll be free for the rest of the afternoon to explore as you please. The choices include: Anne Frank House (Make your reservations in advance to assure you get tickets – I’m happy to help guide you through this easy process), the Van Gogh Museum, or you can stroll or join the locals and rent a bike and stroll through Vondelpark. Otherwise, make discoveries on your own, and soak in your final day in beautiful Amsterdam.

Includes: Breakfast, Walking Tour

(EARLY TRAIN 7a.m.)

Leaving Amsterdam behind bright and early, we board our first train toward Berlin, Germany – a mesmerizing city torn between the past and the present.

After a quick check-in at our hotel in the early afternoon, we’ll meet up with a city guide who will take you on a journey through the city’s wild and tragic history. You’ll stroll through landmarks such as the Brandenburg Gate, stand over what remains of Hitler’s bunker, cross history’s forbidden boundaries at Checkpoint Charlie, marvel at the Reichstag (Parliament), touch the remains of the Berlin Wall, and stroll through the hypnotic Memorial dedicated to the Murdered Jews of Europe. 

After the tour, the rest of the evening is yours to enjoy as you wish. There is so much to see and do in Berlin, you will have many options to fill your evening.

Includes: Breakfast, Walking Tour

Today is a FREE DAY to recoup and enjoy beautiful Berlin as you please. Catch up on some rest, do some shopping, revisit areas you saw yesterday and wish to learn more about, grab a nice lunch out at one of the countless eateries in the area, or visit some of the many amazing museums throughout the city.

Includes: Breakfast

(9am train)

As we bid farewell to Berlin, the wonders of Prague awaits!

Sipping a cappuccino from the train’s restaurant car is the best way to soak in the beauty of winding along the River Elbe, which is dotted with quaint villages and beautiful landscapes, as we make our way toward the beautiful Czech Republic.

After checking in, we head straight out to explore beautiful Prague! An expert tour guide will share the history of the beautiful city as we stroll through Old Town, Old Jewish Quarters, and the 600-year-old Astronomical Clock, before crossing The Charles Bridge – which was started in 1357 when the former Czech King, Charles IV, laid the first stone. From here, you’ll be able to marvel at the Prague Castle – the largest castle in the world, which was founded around 880 by Prince Borivoj, of the Premyslid Dynasty.

Once the tour ends, the rest of the evening is yours to enjoy as you wish.

Includes: Breakfast, Walking Tour

After breakfast, we’ll check out of our hotel and board a train toward Krakow, Poland.

We’ll arrive and check into our hotel in the early afternoon, then get started right away on our Polish adventures by exploring the 13th-century Main Square, before wandering through the medieval heart of the city. Here, you’ll find numerous restaurants to choose from in order to sample a traditional Polish meal.

Includes: Breakfast

Today takes on a very different tone as we visit the concentration camp site of Auschwitz-Birkenau. This is a powerful place and time for learning, reflection, and remembrance of the more than 1.3 million people who lost their lives here.

Upon our afternoon return to Kraków, the remainder of your day will be free to wander through the Old Town area and marvel at its soaring Gothic churches, or relax in one of the many bars, restaurants or cafes that are tucked away down narrow alleyways and cellars.  

Includes: Breakfast, Auschwitz Day-Trip

The following day will be a chance to gather your thoughts as we spend the day on a train making our way toward one of my favorite cities in the world – and what I think is the hidden gem of Europe…Budapest, Hungary!

We’ll arrive in the early evening and get settled into our rooms. After a full day of traveling throughout Eastern Europe, I haven’t made any planned activities for the evening. This will allow you to relax and explore on your own, or if you’d like to meet up and enjoy dinner together, we can play it by ear…it’s completely up to you and what you feel like doing. There’s always something to see in Budapest simply begs you to stroll and marvel at its beautiful nighttime views.

Includes: Breakfast

The follow day will be full of exciting adventures!

After breakfast, we’ll take a fun-filled and informative walking tour – provided by a city specialist, which will include landmarks such as the Chain Bridge, the Royal Palace, Parliament, St. Stephen’s Basilica, Liberty Statue, and Fisherman Bastion.

After a short rest, prepare to spoil yourselves as you soak in one of Budapest’s most famous spring-fed, thermal baths – dating back to medieval times. Under neo-baroque domes, you’ll spend hours indulging in over 21 indoor/outdoor pools, steam rooms, and saunas!

To top off the evening, I suggest you find a local restaurant where you can try traditional Hungarian goulash (I’m happy to make recommendations, of course), followed by a stroll around the outdoor markets, where you may opt for scrumptious chimney cakes, or a mulled wine – or better yet, both!

Includes: Breakfast, Walking Tour, Thermal Baths

We leave Hungary behind and head toward Munich, Germany. After getting settled in our room, we’ll have a stroll through Marienplatz, where you’ll marvel at the Glockenspiel!

Afterwards, if you’d like to enjoy something a bit more traditional, I have the perfect recommendation for you where you’ll have the opportunity to experience the ‘real’ Germany in one of my favorite establishments! Here, you can enjoy a beer the way a beer should be drank – in one of the city’s most famous biergartens, Hofbrauhaus Munchen. With barmaids wearing traditional Dirndls, and the sound of oompah bands in the background, you’ll feel like one of the locals! For you non-drinkers, there’s plenty of non-alcoholic beverages to choose from.

Includes: Breakfast

Today will be full of magic – literally! We’ll set out on a day-trip deep into Germany’s ‘Black Forest’. You’ll feel like you’ve been transformed back to the 19^th century as we take a beautiful train ride deep into the Bavarian Alps to the enchanted Neuschwanstein Castle, built by a young, troubled king. The extent of his extravagance and romanticism earned him the title, “Mad” King Ludwig. How extravagant and romantic is it, you might ask? Let’s just say that Neuschwanstein Castle is so enchanting, it inspired Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom!

While here, you can even opt for a horse-drawn carriage from the ticket office up the enchanting hill where the castle is located. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity you’ll never forget as long as you live.

We’ll arrive back into Munich in the early evening, providing you the freedom to stroll through the city’s historic various historical areas, where you can soak in your final night in the beautiful Bavarian city.

Includes: Breakfast, Day-trip to Neuschwanstein Castle

The final morning of the tour will conclude with a hearty breakfast where you can spend a little more time with your new travel friends, and hopefully be inspired to come along for another exciting adventure together in the not-so-distant future!

Includes: Breakfast 

*For those catching departing flights today, there are regular trains leaving from Munich’s central station for Munich’s International Airport (Flughafen).