Salzburg vs. Cesky Krumlow
We are scheduled for the Danube cruse in August and not that we have an option between Salzburg and Chesky Krumlov
If you have taken this tour, what are your comments and suggestions as to these two places, so we can decide.
Thanks for your help.
If you have taken this tour, what are your comments and suggestions as to these two places, so we can decide.
Thanks for your help.
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Comments
I spoke with some travelers who went to Chesky Krumov and they were all very pleased with that option, which also required a one hour bus ride.
You may consider checking other travel sites to read up on these destinations to help you tailor your decision to your interests. They're both good choices.
So, we arranged with PragueWalker for a private guided tour of Český Krumlov on Day 1 (day of the welcome dinner)- that meant we had to leave Prague and 7:00 am to make the trip worthwhile, since the drive from Prague can take 3 hours depending on traffic and the Welcome Dinner started at 5:30 pm. We met friends from previous tours so there were 7 of us. Nice van, superb guide (Tereza)
We also had a similar conflict with the Day 2 options- do the "standard" Tauck tour of Prague or the "Tour of the Jewish Town." Our plane(s) arrived mid-morning the day before the welcome dinner (I'll call it Day 0) and we figured we wouldn't get into our rooms much before noon, so we also hired a guide (Tereza) from PragueWalker for a walking tour of the Jewish Town that started at 11:00 am. So we essentially saw both areas, one with PragueWalker, one with tauck.
What did you mean by “similar conflict” with the Day 2 options? Did you end up taking the Tauck tour of Prague on day 2 also - if so, how did it compare to your private tour by Prague Walkers? If not, what did you do instead that was interesting? We are also planning to use Prague Walkers for a day trip to Cesky Krumlov - we arrive 2 days early before the Tauck tour begins. Loved your pics of Dürnstein. Any further info you can offer is appreciated.
Sorry I was a bit unclear. See my revised post above. We did the standard Prague tour ("Walk through the centuries"*), including the visit to St. Agnes convent , with Tauck on Day 2 because we had toured the Jewish Town with Prague walker the morning of Day 0. As far as I could tell from talking with those who chose to do the Jewish Town (" the city’s poignant Jewish sites in Josefov" - "Jewish Heritage"*) with Tauck instead of the standard tour, our PragueWalker tour covered all the same stuff, plus we had a much smaller group since there were only 4 of us that day.
* you'll see these (and other) excursions referred to by various names on the Tauck website, in the green book, options selection sheet, and in your daily go sheets. They really need to standardize them!
It is a great tour!
Did you get to see the stallions in Vienna? If so, what advice can you offer as to t he best way to arrange that?
Yes! Another story!
First, you must understand that formal Lipizzaner performances are only held on the weekends (in the evenings?) during certain times of the year. But, from 10:00 - 12:00 daily, on weekdays, you can pay to observe the "Morning Exercise"- where maybe 6 to 8 horses and riders leisurely circle the arena- NO routines, maneuvers, jumps, etc., nothing but walking (different gaits?).
I heard via the grapevine that a visit to the Lipizzaner Morning Exercise was going to be a Tauck surprise (also called a lagniappe) that might follow one of the two published morning bus/walking tours (to the Schönbrunn palace or Hofburg Palace). Not so on our 12 April cruise.
For us it was listed as Choice #3 on Day 8 in Vienna. I don't know if anyone selected it so have no feedback, but before the trip I researched the Morning Exercise and the general consensus on TripAdvisor, etc. was that two hours was way too long to watch the horses and riders circle the arena.
On Day 7 we were given the choice of (1) "Vienna - the Ringstrasse & 1st District Walking Tour" (2) "Vienna - the Ringstrasse & Jewish Heritage Walking Tour, or (3) "Escorted Cycling Tour in Vienna & Downtown". Choice #1 (maybe #2 also??) was scheduled to end at about 1130 near Albertina Square (Tauck bus pick-up/drop off point in Vienna) which is only a block or from the Spanish Riding School. So, here is what we did-
We chose #1. I let our TD and/or our local guide know four of us would likely be leaving the tour early to attend the last half hour or so of the Morning Exercise. We got there about 11:30 paid our admission fee, which was half price since it was over half over!! 30 minutes was just right! NO PHOTOS allowed, minders circulated to enforce this, but someone I know managed to capture a few shots! There is narration (in English?), but I couldn't hear or understand most of what was said. Still, we got to see a mix of young (gray) and older (nearly white) horses exercise in the arena.
At 2:00 pm that (free) afternoon, we took a tour (25 people, English) of the Spanish Riding School facilities and stable. Reservations are required- I booked them online a few months prior to departure. Check-in was the same place (in the Hofburg) where we purchased tickets for the Morning Exercise. You pay there as well. NO PHOTOS were allowed of the horses, but we could take photos of the tack room, etc. We couldn't touch the horses, either, but I literally got within 4" nose-to-nose of the horses!!!!
So, everything worked out perfectly!!
I didn't break the rules- I took this with a telephoto lens during the Tauck walking tour which went right by the Spanish Riding School!