Play and Explore Cruise on the Danube to Vienna and Budapest

We fly from London Heathrow and board our ship in Passau, known as the ‘three rivers city’ due to its unique location where the Danube, Inn and Ilz rivers meet. Those travelling by air join today. You can then enjoy a relaxing evening onboard as we set sail and cruise towards Melk.

This morning we arrive in the small town of Melk, which lies in the beautiful Wachau valley. Here you can join our included excursion visiting the Benedictine Abbey. This is one of the most famous monastic houses in Austria and has been occupied by monks for over 900 years. You can relax onboard for the remainder of the day as we cruise to Vienna for an overnight stop.

We spend a full day experiencing the delights of Vienna. Grand palaces, baroque castles, magnificent squares and striking monuments are just some of the key features of this beautiful city, which is a world heritage site. In the morning you can join our included city tour followed by lunch onboard. This afternoon you can take advantage of our optional excursion to Belvedere Palace, a stunning Baroque building made up of two palaces, an orangery and the palace stables. The palace is also home to an incredible collection of art, including the world’s largest collection of work by Gustav Klimt. In the early evening we cast off and cruise towards Budapest.

Today we arrive into Budapest. Enjoy lunch onboard the ship before joining our optional tour of this fascinating city. Budapest is one of the most beautiful cities in the world with an extensive area recognised as a world heritage site. We can explore both sides of Hungary’s capital which is divided by the meandering Danube – traditional Buda and the more cosmopolitan Pest. Most of the famous sites are concentrated around Castle Hill on the Buda side, in downtown Pest and along the riverside walkways. Look out for the Royal Palace, Fishermen’s Bastion, the Parliament building, St Stephen’s Basilica, Heroes’ Square and the Chain Bridge. We return to the ship for a relaxing dinner onboard then there’s the chance to join our optional excursion to experience Budapest by night with a traditional folklore show.

Enjoy a morning in Budapest or join our optional excursion which takes you through the sweeping plains of Hungary to Lajosmizse. Here we visit a traditional stud farm and enjoy a tour of the grounds in a horse-drawn carriage, before watching a spectacular live Puszta horse show. We set sail in the afternoon and cruise towards Bratislava.

We reach Bratislava this morning where there’s the opportunity to join our included excursion taking in this historic capital city, which is dominated by its castle and unique suspension bridge.  We’ll enjoy a walking tour with a local guide and sample ‘Makovka’ which is a sweet white chocolate with poppy seed filling.   Lunch is served onboard and the afternoon is free to explore Bratislava at your leisure before we enjoy dinner onboard and cruise towards Dürnstein.

The town of Dürnstein nestles among Austria’s most famous vineyards and is crowned by the ruins of the castle that once imprisoned Richard the Lionheart. It’s a beautiful place filled with cobbled streets, pretty courtyards and 16th century houses. After some free time we set sail for the final time and cruise towards Passau.

Travel back to the UK by air.