Jim

I want to start by saying how impressed I am by the helpfulness of the users of this forum. It's really refreshing to see this!

4 of us are planning a June trip to Prague, Vienna and Budapest. About 4 days in each city. I would appreciate anything you can tell me about private guides in these cities. How to contact; what you would recommend seeing (and not seeing) beyond the usual routes; what you paid; whether you felt it was worthwhile and especially names, contact information and your candid opinion. Thank you.

Arizona

Here's an idea. Go to the local tourist bureau wherever you travel and ask if they have a student who would like to (l) practice his/her English, (2) show you their hometown, and (3) earn some money.
We were surprised in Oslo how many hands went up!

Linda

We were in Budapest in November and stayed with Dr. Walter Fleps, who is a retired lawyer & speaks English. He has compiled various walking tours and allowed us to take those as we went around the city. Their flat overlooks Budapest & has a great view from the balcony. They would have room for 4. Room for 2 plus breakfast (substantial) is about $40/night. Address is Bogar utca 20b, 1022 Budapest, Hungary

Becky

Was in Prague for 10 days in March; we used the government sponsored agency CEDOK which has offices in NY...number listed in travel guides. Highly recommend their services. Also book hotels and concerts, they have direct access which other outside agents do not. Our guide spoke 5 languages and was a PhD in history...a remarkable woman. Avoid Wenceslas Sq area at night and guard your belongings. In spite of my precautions, the camera was stolen at the post office while I bought stamps!

Peg

Jim, we visited all those cities last November. Although we are in our 60's we travel very budget style. In each city we found the public transport was better than you can imagine. We did not need guides or expensive tours. Instead we used the Lonely Planet book "Central Europe on a shoestring" Fodors may have a similar book, bought 3 or 4 day public transport passes and a detailed map of the city and away we went. It was all such fun and so easy. As always when travelling we took the same precautions withour valuables that we would at home and so had no problems. we had no problems with language even though we only speak the oz variation of english If you are planning to take the train from between Budapest and Prague just make sure you do not need a visa for Slovakia as the train will cross through there!! You are welcome to email me if you need to know more. Peg