Hi. We're a Thai couple planning a two week trip to Prague, Vienna, Budapest and perhaps Munich with minimum cost. Do you think we'll be fine and is it much cheaper to travel on our own or should we buy a budget touring which would cost us about USD600 for 9 days tour? Please help.

I am guessing that price is only for the land tour and includes hotels? Most do, in which case I'd say that is very cheap and if the itinerary suits you and the hotels, I think it might be a good idea if you are not familiar with that part of Europe. Especially since you have such an ambitious itinerary for only two weeks, the tour will probably save some time getting around. USD600 for 9 days is very, very cheap in my opinion if that includes hotels and all transportation between those places and some extras or meals. Language may be a problem in Budapest, also.

Dear Christina, Your response is much appreciated. Your guess is correct, however, I'm not sure if I made it clear that the price of USD600 is per person. If you think it's reasonable, I'll go for it. Please advise.

Suwannee, $600/person still sounds very reasonable. Many young people in Budapest and Prague speak English. A lot of older people speak German. It is a beautiful city with a lot to do. <BR>Regards <BR>Art <BR>

Yes, I thought it was per person and still think that is very cheap. That is only about USD75 per day per person (600/8=75, I excluded one day as most tours count an extra day at end when you leave, otherwise it is even cheaper). You can go very budget in Prague and Budapest, but still I would expect to spend about USD50 per person for a decent budget hotel room on average for that tour. That is then only USD25 per person per day for everything else, that is very very cheap. Transportation is very cheap in Czech Republic and Hungary (for example, a bus trip from Prague to Cesky Krumlov 3-4 hours away may be only about US10) but the public transportation system is not that convenient or easy (trains are often very slow, stations not always convenient). I really don't think you could do it that cheaply on your own very well, and that tour may save you a lot of time and trouble. I took a tour group to Budapest and was kind of glad as it is not quite as westernized as those other countries, so the tour guide who spoke fluent German and maybe some Hungarian was very helpful at sites and with suggestions and dealing with the hotel (although I wasn't there long).

$75/day for hotel and land transportion. How many meals (other than hotel breakfasts? If this is truly a budget trip, I think you can get hotels for approx. US$ 60 per night (maybe higher in some areas). That is $30 dbl occupance, leaving $45 for food and transportation. I don't have the train expense handy, but your distances are not great, at least for much of the trip. In short, it may be a wash and I think you can travel cheaper than the tour if you really wanted.