julpal03

Hi,

I'm trying to plan a 10-12 day holiday for October & am considering Budapest, Vienna, Prague & Berlin. But I will be travelling alone. And though I have done so in the past (to London, Paris & around Italy) and loved it ... I'm wondering if these cities are safe enough to do so.

My other top trip contender is Spain.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Opinions?

Thank you!

danon

I have just returned from traveling alone in Prague and Berlin.
Felt perfectly safe.

yk

I've been to Budapest, Vienna and Berlin. Even though I was traveling with someone on those trips, I would NOT hesitate for one second to go alone (I'm female). Vienna is probably the safest city in Europe. Budapest and Berlin are fine too. Just the usual precautions - stay in hotels in touristy areas, don't walk down some dark alley alone late at night, don't accept drinks from strangers at bars etc.

P.S. For your future reference, these places you mentioned are considered as Central Europe, not Eastern Europe.

danon

sorry, ...was in Prague and Berlin..
Spain is a big country..where ?

thursdaysd

I'm a solo, senior, female traveler. I've been alone to Budapest, Vienna, Prague and points north and east without any problems. As yk says, take normal big city precautions. Wear a money belt and be alert for scams.

julpal03

Thank you so much for the quick responses (and sorry for the Eastern/Central Europe bit. Rick Steves' web site lists Budapest & Prague under "Eastern" so thought I'd follow suit.)

For Spain I was thinking Madrid, Sevilla, Granada & Barcelona. Would love to add Lisbon (Portugal), too, but don't know if that'd be pushing it too much in only 10-12 days.

What do you think? I keep flip-flopping on which trip I want to make (b/c really I'd love to do both right this second...but then reality sets in.)

yk

I visited Spain last year by myself (visited all those cities you listed) and never had one single moment of problem.

You didn't ask for my opinion on this, but I guess I'll give it anyway...

10-12 days is NOT NEARLY ENOUGH for either trip.

This past Spring I spent 12 days in Vienna and Budapest only, and didn't have enough time to see all the sights I wanted. I'm going to Berlin (2nd time there) this Fall for 8 days (with a side trip to Dresden) and wish I have 10-12 days just for those 2 cities.

Last year I spent 12 days in Spain (did all those stops you listed), and basically ran from one city to the next.

thursdaysd

If that's a safety question, I'd be more worried in Spain than in Central or Eastern Europe, especially in Barcelona. With 10-12 days you don't have time to add Portugal.

Of course, you could do Portugal instead of Spain - I prefer Portugal - dinner at a more reasonable hour, more English, less religious art, good food and wine, pousadas if you were going to stay in paradors, good scenery, and lovely Lisbon.

yk

I know you said you're thinking October of this year. Just be aware that Nov 2009 is the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of Berlin Wall. If your vacation is towards end of October/beginning of November, you *may* have difficulty finding affordable lodging in Berlin.

julpal03

Thanks, yk. I very much appreciate your opinion ... and certainly understand. But (quite unfortunately) my metaphoric wallet only allows me one trip per year at most & I have barely scratched the surface on what I want to see. So I do the best I can to see as much as I can within reason and enjoyment with the little time I have.

Last year I went to Venice, Florence, Siena & Rome for 11 nights and though I would have LOVED more time (esp in Rome!) ... I felt pretty comfortable with the itinerary.

So for the big question...

Safety issues aside (assuming that both trips would be perfectly fine), would you vote for Budapest/Vienna/Prague/Berlin or Madrid/Sevilla/Granada/Barcelona?

Thanks for all of your help & thoughts!

yk

They are so different... what's your interest?

Honestly, I cannot imagine visiting Budapest, Vienna, Prague AND Berlin in 12 days. While you say you're on a budget (and so am I), you will be spending MORE money and seeing LESS if you see all 4 cities.

When people say "12 days", I assume they really mean 10 full days, when you minus the arrival and departure days. Then, going from one city to the next takes 3-4 hours by train, so you lose at least half a day each time you move. Therefore, your "12 day" vacation is now 8.5 days, which means you have 2 days in each city.

So, to answer your BIG question:
If I had more time, definitely the Central Europe tour, because I love those cities (can't comment on Prague yet). Spain was okay, I really like Barcelona, and of course the Alhambra; but I'm lukewarm with Seville and Madrid.

HOWEVER, with your limited time, I'd stick with Spain simply because you CAN cover those 4 cities in 12 days as there's "less" to see/do there.

(What I mean is, you "can" see the main sights in Seville in 1 day, as well as the Alhambra in 1 day, which gives you more time for the 2 bigger cities. However, to see the main sights in Vienna, or Budapest, or Berlin will take at least 3 days for each.)

nytraveler

That is not Estern Europe (which would be Russia and the Ukraine) - it's Central europe. And the places you have listed have been part of "western" europe economically since either 1945 or 1989.

You will find each filled with the same chain hotels, restauratns and shops - including famous designer boutiques - as any other european capitol. And all have very strong tourist infrastructures.

the problem is that you're trying to do a 3 week trip in 10 days - you really need to focus more if you want to see much of anything. IMHO you need a minimum of 3 days (which is 4 nights0 for each one of those cities. I have been to ll of them at lest 3 times and still have things I haven;t gotten to yet.

As for being a female alone - just like anyplace else - don;t walk down dark alleys by yourself in the middle of the night.

JeremyinFrance

Bag snatching is a popular sport in Barcelona. I wouldn't carry a handbag with valuables in it. Come to that, I wouldn't carry a handbag.

weimarer

I was in Poland and eastern Germany in 2001. While I would not say it was dangerous, there were defintely gangs of thieves prowling the train stations and the trains (conductors would stand watch at stops to make sure they didn't board) They are not violent-what they would try to do is squeeze you in the train corridor and distract you while another snatched someting. A local Polish guy in the bar train on the way to Wrcolaw confirmed my suspiciosn when he overheard me mention this to my uncle who was with me. They were all over the station in Dresden eyeing us and there were signs all over the Ubahn in the eastern part of Berlin warning you about bag snatchers.

I woudn't worry about it too much, though. Just keep an eye on things and be wary of groups of young men loitering around near you on trains or in the stations. They're looking to snatch something, not hurt you. Vienna is fine, Budapest did not seem to have the same issues on the trains there-or maybe I just didn't notice it like in Poland and eastern Germnay. I'd be willing to bet Prague is similar, but I haven't gone there yet so don't know. Just remember, it would be groups of young guys loitering around furtively eyeing you to be wary of, not really an individual-mugger type. Thieves work in groups there and they'll want to distract you while another grabs something. Of course, this was 8 years ago, so maybe it's changed.

Haven't been to Spain since I was a youngster but the robbery rate there is astronomical if statistics are to be believed. I'd be on extra guard there if you're carrying a purse or anything like that.

weimarer

About your choice, I'm partial to central Europe so I'd vote for that. Certainly you can fit this in in 10-12 days. It's not that far between the cities. Vienna-Budapest is 3 hours, Vienna-Prague 4.5, Prague to Berlin 4.5. 3-4 days in each with a few hours of train travel between them. Leave early in the AM for each and you'll be there around noon. My dad talked me out of Prague telling me it was really a dirtier and more crowded version of Vienna, but I still plan on checking it out. I lived in Vienna for 4 years when I was younger, so Prague doesn't have quiet the draw that it would to someone who hasn't been to either, I suppose. I'm not big on Berlin, very unpleasant people as far as I was concerned, although the subway system there is really something.

If it were me, I'd focus on Vienna and Budapest, and take some side trips to places like Sopron and Koszeg from Vienna and Eger, Szentendre and Esztergom from Budapest. Hungary is a fascinating country.

danon

' My dad talked me out of Prague telling me it was really a dirtier and more crowded version of Vienna, but I still plan on checking it out. '

I don't know you father's reasons for saying it ,but
Prague is NOTHING at all like Vienna. It is not dirty - it is lovely, cosmopolitan and fun.
Berlin is a large city, mostly modern but with tons of history, museums, galleries..
I like Vienna as well. Never visited Budapest.

weimarer

"I don't know you father's reasons for saying it ,but
Prague is NOTHING at all like Vienna."

Fine, fine-I don't either, but that's what he said and we skipped it and spent more time in Krakow and Zakopane in the Tatras, which I loved, so didn't care about missing Prague. I'll get there, I'm sure it's great. He may have been talking about the grime/soot on the buildings which Vienna has spent a great deal of money cleaning off. Vienna was like that when I lived there, now it's much better, maybe Prague had not got there yet in 2001 and that is what he meant. Don't really know, didn't press the issue.

Berlin is in the eye of the beholder-those who like it are, I think, basing that more on the politics of the population than anything else. No idea what else about the place that appeals to them would be, and I don't travel to be around people who long for the days of the Soviet Union, which is what quite a few drunken Berliners finally let out after a few drinks at the bar listening to their anti-American drivel and rantings about the bombing of Dresden and Hiroshima.

Sorry, that's Berlin for you. Enjoy.

Cowboy1968

Probably the biggest nonsense I've ever read about Berlin.
You may like or hate it, but judging a city of some 3.4 million by what a few drunks tell you in a bar is plain stupid. And if you *should* know that 2/3 of those have always lived in what has been the "West", it is even more stupid to say that Berliners are people who "long for the days of the Soviet Union".

danon

Cowboy, I agree with you. people are strange... forming opinion about a city on what some people said about the war?.
One time in London we were in a pub when some locals really dumped on the US and its policies. So, I guess the poster should rethink visiting any place where population has political views she/he doesn't agree with.
I just got back from Prague, Dresden and Berlin.
At first, it took couple of days to find my way around Berlin, but there is so much to see in the city, I am planning another visit next year. I don't speak German, but everyone I was in contact with ( in English) was helpful
Prague and Dresden were also great places to visit.

weimarer

Really? Try reading any history of the city and it will confirm what I'm saying. "Longing for the days of the Soviet Union" may have been hyperbole as far as the entire population, but the folks I conversed with seemed to lean in that direction (I speak German and have been to some of the average Berlin hangouts that you probably missed-where people let loose with what they actually think)

I think your title says it all Cowboy, and kind of proves what I just said. And if the same thing happens in multiple places, I'd call that a pattern that most people would view as at least somewhat representative. I've lived almost 10 years of my life in Europe. Nothing I say about it is stupid, it's born of experience and it's accurate.

And the fact that 2/3 have always lived in the "west" doesn't change the hard-left bias of much of the population, which has been a fixture of the place for quite some time. It's the defining characteristic of the city, in case you didn't know, and has been for decades. That's exactly how most of the people there are, so why pretend otherwise. If you like that, fine, but don't try to pretend that it's not how it is, because it is.