suze

It's just a simple fact that you can't get between all those places on a bus in only 2-3 hour per day, like this person is hoping for.

Edward2005

For $3,800 per person (the cost of the Insight tour, not including airfare) you could put together a very nice 10-12 night tour on your own of, say, 3 or 4 of the cities on your list. Or 2 cities on the list plus some villages. Just gotta do a little homework. And trains are WAY more fun than buses!

Dianedancer

The Rick Steves' tour I noted above is about $3200/pp and seems to have a lot going for it. Lots to see and 3 nights in Vienna, 3 in Prague and 3 In Berlin plus two 1-night overnight stays in between. And, again, hotels in convenient parts of each city, not in the boondocks.

kja

I'll add my voice to those encouraging you to go on your own unless you have a strong preference for joining a tour. IME, these are not difficult places to visit independently.

Dianedancer

The poster hasn't come back.

West47

We have had two Insight Tours: one to Eastern Block countries (starting in Vienna, Austria then on to Hungary: Budapest,) Slovenia, Poland (Warsaw and Krackow), Germany (Berlin and Dresden), Prague. It was a well-guided trip with a good overview of the cities highlights. The second was Highlights of Spain, beginning in Madrid and then around Spain with wonderful guide and overview of cities. We have just booked for Sicily next year.

We tend to spend a week in the first city on the tour, so had a full week in Vienna and a week in Madrid. This allows for some sidetrips in advance of the Insight tours. While you do spend a lot of time of travelling, we certainly received value for money with hotels, meals, guides, and overviews of the cities.