Hoping to visit Prague and Budapest (maybe more) next spring. Danube cruise Budapest-Black Sea via Grand Circle Travel (with Prague extension)looks tempting, with details taken care of and a nice cabin for a home, but we're also considering booking travel, hotels, etc. ourselves, possibly with a shorter trip on the river that we arrange ourselves. Anybody have any advice?

If you are used to traveling on your own in the rest of Europe, you can do it in Prague and Budapest also. Even if you haven't traveled much, you can probably do it. I planned a two week trip in the Czech Republic and Slovakia after being there for a few days with a partially escorted tour. This was before I had been any where else outside the U.S. and it was perfectly fine.

Prague and Budapest have both developed very easy to navigate tourist infrastructures in the last 10 years or so (since my first visit). It's very easy to navigate on your own, English is widely spoken and there are lots of local walking tours, boat rides etc that you can just pick up on the spot - and tons of interesting and inexpensive cultural events. I would never bother with a tour.

I totally agree with the above posts. I was just there in July and it was very very easy. I booked my hotel over the internet, everyone spoke English, it's a wonderful place. Although I'd been to Europe quite a few times this was my first solo trip and I was a little nervous about Prague being one of the places I went but it was a piece of cake. I'd do it again in a second. And there are tons of day trip companies if you want to visit castles, other towns, etc and don't want to drive yourself or take public transportation. None of those need to be booked more than a day in advance, just stop by one of the many kiosks and sign up for one.

Thanks all, for your advice. We may succumb to laziness and take the boat, but it seems unanimous that we won't have much trouble if we go the other way. The overly verbose lady's report (screen name impossible to remember) should be quite helpful.

Thanks for the giggle, ozark...

We did the upper Danube cruise with Grand Circle last June, from Vilshofen to Budapest, with the extension to Prague. It was a wonderful trip with very good accomodations on the boat and knowledgable program directors. Yes, Prague can easily be done on your own, but having the program directors makes sure that you miss nothing. We did not find that the time on the river was too long. Travelling by river can get you visits and insights to smaller towns that you would have missed on your own. Grand Circle does a great job of introducing you to the local people and culture. If you have any specific questions we would be glad to answer them, either in this forum or by Email.

My parents just got back from a Danube tour this week. They had 3 days Budapest at the beginning, then onto the riverboat with 2 day stop in Vienna, and several other towns along the way. They were very impressed with the tour, the boat, the staff, the arrangements. I'll have to ask what company they used.

Above trip was 13 days total.

I dont think you can go wrong either way