Christmas and New Year Danube Cruise

TRAVEL
VIP door-to-door travel service from anywhere on the UK mainland
Return flights and transfers
Included travel insurance
ACCOMMODATION
14 nights aboard Spirit of the Danube
EXPERIENCES
Bratislava City Tour
Bratislava UFO Beer Tasting
Schönbrunn Palace
Vienna Evening Concert
Melk Abbey
Regensburg City Walk
Bamberg
Koblenz and Ehrenbreitstein Fortress
FOOD & DRINK
Listed below in the Daily Itinerary

Fly to Budapest and embark Spirit of the Danube.

Enjoy dinner on board as you remain moored here overnight.

Budapest is a city made up of two parts: Buda and Pest, built on opposite banks of the Danube. East meets west in this fascinating city, as can be seen in the variety of shops and restaurants. An included city sightseeing tour will reveal the capital's highlights, including the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Buda Castle, Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion.

Alternatively, perhaps opt for an included culinary-themed walking tour of the city with strudel making and a visit to the Central Market Hall. Depart during lunch and cruise overnight to Bratislava.

Enjoy the morning exploring Slovakia's capital on an optional tour or independently.

Originally part of Czechoslovakia until 1993, Bratislava’s old town, ‘Staré Mesto’ ,with its historic buildings, provides a stark contrast to the 20th-century buildings, some of which serve as a reminder of its communist past. This afternoon you can head off on an optional beer tasting session at the UFO observation tower, which offers panoramic views across the city.

Your ship remains moored overnight in Bratislava.

Spend the morning at leisure in Bratislava.

You may like to browse the stalls of the city’s Christmas market, which usually occupies the Main Square and Hviezdoslav Square. Treat yourself to a mug of mead or steaming mulled wine while enjoying the festive atmosphere before sailing at lunchtime to Vienna, arriving this evening and mooring here overnight.

This morning you’ll enjoy an included sightseeing tour of Vienna, for 600 years the centre of the Habsburg Empire.

Your tour includes a drive around the Ringstrasse, a wide avenue encircling the old city, taking in famous sights such as the Imperial Hofburg complex built by Emperor Franz Josef, and the world-famous State Opera House. Alternatively, to experience the culture and taste the local specialities opt for an included culinary walking tour instead. This afternoon you have the opportunity to visit UNESCO-listed Schönbrunn Palace on an optional excursion.

This evening, following dinner on board, you can celebrate Christmas Eve with an optional excursion to a Viennese palace for a musical performance of work by Mozart and the Strauss family.

Depart Vienna in the early hours and spend a relaxing Christmas Day morning cruising to Melk, where you arrive during lunch.

This afternoon you may like to join an optional tour of the Benedictine Abbey before departing this evening.

Passau, the most easterly city in Bavaria, is known as the ‘Venice of Bavaria’, being set at the confluence of three rivers.

It is home to a baroque cathedral containing the largest church organ in the world. A short included walking tour will reveal the highlights this afternoon, most of which are close to the Danube, before you depart before dinner.

This morning you arrive in Regensburg where you may like to spend time exploring the old town on an optional walking tour.

Your ship will continue sailing early this evening and overnight.

This afternoon you arrive in the historic Bavarian city of Nuremberg where you can admire the elegant architecture and major sights during an included tour, from its medieval beginnings to the present. Once famous for the manufacture of toys, it achieved infamy in the 20th century as the setting for the notorious Nazi rallies, and later for the war crimes trials of 1945-46.

You sail from Nuremberg early this evening and continue towards Bamberg.

Arrive in Bamberg early this morning.

This UNESCO World Heritage city is characterised by quaint streets lined with historic buildings. Take in the town's well-preserved medieval treasures on an optional morning tour, including the cathedral and the quirky historic town hall, set in the centre of a bridge.

Set sail towards Frankfurt at lunch time.

Spend the day relaxing on board as Spirit of the Danube sails along the River Main towards Frankfurt.

You arrive in Frankfurt this afternoon and will set off on an included tour of the city where the glass skyscrapers of the modern centre contrast with the timber-framed buildings that line the main square of the Old Town.

Highlights include St Paul's Church, the seat of the first freely elected German parliament and the Gothic-style Catholic Emperor's Cathedral, where the German kings and the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire were crowned between 1356 and 1792.

Welcome in the New Year with a fireworks display in Frankfurt before rejoining your ship and sailing through the night.

Arrive during lunch in Koblenz where an optional excursion visits 19th-century Ehrenbreitstein Fortress this afternoon.

Spirit of the Danube sets sail for Cologne late this evening.

Awaken in Cologne, Germany's cultural capital where you can see some of the city’s attractions during an included sightseeing coach tour.

The Gothic cathedral, started in 1248 to house the relics of the three Magi, wasn’t completed until 1880! It houses the shrine to Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar – now among the patron saints of Cologne – behind its high altar. See the Altstadt, or old town, which has been sensitively restored to it's pre-World War Two glory, the towers of Gross St Martin, the elaborate town hall and Gothic cathedral. Then set off on foot to get a closer look as you stroll along the cobbled lanes and squares, such as the Alter Markt.

Depart this evening and cruise to Düsseldorf, arriving later tonight.

Disembark Spirit of the Danube and travel to Düsseldorf Airport (a journey of around 30 minutes) for your return flight to the UK.