Danube Cruise and Swiss Alpine Tour

TRAVEL
VIP door-to-door travel service from anywhere on the UK mainland
Included travel insurance
Return flights and transfers

ACCOMMODATION
5 nights All Inclusive aboard the ship, 3 nights Half Board and 3 nights Breakfasts only in hotels
Complimentary Wi-Fi on board
All gratuities on board

EXPERIENCES
Cruise Host
Vienna city tour OR culinary walking tour of Vienna
Visit to Vienna's Spanish Riding School
Tour of Salzburg
Innsbruck tour
Zurich city tour

FOOD & DRINK
25 meals: 11 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 8 dinners
Free bar open 15 hours a day*
Wine, beer and soft drinks with lunch and dinner on board the ship
Drinks reception and Captain’s dinner

Fly to Serbia’s capital and embark Spirit of the Danube.

Enjoy a welcome cocktail reception and dinner on board this evening.

Spend the morning at leisure in this city where European and Balkan cultures meet, with the Danube forming part of the border. Novi Sad is the capital of Vojvodina, the northern Autonomous Province of Serbia. Situated on the Danube between Budapest and Belgrade, it's a treasured regional and cultural centre.

You can’t miss the Petrovaradin Fortress, built between 1692 and 1790, the upper fortress contains a 10-mile network of passages and galleries, with officers’ residences and government buildings below in the lower fortress. The City Museum, where you can find out more and see artisan workshops, is located within the fortress walls.The old town is home to some fine 18th and 19th-century architecture and you’ll have the opportunity to join an optional walking tour here.

Set sail early this afternoon and spend the rest of the day relaxing on board Spirit of the Danube as she continues towards Kalocsa.

Arrive in Kalocsa this morning and take the opportunity to join an optional tour of Puszta or embark on an optional walking tour of Kalocsa.

Spirit of the Danube continues cruising towards Bratislava in the afternoon.

This afternoon you arrive in Slovakia's capital, Bratislava.

Take the opportunity to explore the city’s old quarter, overlooked by the massive rectangular castle, and admire the attractive Habsburg architecture, independently or on an optional city tour. Alternatively, perhaps venture up the UFO observation tower for panoramic views and the opportunity to sample locally brewed beer on another optional excursion.

Set sail again late this evening cruising overnight bound for Vienna.

Arrive in Vienna – steeped in imperial and musical history – before breakfast.

This morning choose between an included culinary-themed walking tour from Albertina Square to the Imperial Palace and an included sightseeing tour, which involves a drive around the Ringstrasse, encircling the old city.

This afternoon an optional excursion visits grand Schönbrunn Palace.

This evening, after dinner on board, you can attend an optional performance of music by Mozart and Strauss in one of the great formal concert houses of Imperial Vienna.

Disembark after breakfast and transfer to the locally rated 4-star Imperial Riding School (4Q), your hotel for the next two nights.

The hotel is located within a building which served as a military riding school in the mid-19th century. It’s modern facilities include a restaurant, fitness centre and indoor swimming pool. All bedrooms include a telephone, television, free Wi-Fi, radio, safe, hairdryer and coffee maker.

Dinner is included this evening.

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel, followed by a morning at leisure. This afternoon an included excursion visits Vienna’s Spanish Riding School, which forms part of the Hofburg Palace complex.

The school, founded over 450 years ago, is dedicated to the preservation of classical dressage and you will see the stables where the Lipizzaner horses are trained, before taking a tour of the palace itself (there will not be a performance during your visit).

Following breakfast, check out of your hotel and transfer by coach to Salzburg (a scenic journey of approximately 250 miles, which should take around four hours), stopping en route for an included lunch. In Salzburg you’ll stay at the locally rated 4-star Hotel am Mirabellplatz (3Q) on a breakfast-only board basis.

Built in the 17th century by Prince Archbishop Paris Lodron as a city palace, guests have been welcomed into this historic building since 1816. Across the road from the hotel is the Mirabell Palace and gardens, with both the Linzergasse and Getreidegasse of Salzburg’s Old Town just a short walk away. The hotel has 70 unique bedrooms, each with a telephone, television, minibar, safe and free Wi-Fi.

Enjoy dinner at a local restaurant this evening.

An included excursion this morning reveals sites associated with the musical drama ‘The Sound of Music’, which was released in 1965. You’ll see 17th-century Hellbrunn Palace; the Baroque Frohnburg Palace, which was used as the Trapp Villa in the film; the lakeside town of St Gilgen; and Lake Mondsee.

The rest of the day is at leisure, perhaps take time to explore Salzburg independently.

Check out of your hotel after breakfast and travel by coach to Innsbruck (a journey of approximately 115 miles, which should take around two hours). Enjoy an included tour of this attractive city, where Imperial and modern architecture sit side-by-side. Lunch is included.

From Innsbruck you board the RailJet for your First Class train journey to Zurich, passing through the beautiful mountain scenery of the Arlberg Pass and travelling alongside the Walensee and Zurichsee en route. The Arlberg Railway opened in 1884 and is one of the highest-altitude standard gauge railways in Europe, reaching 1,310 metres above sea level.

You spend the next two nights on a breakfast-only basis at the locally rated 4-star Glockenhof Hotel (4Q) in the heart of Zurich. The hotel has 91 air-conditioned bedrooms, each with radio, television, free Wi-Fi, telephone, hairdryer, Nespresso coffee machine and tea-making facilities. Although the hotel does not have a bar or evening restaurant, there are plenty of bars and eateries nearby. Dinner is included at the hotel this evening.

Set off this morning on an included tour of Zurich, with some free time to explore independently. Lying on the shores of Lake Zurich, the city is known for its association with the financial world. It’s also home to some 50 museums ranging from the Kunsthaus Zurich to the Swiss National Museum. Look out for the ‘guild’ halls and houses – reminders of the merchant guilds that have been associated with the city since the Middle Ages, or take a stroll along the Bahnhofstrasse, the city’s ‘shopping mile’ with its well-known shop names.

Spend the afternoon and evening at leisure, returning to your hotel for the final night of your holiday.

Check out after breakfast and travel to the airport for your return flight to the UK.