Christmas Markets: Budapest, Vienna & Prague (Plus)
From $2149 without flightsPayments as low as $143
Why go?
If you're looking for a one-of-a-kind European experience complete with holiday magic, this trip is packed with all the culture, architecture, and sightseeing you’d expect with just enough castles, thermal spas, and cobblestones to let you know you’re onto something unique.
Picture yourself
Unwinding in a traditional Hungarian thermal spa
Sipping on the finest Austrian wine straight from the vineyard
Bar hopping through Budapests eclectic watering holes
Tapdancing your way through the cobblestone streets of Prague
Snapping selfies in front of bright and festive holiday lights
What you'll get
Round-trip flights & airport transfers (or book 'em yourself)
9 nights in handpicked accommodations
8 breakfasts
3 dinners
Expert Tour Director
24/7 Support
3 insider tours with a local guide
Trips to Christmas markets in each destination
Itinerary
- Day 1: Overnight Flight
Board your overnight flight, bound for Budapest. Sit back, relax, and try picking up Hungarian, one of the hardest languages to learn (it’s a lot more throaty for starters).
- Day 2: Arrive in Budapest + Welcome Dinner
Welcome to Eastern Europe! Your Tour Director will be waiting at the airport when you arrive. Today is the day to adjust, make new friends and start the journey right.
In the evening, it’s time for your Welcome Dinner. Enjoy local cuisine and drinks with fellow travelers at an authentic local spot. Then it’s on to wherever your new friends and the party takes you.
Today's highlights:
- Land at the airport and meet a waiting EF representative.
- Transfer to your hotel to check in and check out your room.
- Get familiar with the area around your hotel with an introductory walk with your Tour Director.
- Day 3: Sightseeing Tour of Budapest + Christmas Market
Now that you’re rested from travels and acquainted with your group, shake off the culture shock with an in-depth look at the Pearl of the Danube.
Today's highlights:
- Tour Buda and Pest with a local guide to show you all the buda-best there is to see.
- Climb the imposing Castle Hill to see the city from the nearly 750-year-old Buda Castle.
- Find everything from handmade glass and wood carvings to bags and leather goods at Budapest’s Christmas market in Vorosmarty Square.
- Hit the town like never before in the city’s grungy, eclectic nightlife scene.
- Day 4: Free Day in Budapest + Optional Thermal Bath & Spa
Hope you’re Hungary for more, because today you have a free day in Budapest. Go for another soak in the thermal spas (or hit one you haven’t been to yet, there’s plenty, and they’re all unique!), chow down on local cuisine, and see the city however you see fit.
Free time suggestions
Chimney Cakes: Popular across all of Eastern Europe, these delicious and age-old treats are a Hungarian pastry specialty that’s a bit like American fried dough. Here they call them Kürtöskalács, so keep an eye out and a sweet tooth ready
Dohány Street Synagogue: Budapest is home to Europe’s largest Jewish synagogue. The ornate building represents a somber reminder of the Holocaust, as it stands at the border of the WWII-era Jewish Ghetto in the city.
Thermal Bath & Spa Visit (extra cost)
Ease blissfully into Europe’s largest medicinal baths housed in one of the city's most ornate buildings. Enjoy the spa facilities, saunas, steam rooms, and 18 indoor and outdoor baths fed by hot springs. Plus, there’s beer.
Why wait? Save money by booking this optional excursion before your trip departs. - Day 5: Travel to Vienna via Bratislava + Included Dinner
Marvel at the European landscape as you drive along a canvas of castles, farmlands, villages and mountains on your way to Austria.
Today's highlights:
- Stop in Slovakia’s capital city, Bratislava, to check out the city’s castle and take some free time to grab lunch.
- Arrive in Vienna, take a quick walk with your Tour Director, then enjoy an evening in the City of Dreams.
- Enjoy an included dinner with your group.
- Day 6: Sightseeing Tour of Vienna + Christmas Market
Ahh, Vienna, the home of Classical creators and world-class classiness. This Austrian city is full of grand operas, grandiose architecture, and gardens so pristine, you'll wonder how its visitors are so well-behaved. Today, you'll get to know Vienna in-depth with a local guide.
Today's highlights:
- Meet your local guide for a sightseeing tour of Vienna.
- Visit the lavish palaces, parks and parliament buildings.
- Learn about the major and minor figures who struck a personal chord with this city.
- Join your Tour Director and fellow travelers at Rathausplatz for an evening of Christmas cheer (hot chocolate and ice skating, anyone?).
- Day 7: Travel to Prague via Krems
Continue along the European countryside as you travel to Prague via Krems.
Today's highlights:
- Take a break from the big city with a tour Krems, a quaint Austrian town in the Wachau Valley, that ends with a tasting of local wines.
- Arrive in the storybook city of Prague.
- Day 8: Explore Prague + Christmas Market
Rise and shine, time to get that goulash. Put on your most cobblestone-ready shoes, get all the “Czech” puns out of your system, and experience classic Prague sightseeing today with a local guide—an expert who really knows their old buildings from their very old buildings.
Today's highlights:
- Get stoked and stay stoked—a very easy thing to do in Prague—as you follow a local guide around the city’s greatest hits.
- Cross the Vlatava River via King Charles IV’s famous Charles Bridge—don’t worry, there’s still time for you to become an emperor and have your own namesake bridge, too.
- Get your Christmas on at one of Prague’s Christmas markets and find that perfect gift for someone back home.
- Day 9: Free Day in Prague + Optional Kutna Hora & Bone Church (with lunch) + Farewell Dinner
If you wake up this morning asking yourself “Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?” it’s probably because 1) “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a great song, 2) you’re in Bohemia, a region of the Czech Republic, and 3) Prague has you feeling some type of way. You’re free today to get to know the city better, maybe take it out for dinner and dancing, or ask it some deep questions about life—whatever floats your boat.
Free time suggestions
John Lennon Wall: The John Lennon Wall has been a statement of peace, kindness, and tasteful selfies for over 30 years. What started as a protest to Communist rule in the 1980s, has become a colorful conglomerate of pacifist sentiments that you’re welcome to add to yourself. Hmm, Rolling Stones fans, I don’t see a Mick Jagger Wall anywhere, do you?
Petrín Park: Take a stroll through Prague’s Petrín Park (you can’t miss it, it’s the giant hill looming over the city), visit the Hunger Wall built during a famine in the 1300s in exchange for food, then take the Petrín funicular train down the hill into the historic Malá Strana neighborhood for some shopping on Mostecká Street.
Farewell Dinner
Share some last laughs and revisit the best moments of the trip at this included farewell dinner with the group.
Kutna Hora & Bone Church (with lunch) (extra cost)
Tour Kutná Hora, enjoy an included lunch, and visit the iconic Sedlec Ossuary—aka the Bone Church.
- Day 10: Fly Home
Nashledanou, prátele!
Translation: Goodbye, friends. Your next destination awaits—home. Before you head to the airport, enjoy your last few moments together. Take one more group photo. Grab that final drink. (Fine, maybe a couple of drinks.) But this isn’t goodbye. It’s, “See you later.” The only question is, where?–OR–
EXTEND YOUR TRIP 2 WAYS
1. Double the fun
A lot of our trips line up back to back! Give us a call—we can help you add another and save big while you're at it.2. Go ahead or stay behind
Extending your trip is easy! During checkout, you'll have the option to fly to (or from) the gateway of your choice for an additional fee. We'll adjust your flights accordingly, but you'll be responsible to take care of your transportation, hotels, and other logistics outside of tour.Note: Depending on your desired gateways, additional fees may apply
Reviews
Overall rating: 4.9 out of 5
Based on 17 authentic traveler reviews
A magical Christmas experience!
Anonymous, traveled Dec. 2023This is a must do for Christmas lovers! Pacing was great, local food was delicious and nothing could beat the Vienna Christmas market!
The best trip I could have ever chosen.
Jenna, traveled Dec. 2023I waited three years to do this trip because of COVID, and it was SO worth the wait! I adored every second of this jam-packed trip and cannot wait to look back on it with all of my little christmas ornaments! It was the perfect amount of time to experience everything that Central Europe has to offer during the holidays. I will remember it for the rest of my ... See more
Take it.
Micah, traveled Dec. 2023This trip is worth it. The Christmas Markets are very beautiful especially in Vienna. This was my first time seeing snow which happened at Fishers Bastion, such a "white Christmas"!
Christmas markets
Anonymous, traveled Dec. 2023It was a great trip, enjoyed every day of the trip very city and crismas market