Budapest Tours in September 2027

The single most important reason I chose Collette, honestly the only reason I chose Collette for this tour, is hotels. The reality is that the tours per se with the bigger and better tour companies are basically the same. I compared several other tour companies for this trip and the itineraries, meals, etc. were all essentially the same. The only difference was the hotels. I went on another tour, to Costa Rica, with Collette and the hotels were very good to outstanding. I expected the same on this tour. Better class hotels, in locations that allow for easy self-touring, particularly since this tour included a lot of “on your own” time, and was a tour largely of cities where one can explore on one’s own. The second hotel on this tour, the Intercontinental Hotel Wien, was outstanding. Beyond my expectations. Lovely and in a great location. The third hotel on this tour, the Up Hotel Budapest, was essentially the opposite. Cheap cheap furnishings, and not a good location. Let’s start with the bathroom. The sink was broken in two places along the upward-pointing rim – if I had inadvertently put my hand down on either of those, I would have cut my hand on the sharp ceramic. The bath towels and mats were extremely thin and rough and, worse, threadbare with strings of threads hanging off of them – pretty much falling apart. Other people on my tour told me theirs had actual holes in them. The towels were what you would find in a cheap motel in the US. The room furniture was also very cheap. Perhaps some optimists may call it modern or minimalist; I call it cheap ****. Bare metal poles supporting laminated shelves, no closet at all. It all looked like worse than IKEA furniture. Again, the place felt more like we were in a cheap motel than a nice city hotel. The location – with the sex shop and ********** a block or so away, not a great neighborhood – also not up the standards I expect from Collette. And not located near to sites or things we would want to see on a tour of Budapest. I advise you, at the least, not to use this hotel again. Back to the positives. The Tour Manager, Marius Curea, was great. He spoke to us at length of the history and culture of places we visited and life in Central Europe, particularly under the Soviet communists. He went out of his way time and again to solve problems. When I got separated from the group just before our evening cruise on the Danube, he called me and helped direct me back to the group. A great guy as well. The tour per se was excellent, although we really did not see much of Vienna. We actually had only two days in Vienna, and on the original itinerary, one-and-a-half of those days was “on your own” – Day 6 “afternoon at leisure” and Day 7 “Choose how you spend your day because it’s your choice”. Happily, while the tour was already in progress, Collette offered us a cruise up the Danube to another village on Day 7. Of course, that full day out of the city did not allow us time to see the city. But, the day was lovely.

This trip could not have been more perfect! Lasting memories of places, new friends, food, and especially our Travel Director, **********, and our driver, Simon. The experience was magical and amazing !! Thank you!

Great trip - kinga and Roland were a fantastic team. Somethings were a bit rushed, I realise on long bus trips breaks are needed but I would have appreciated in some things such as Olmaroc being better advertised and more time being allocated it was a highlight of the trip

1) The pace was nice with plenty of time to do things on your own however, it would be nice if Insight identified local opportunities in advance so we could evaluate and make reservations. As it was, there were 2 places we would have really like to see but they were unavailable once we discovered them. How about a simple list of places to consider such as Belvedere Mansion or Budapest Government House or Klimt Museum for Mucha Museum or the “Most beautiful library in the world”. Places you know fit within the itinerary and hotel locations, not just a link to TripAdvisor. 2) There were people on the tour who couldn’t handle the cobblestones and hills. You need to find a way to move them more efficiently rather than hold up the entire group.

It was everything I thought it would be! Our TD and driver made sure that we had a great experience. We especially liked the 3 nights in each city that allowed less time on the coach and more time to get the feel of the place.

Great to be in hotel three nights in each city and get better feel of the cities. Excursions were great to be immersed in the culture. Easy enough pace but full days. Little coach time compared to most trips